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blue brush stroke green brush stroke pink brush stroke

BASiC ACRYLIC PAINTING GUIDE

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BRUSHES

PAINTS

TECHNIQUES

BRUSHES

Explore 7 main commonly used brushes below. You don’t need all 7 of these to begin painting. Try starting with a medium sized flat and round brush, then branching out from there!

Large Flat Brush

This wide rectangular brush is great for painting large areas or backgrounds.

Angular Brush

The sharp point on this is useful for filling corners and making curves.

Medium Flat Brush

These straight bristles are good for creating hard edges.

Round Brush

This brush is often used for sketching and filling in smaller areas.

Pointed Brush

The point on this brush is perfect for details and finishing touches.

Fan Brush

The fan shape can create interesting textures and shapes.

Palette Knife

Palette knives help with mixing colors or creating interesting textures.

large rectangular flat brush medium angular brush medium flat brush medium round brush small pointed brush medium fan brush diamond shaped palette knife
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PAINTS

Here are a selection of basic colors you can use to paint almost anything with. Consider starting with a blue, red, yellow, white and dark brown to practice mixing colors first!

brown paint blob white paint blob yellow paint blob red paint blob purple paint blob blue paint blob green paint blob

Mars Black

Mars Black should be used sparingly for very dark shadows or objects. Use this in small doses when mixing colors as it can easily overpower other colors!

Burnt Umber

This rich dark brown can be used to create shadows, or mixed with any other color to create almost any brown you need.

Titanium White

A necessity for almost any painting, Titanium White is often used to lighten other colors or create fluffy clouds.

Cadmium Yellow Medium

Darken this yellow with purple or lighten with white to get a wide range of yellows for your painting needs.

Cadmium Red Medium

This intense red can be used to add a touch of warmth when color mixing, or add a pop of brightness to your painting!

Dioxazine Purple

This purple is hard to mix but super useful for dimming down a color naturally and creating deep shadows.

Phthalocyanine Blue

This versatile blue can be lightened with titanium white to create a beautiful sky, or darkened with burnt umber for natural shadows.

Phthalocyanine Green

Greens can be hard to mix so it’s useful to have this bluish green on hand! Yellow can be added to this in different quantities to create more greens.

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grey paint palette

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BRUSHES

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TECHNIQUES

TECHNIQUES

Below are a handful of useful acrylic painting techniques to create various textures and effects in you paintings. Try them out or create your own!

dry brush strokes

Dry Brush

Use your brush without water to create soft fuzzy shapes.

scumbling painting technique

Scumbling

Apply a layer of wet paint over dry paint then scrape away shapes with the end of your brush.

impasto painting technique

Impasto

Apply paint directly onto canvas with palette knife to create interesting textures.

wet on wet painting technique

Wet on Wet

Add water to thin the paint and achieve a watercolor effect.

paint splatters

Splatter

Use a toothbrush to create splatters.

layered paint strokes

Layer

Mix different colors of paint directly on canvas.

glazing painting technique

Glazing

Brush over dry paint with watered down paint to mute or brighten the color.

painting over masking tape

Masking Tape

Paint over masking tape to preserve white spaces.