Acrylic paint used for art projects dries much faster than oil-based paint.
Acrylic paint is a water-soluble opaque medium. Acrylic paint is often compared to oil paint, because of the similarity in appearance (once dry) of the two types of paint. From an artist's standpoint, the biggest difference between acrylic paint and oil paint is the drying time. Acrylic paint, when not mixed with water or agents, dries within minutes. Oil paint takes days or weeks to dry. This may seem like a minor difference to someone who has never painted, but anyone who has used these mediums can attest to the great difference the drying time makes.
Instructions
1. Set up your materials in a place where you can work undisturbed. Draw the basic structure of your painting on the canvas before laying out your paints on the palette. If you will be painting off of a picture or a sketch, place it within view of the easel. Once the paint has been put on your palette, you'll want to use as much time as you can painting rather than setting up or planning for your painting. Remember, it will not take long for your paint to dry on the palette, and once that happens, the paint has been wasted. Unlike some mediums like watercolor, acrylic paint cannot be re-hydrated into a paint-worthy state.
2. Paint a thin wash of color onto the canvas. Use a medium-sized paintbrush, relative to the size of the canvas. This first layer should be the most basic colors for the subject on the canvas -- no highlights, shadows or small details. When you are finished with the first layer of paint, either rinse the brush to be used again, or put the brush bristle-down into the jar of water to prevent the paint from drying on the brush.
3. Paint a second layer of paint on the painting. At this point you may start to develop some very large shadows and highlights in the painting. If at all possible, avoid painting shadows with black. For a shadow, use a darker hue of the same color (for example, the shadowed side of an apple may simply be a darker red than the side in the light), or use colors like blue, green or brown. Highlights can be created by adding white, yellow or light blue to the highlighted parts of the painting. You may wish to experiment in order to find the highlight color that looks right to you. Feel free to experiment with different techniques, because acrylics dry so quickly that you can easily cover up any mistakes with the next layer of paint. Look off of the sketch or photograph that you are painting from as you build up paint. Flick your eyes back and forth between the photograph or sketch and the canvas, comparing the colors and forms. Keep in mind as your painting develops that it will not look exactly like the example you are painting from. In fact, it will likely not even resemble your expectation.
4. Paint a third layer of paint on the canvas. At this point, you should begin to address details on the subject. Start to use smaller paintbrushes. Continue to flick your eyes back and forth between the photograph or sketch and the painting. You may have started to notice that the fast drying time of acrylic paint is preventing you from blending some of the details, highlights, and shadows to your liking. You can handle this one of two ways. You can either try to keep the paint wet for a longer time(by thinning the paint with water, mixing the paint with acrylic retarder or spraying the painting with a light mist of water) or you can adjust your painting style to the medium and learn to appreciate a choppier, rougher form. Many artists throughout history have needed to make concessions for their medium. Learning to deal with the reality of your medium will strengthen you as an artist.
5. Continue to add layers of paint until the painting has reached a stopping point, even if you are not sure that it is completely finished. Put the painting away and wash your brushes very thoroughly. Paint left on the brushes will ruin them.
6. Leave the painting for a while. Don't look at it for days, or even weeks. You'll want to return to the painting when you feel that you can look at it with a fresh perspective. Look for errors or weak places in the painting--that is, areas that you feel don't fit in the painting, or that stand out as looking "wrong". If you're not sure what is wrong the painting, but you feel that it needs improvement somehow, try turning the painting upside down. This is an old trick many artists use. By turning the painting upside down, you'll see irregularities in the form and places where details have been misaligned. When you do this, the balance of color (or lack thereof) will also become apparent. Make changes as necessary.
