Essential Acrylic Painting Tips for Beginners | Basics You Need to Know

Starting out as a beginner with acrylic painting is fun but also can feel overwhelming! Here are some acrylic painting tips for beginners – all easy and you can implement each as you like!

Instead of writing about so many things it creates even more overwhelm I’m including the basics – things you really should know to get started and feel confident in your painting much faster!

These are my best tips!

Note: This post contains affiliate links to some products I use and recommend. I may receive a commission from purchases. Thank you!

THE BLANK CANVAS – It can be overwhelming to look at a blank canvas and suddenly draw a blank…where do you start?

Use the tips below to help you!

ACRYLIC PAINTING FOR BEGINNERS: Getting started

Trouble figuring out what to paint? Ideas for Acrylic Painting for Beginners – Look around!

Use a reference or source, like a landscape or sunset. Images of interesting objects to paint can be found all over the internet. You can practice painting landscapes and cityscapes by using photographs as examples. Starting with your own space and location, you can find great references!

Lots of methods exist in acrylic painting. As a beginner, make use of various methods.

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This is my favorite set of acrylics to recommend to beginning artists – I has multitude of good quality colors and will last a fair amount of time.

It’s great to use to experiment and learn which colors and color palette to lean toward in your painting!

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Acrylic paint can be used in a wide variety of ways because of its adaptability. Try various tools; you can even use your fingers as your paintbrush to create seamless transitions between hues.

Try out different color combinations, implement unconventional techniques, and apply paint to unexpected surfaces. These are the things that will help you find your own painting technique and give your paintings more visual variety and create interest in your art.

These are tutorials, each very different:

-Working with textures on large canvas
-Working with light textures and blends/washes on large canvas
-Working with layers of acrylics, using mediums on canvas

BEGINNER ACRYLIC PAINTING TIP FOR BLENDING:
Until you learn how to blend with tools, you can always use your fingers! Wear a glove to avoid staining your hands/nails.

Painting over a large space on your canvas with broadened brushwork. If you want to make more textures and cover more ground, use broad brushstrokes. Backgrounds, skies, bodies of water, and mountain ranges can all benefit from the use of broader brushstrokes. Thinner lines should be reserved for detailing and working in tighter spaces.

BEGINNER ACRYLIC PAINTING TIP FOR WORKING ON LARGE CANVAS:

Use large wash brushes or mottlers for creating a large “wash” of color over your canvas. This would apply to any canvas over 12″ or so. I work on larger canvases most the time and also use my favorite “el cheapo” wash brushes!

This brings to another tip: Don’t be afraid to really load up your brush!

Use a good amount of quality paint. It’s fine to use a lot of it and spread it around evenly. Using less paint or paint that has been thinned out may seem like a good way to save money, but it requires you to create more layers, which can look stunning when your think your paints with the right mediums, but when just starting out, choose less pricey paint and don’t be afraid of thicker applications.

CREATING LAYERED ART – Use mediums to thin paint to create beautiful transluscent layers.

BEGINNER ACRYLIC PAINTING TIP FOR USING ACRYLIC PAINTS: Work fast!

This is something I love to do, but some people might find it difficult to really be able to manipulate acrylics in the time they allow before drying.

If that is the case, then investigate in acrylic mediums that allow for a longer working time (en plein air acrylic paint formulations and mediums like slow drying mediums can help).

Because of the rapid drying time of acrylic paint, it’s essential to get into the habit of working quickly. Dry acrylic paint cannot be activated again. You can buy paint drying time extenders that add moisture to the paint, but don’t be tempted to just use water. It won’t help paint stay wet much longer and it will only break down your pigments, leaving you with a very dull looking painting.

BEGINNER ACRYLIC PAINTING – Choosing brushes

I find it is best to work with synthetic tools. Because of its middle body, acrylic paint works best with synthetic bristle brushes rather than softer ones. I do use watercolor brushes (like mops) sometimes, but I do find the acrylic paint brushes overall the best choice. They are generally very easy-to-clean, too!

I have a few sets like this one that I use – they are great!

BEGINNER ACRYLIC PAINTING TIP – Choose your color palette before you start.

It’s nice to have a set of paints to mix and choose from. I suggest investing in a basic beginner set of inexpensive acrylics to play around and experiement!

As a beginner, you should decide if you are going to work “warm” or “cool.”

You can mix them in your art, but you really need to understand tone/shade principle.

It can sound complicated, but it’s easy:

If you decide to use many colors, keep them all in the same tone – meaning your red, blue, green, yellow, etc. should all be in the same depth of color. Use either bright or soft or medium range, but keep them all in the same tone to make sure you painting is balanced.

Create differences by utilizing cool and warm tones. Paintings benefit greatly from contrast, which also lends a more genuine air to the work. The use of cool hues next to warmer colors (like reds, yellows, and oranges) can achieve this effect. (blues, purples, greens).

If you are working with softer colors, keep them all soft. You can add a splash of bright color at the end, but realize it will completely change your painting and take it from soft, muted, calming to more energetic. Not a bad thing, just different.

Once you really get more experienced and understand colors and how they work together, you can get even more creative.

BEGINNER ACRYLIC PAINTING TIP – BRUSHES FOR DETAIL

Detail work calls for a fine, long-bristled brush. A thin-bristled brush, also called a liner brush, is ideal for drawing fine details. One way to highlight borders on objects is to use a thin brush. A thin, smooth brush can be used for further detailing.

I don’t tend to use these a lot as my work is large and not extremely detailed, however having a couple very thin-point brushes on hand is essential to add tiny bits of color to any art after it’s dry.

Keep a few fine detail brushes to help work small spots and fix areas.

BEGINNER ART PAINTING TIP: Keep fine-point brushes on hand to fix small mars on artwork.

I sometimes will pull a painting out of storage and have to fix a small spot that has rubbed up against something and created a little mar on the painting. Using a fine-tipped brush can help fix this easily!

BEGINNER ART PAINTING WITH ACRYLICS – Palette knife

A palette knife is ideal for creating texture! I often alternate between using a palette knife and a paintbrush.. By scraping paint away or building up dense layers, you can achieve a variety of effects with a palette knife.

BEGINNER ACRYLICS PAINTING TIP: Don’t be afraid to paint over mistakes

When I first started painting, I felt like I had to lay down everything just right. This lead to a lot of apprehension and fear.

I got over that when I discovered the wonderful properties of gesso!

Whenever I created a so-so painting, I would just gesso over it all and have a night white canvas again to create something else.

You can do this on a painting with Titanium White in a space you don’t like or use the base color to paint over a trouble area and then rework it.

NOTE: This can be tricky, so save this tip for when you feel you have a little more skill!

BEGINNER ACRYLIC PAINTING TIP – Always have a spray water mister bottle at hand

I never, ever paint without my mister bottle ready and at-hand! You can lightly mist water to delay the drying process of acrylics (LIGHT MIST ONLY). Misting the paint on the palette after it has been applied is a simple method to slow down the drying process. Plastic spray bottles with a fine mist spray, which can be bought cheaply, are perfect for this purpose.

BEGINNER ACRYLIC PAINTING TIP – Invest in a small, but wide selection of tools

Maintain a small, but wide selection of tools. You don’t need everything right up-front, but have a couple of large brushes, smaller brushes, a palette knife, etc. It’s always helpful to have a variety of tools on hand because you never know which one you’ll need next. Small, middle, and large sizes are a good place to begin, and you can expand to other shapes and sizes as needed and as you learn your own style of painting!

Ready to get started?

Want to learn to paint like a pro, without wasting a lot of time and product?

Each of these tutorials covers various aspects of working with acrylics to create ABSTRACT art – textures, washes, layers, large canvas, medium canvas, finishing, starting…everything in between!

GUIDED ONLINE TUTORIALS for ABSTRACT ACRYLIC PAINTING

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