Painting Techniques

In this section I will be talking about basic painting techniques when using acrylic paints. Acrylic paints are a relatively new medium as they were created in 1955. They are really easy to use, inexpensive, and they can be found at Wal-Mart or a craft store. The acrylic painting technique offers both the new and experienced artist a very versatile method of painting. Acrylics, although similar in style and finish to oils, gives subtly different but important qualities to your work. Probably, its biggest benefit is its speed of drying. It's a water-based medium and the usual texture and consistency is similar to oil paints. However, unlike oils, you can get acrylics in a wide variety of densities. These range from a very thin, ink-like consistency able to be used in airbrushes through various degrees of 'flow' to a thicker syrup like consistency. Start with a base coat of spray paint and then add alternating layers of paint. A technique called dry brushing can be used to bring out more detail. Dry brushing uses very little paint on the end of the brush. Using a lot of paint covers up more of the mask and doesn’t allow as much detail of the sculpt to show. However if you use large amounts of acrylic paint in the right areas and the right way it can add a very neat effect.