Acrylics

[DragonGX]

Ive been getting ready to start painting again, and Id like to know if acrylics have the same consistency of oils. By that I mean can you paint with them using the saemtechniques and have similar results, or are they quite a bit different?

I wanted to do oils, but im thinking that maybe I should use acrylics instead if they turn out similar results.. They are usually cheaper (I htink) and their solvent is water, which is alot easier and cheaper than turpenoid or mineral spirits..

Any comments? SHoudl I go to acrylics or stick with oils?

[Lionel]

You seem dead set on learning to paint in oils but imho this is a bit of a rash descision considering you have never done any painting before. How we paint and what mediums to use really comes down to personal preference. If you look on the internet you will find people who can use any medium to produce any result. There are people doing photo realistic stuff in watercolor and people doing very fluid watercolor type stuf in oils. What ever you do don't just pick whatever medium you favorate artist uses but try out a variaty of mediums and make up your mind yourself. Don't worry what medium you pick to start painting with as it will not make a bit of difference in the long run since all the skills you learn with one medium will help you with all the others.

Acrilics are very different to oils as they dry an awful lot faster. This means the techniques that you use are different. If you want to start of painting I see no reason why you shouldn't use acrlics as being water soluble makes them much less intimidating and the vast majority of the stuff you learn will help you oil paint later. If you are worried about cost you can just buy a tube of black paint and a tube of white paint and learn to paint values. This will really help you start as mixing color is hard will only confuse you at first so it helps to just learn to paint in terms of value before you try painting colors. If you just want to muck around then the cheepest option is probably to get some water colors and play with them. If you think water color is a second class medium and you would rather paint oils I would sugest you look at Zorn's or Sargent's watercolors and prepare to be wrong :).

Stop getting hung up on what medium to chouse etc and get on with painting :). It really makes no difference which on you chouse as all the skills you will learn are transferable so it doesn't matter which one you chouse it matters more that you get started.

[MindCandyMan]

The biggest difference between oils and acrylics comes down to two things really...oils are more expensive and take longer to dry...acrylics are indeed cheaper and dry faster. One thing you could do is just buy a tube of white and black and burnt umber in both oils and acrylics...make a very limited color painting with both of the mediums and see which one you like better. All brushes made to work with acrylics are fine to use with oils but not vice versa. Solvent isn't that expensive either but the choice is up to you. Have fun and definitely post the stuff you do.

[DragonGX]

I have done a small amount of oil painting before. I really like the oils texture and consistency, but I dont like the mess and having to use mineral spirits (i dont have a place that i can call my studio and do what i want freely, so i have to be careful about spilling or overspray, etc)

I didnt know much about acrylics, untill I bought a book that covers watercolor, oils and acrylics. I just made me think since the book made acrylics seem just like oils, without all the mess. (minus the few things like how acrylics dry much faster, etc)

Ive never realyl been a big fan of watercolor, so right now theyre not as important to me. Maybe later on Ill experiment with them but for now id like to focus on oils or acrylics.. I have respect for all mediums though, I have seen soem great work done wiht just about any kind of medium!

One quick question, how can you glaze with acrylics?

[MindCandyMan]

same as with oils...thin it down and go at it...

[DragonGX]

A Sarasota art store sells 60ml acrylics for $2 a pop, so I think I might jsut go buy a few of those and see how i like it and base my decision from that..

Thanks for all the info guys!

[emesen]

Goache is a decent place to start however often expensive. Learning to paint is a project in itself and what you use to do it really doesn't matter, find something you like and go to town, don't get to hung up on materials like everyone here says.

www.aswexpress.com sells art supplies much cheaper than other retail stores it might be a good place to start.

[pibb991]

i took a painting materials and techniques class last year and here's my two cents.
if your going to thin the paint make sure you use acrylic medium or a mixture of one third medium, water, paint.
if you only thin with water the paint wont be as stable and will be more likely to crack(it will also dry faster), just like you wouldnt want to use too much turpentine/thinner to thin your oils. different acrylic mediums can make the acrylics dry slower or dry glossy/matte. i prefer oils but acrylic paintings are supposed to last longer than oil paintings.

[pconsidine]

Pibb –

A properly-made oil painting can last just as long as an acrylic painting, but these days, not many schools teach the "Old Masters" technique of oil painting (using more linseed oil in each successive layer of paint so that upper layers dry slower than lower layers). If time wasn't an issue, we could still let a painting dry and cure for 6 months the way they used to.

As far as which medium is better, it really doesn't matter. While I never found that specific techniques I used in oils worked as well in acrylic and vice versa (as someone suggested), the most important skill in painting is brush control and that can be learned with either.

Just my 2¢.

[Andrew]

. . . ,so I hope this info helps.

First thing to bear in mind that Acrylics are not Oils, or vice versa. They are each unique in their own way. Each can achieve similar effects, but are obtained using different techniques.

Contrary to a previous poster, the fat over lean rule with oils is most important. As linseed oil (or walnut oil or cottenseed oil) polymerizes (dries) slowly, the leaner, more turped paint needs to be on the bottom. Otherwise the paint will crack and/or lose it's bond to the support. True this isn't taught harshly has it once was, but that is because most contemporay painters paint either all fat or all lean. Fewer and fewer mix consistencies.

Acrylics are made similarly to oils. They consist of a great deal of pigment in a small amount of binder. In this case, instead of linseed oil, the binder is acrylic emulsion. This emulsion is a polymer precursor derived from linseed oil, rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil or corn oil. This precursor is water soluable and as the water evaporates it polymerizes to a water insoluable thin film plastic and gives off a small amount of ammonia.

Thinning is easy. If you want to thin the opacity but keep the body, then use medium, which is just the emulsion. If you want thin watercolor or ink like transparency then just use water. Or you can mix the medium and water to get any consistence in between. (My preference is either straight water or a 50:50 mixture)

Just like in oils, acrylics are bit darker when dry. But his is much more noticable in acrylics with a drying time of a few minutes, versus the weeks required for oils. Also you don't get the added color from the oil mediums, so if you want that kind of bodied glow, you have to plan ahead and have it as part of your color mixture.

Brushes are another concern. Any brush suitable for oils will work for acylics and vice versa. But (you knew that was coming - didn't you), natural hair brushes will retain water and get thicker and thicker which will effect the quality of line. So if you are going for fine detail you will either have to go with synthetics, which retain very little water, or change natrual brushes frequently. Also, don't let the acrylic dry in the brush, it is almost impossible to clean once dry and will more than likely ruin the brush.

Just like oils, get the best quality of acrylics you can if you go that route. Student grades add extenders to make the expensive pigments go further. If you give them a try, I recommend Utecht. You get professional grade paint at great prices.

Good luck
Andrew