Before you even start drawing, one of the very first questions you’ll have is which medium to use. Acrylics, oils, and watercolours are the three most used mediums. In this article, we will compare and contrast oils and acrylics. Watercolours are probably more challenging to learn because of water’s untamed nature, so we would consider starting with acrylics or oils before attempting watercolours.
Is it now appropriate to restrict one’s interest to a specific medium? Obviously not. However, it is more advantageous to concentrate on mastering only one of the mediums. By doing so, you would automatically improve in all mediums.
There is no right or wrong approach when it comes to acrylics versus oils. They are also excellent mediums with distinct qualities.
What exactly is acrylic paint?
Acrylics are synthetic colours that can be combined and blended in the same manner that oils can. Acrylic paint dries very quickly, to the point that it can dry on your palette if you do not use it swiftly enough. This method is less accommodating, and you must be objective when painting.
Acrylic paint is usually not recommended for portrait painting or other themes where you would want to go back and make little changes due to its fast drying process. However, the short drying period has the advantage of helping you to paint layer after layer easily.
Acrylic paint has no ‘fat over lean, thick over thin’ law (which we will explore later) and is therefore popular with beginning painters.
Acrylic painting has a poor reputation because many people assume that the painting experts only used oil paints. On the other hand, acrylic paints have come a long way in recent years, so don’t be put off by them. Many of the masters did not even have access to acrylic paints during their lifetimes.
That being said, if you wish to be a financial success as a painter early on, you should wonder whether this “stigma” will hinder the opportunity to sell your paintings.
What is oil paint?
Oil paints are composed of pigment (colour) and oil. Some oil paints mostly on the market are dangerous, so avoid them from children and use them with extreme caution.
When painting with oils, you’ll need three things:
• Oil paint
• Medium (Oil)
• (Solvent) Paint thinner
The oil paint is basically your paint tube. The colour in tube paint is mixed with a small volume of oil as a binder. You will paint more fluidly and use less paint from the tube if you apply a medium (more oil). As the name means, a paint thinner melts down the oil and thins the paint to speed up the oil paintings’ drying time; a paint thinner was added. Must hold the amount of oil and paint thinner used in oil in check.
Oil paintings make up the majority of well-known works of art. This is attributable to oil paints’ versatility and the fact that acrylic paints were scarce during the significant painting era when many of the best artists rose to fame.
The most important differences between acrylic and oil paints:
• Oil paints dry even more slowly than acrylic paints. Since oil paints take longer to dry, you’ll have more versatility with them. It may take up to a year for oil paints to dry entirely. Acrylic paints involve careful strokes because the paint dries quickly until applied.
• In oil paints, you should paint thick over thin and fat over slim. The top layers of paint will break if they dry before the lower layers of paint (the first layers applied). The slower your paint dries, the darker and fatter (oilier) it is. It’s as plain as that. Please make certain you have a mechanism in place to ensure that each corresponding layer dries at a slower pace than the one before it.
• When acrylic paint dries, it darkens in colour. This is not a challenge with oil paints (however, some oil paints do get a yellow tinge over time). When using acrylic paints, you’ll need to prepare for the color change.
• Oil paints make mixing smoother. Learn to know a big blending brush because you’ll be using it a lot in oil painting. This is one of the most significant advantages of oil painting classes.
• Oil paints are a disaster waiting to happen. It’s much more challenging to clean and monitor oil paints than acrylic paints. To make your life simpler, invest in some high-quality cleaning supplies.
• Oil paint has a slightly shiny and refined appearance, while acrylic paint has a more smooth finish.
Which one is more user-friendly for newcomers?
Acrylic paint is commonly regarded as the most newcomers medium because it is easy to use, needs minimal ingredients, and is much less obtrusive on the senses than oils. Acrylic paint, on the other hand, dries incredibly rapidly. As a beginner painter, this can be incredibly difficult to work with.
Oil paints can stay active for much longer, taking anywhere from a day to weeks to dry to the fingertips. A canvas, acrylic paints, paintbrushes, and water are everything you need to start with acrylic paint. Other accessories, such as mediums that can improve the fluidity of the paint without watering it out, can make your life as an acrylic painter easier.
If you’re new to painting, we’d recommend starting with acrylics and then going on to oils.
Life With Paint events might be of interest to you. Here you can know the fundamentals of drawing with online painting classes. It also works well with acrylic and oil paints. If you’re curious, you will find more information by just googling oil painting classes near me.
