Acrylic Paint

Acrylic Resources

Quiz

What is it?

Acrylic paint is a water-based, non-toxic and quick-drying paint that can be used to paint on many different surfaces. Acrylics are easy to clean when wet by using soap and water. When dry, however, they are permanent. Acrylics are opaque, which means you can correct mistakes just by painting over them. You can paint on canvas, wood, glass, rocks, tiles, brick, plastic, rubber, and just about any other surface.

Acrylic Tools

ALL SUPPLIES MUST BE THOROUGHLY CLEANED WITH SOAP AND WATER!

Round Brush

Used to paint details

Flat Brush

Used to paint large open areas

Mixing Tray

Used for mixing new colors

Palette Knife

Used for mixing paint and scooping it out of the cup

Color Mixing

Watercolor-Color-Wheel.pdf

When mixing color, you should ALWAYS start with the lightest color first.

Primary Colors are RED, YELLOW, BLUE
Secondary Colors are GREEN, ORANGE, PURPLE
Analogous Colors are NEXT TO EACH OTHER on the color wheel. These colors look good when blended into each other.
Complementary Colors are OPPOSITE EACH OTHER on the color wheel. These colors pop when next to each other but neutralize when mixed.
Monochromatic Colors are when you add BLACK and WHITE to a color to make lighter and darker versions of it

Acrylic Painting Techniques

Practice Techniques

Directions: Using the technique sheet for acrylic painting, practice the techniques to improve your skills.

Materials you will need:

REQUIRED: Paintbrushes, paint, water-buckets, paper towels, placemat, palette knives

OPTIONAL: mixing tray, sponges, popsicle sticks for scratching

Flat Stroke

Create an even block of color using a wide flat brush

1. Load brush with paint, use the side of the brush to paint the inside border of the square with a smooth layer of paint.

2. Using the flat bottom of the brush, blend the edges into the middle by overlapping your strokes to create a seamless block of color.

Linear Strokes

Creates movement or fluidity in your painting

1. Paint several distinct lines going in a specific direction (waves- up and down swoops, hair-linear lines going in the same direction, wood grain- different strokes of brown going in the same direction).

2. Using another color, add more lines to create dimension.

Dab/Stipple

Good for adding texture like leaves, scales or an all over painting technique

1. Gently dab brush or q-top in a thin layer of paint.

2. Softly dab the brush onto the paper making a “pouncing” motion. Reload paint as necessary.

3. Try layering different color values on top of your first dabs –this will give more dimension.

Dry Brush

Good for adding texture like grass or hair

1. Apply a small amount of paint on the tip of the brush.

2. Swipe brush on a paper towel so there is very little paint on it.

3. Paint strokes onto the paper.

Sponging

Good for smooth texture

1. Apply a small amount of paint to your sponge by dabbing it into the paint cup or using a mixing tray.

2. Dab your sponge onto a scrap piece of paper before applying to square to ensure there is not too much paint.

3. Dab it onto the square to create texture,

Blending

Show a gradual transition by smoothly blending 2 of more colors together

1. Apply color to the left side of the square.

2. Quickly, clean your brush and apply the other color to the right side.

3. Using a clean brush and paper towels (to wipe your brush in between strokes) blend the colors together in the middle by stroking back and forth until it is smooth.

Value

Adding white or black to a color to make it lighter or darker.

1. Using a mixing tray, gradually add white or black to make a color get lighter or darker.

2. Tint = white mixed into any color.

3. Shade = black mixed into any color.

Graded Wash

Graded wash or gradation is creating a value scale that blends completely together.

1. Load your brush with a lot of color.

2. Paint a straight line of color across the top of your paper (or object)

3. Clean out your brush.

4. Load your brush with clean water and pull the color down so that it gradually blends from dark to light

Hard Edge/ Tape Resist

Using masking tape to achieve a clean, sharp edge.

1. Put some tape inside the square. 2. Load some paint on your brush, then paint on top of the paint.

3. Un-peel the tape when the paint is dry.

Sgraffito

Roughly means “scratched into” which refers to the process of scratching into a layer of paint. Works best with acrylic.

1. Paint a thin layer of paint to make a square, let dry completely.

2. Then paint an even thick layer of paint over the first layer of paint.

3. **While the paint is still wet, use either the opposite side of the brush or a palette knife to scratch into the paint exposing the first layer.

How to Start

Materials:

Acrylic Paint
Paint Brushes, sponges
Water Bucket
Paper Towels
Canvas Boards or Canvas Paper
Palette/ Mixing Tray
Palette Knife

If using paper, tape all the way around your paper! And put your name and class period on the tape.

Directions:

Put your name on the back of your canvas board or piece of canvas paper. If using paper, be sure to tape it down to a backboard.
With a pencil, lightly sketch your large area/shapes of color onto your canvas.
Looking for paint cups on the sinks first, mix the paint colors you need into individual cups using a palette knife. The paint bottles are located above the sinks and organized by warm and cool colors. Mix paints by starting with the lightest color and adding a little bit of the darkest color in it at a time.
Label your cups with a piece of tape and your name. Store them in the storage closet. When finished with your painting, return them to the sink and throw away the tape.
Using large flat brushes or a sponge; begin painting your background first. Let dry.
Sketch your foreground objects on top of your dried surface. Begin painting your objects and details starting with the largest areas first.
Store your canvas on the dry rack.

Tips:

If you want to blend two colors together, it must be done when both colors are still wet.
Be sure to let areas dry if you need to layer a new color on top of it.
Small details, thin lines, or words should be painted very last. These can be painted with paint markers.

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