You’ve decided to leap into the fray and learn to paint with acrylics.
You may have purchased a book or signed up for a class.
Now it’s time to purchase your supplies.
Selecting your paints is a fun and frustrating experience. There are many brands and lines from which to choose, and as a novice, you may have lots of questions. It’s a good idea to use the recommendation of your instructor or the author of the book you are using.
Your First Paint Purchase
Your instructor has a syllabus of projects to guide you, and the colors they recommend are necessary to achieve the results they are looking for. Part of your instruction is color mixing. Substituting a color, such as Cerulean Blue instead of Ultramarine Blue, is not going to give you the same color results. Until you are familiar with color mixing and what various colors can do, stick with the suggested recommendations.
If your instructor suggests a brand of paint, it’s a good idea to follow the recommendation. After all, you’re paying for their expertise. That includes their knowledge of Acrylic Paints and how to use them. As you become more knowledgeable about your medium, try out other brands. Add a tube from another manufacturer when you need to replenish a color or add to your palette.
Until you’re certain you’ve found the right products, only buy small tubes of paint. The jumbo, economy size may be a better value, but it’s a waste if you don’t like it.
There is a wide diversity in quality between paint manufacturers. Professional paint is definitely superior, but it can be pricey. Inexpensive, student grade paint lacks the pigment intensity, contains filler and varies in texture. However, the price is certainly attractive. Please, don’t buy the cheapest paint you can find. You’ll use more paint to achieve the same results, and you may be frustrated with the poor quality. Don’t use the craft-quality paints. These products have a liquid consistency and generally contain less pigment than artist’s paint.
Acrylic Paint Manufacturers
Now let’s have some fun and check out the most popular and best Acrylic Paint Brands…
Amsterdam Expert Series Acrylics
The Royal Talens Company has manufactured Amsterdam acrylics since 1970. This range of 70 colors is alkali resistant. This makes the paint a good choice for creating wall murals. The paint is packaged in 75 ml and 150 ml tubes. It is very heavy bodied, which makes it a good choice for building up texture and for use with a knife.
Blick Artists’ Acrylic Paints
Dick Blick is a major art supply retailer, and they have their own house brands of paints. These acrylics are available in 70 colors, and most colors are available in 2-ounce, 4.65-ounce, 8-ounce and 16-ounce containers. The reviews vary, as with all opinions, but a great many reviews give the product high marks and report a good, buttery consistency. These paints are priced reasonably, and the larger sizes make them a good buy for artists who use a great deal of paint.
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics
Golden Artist Colors have been manufactured in New York since the inception of the company in 1980. This company focuses on acrylic paints and paint supplies, and they are regarded as one of the superior producers of acrylic products. These paints are available in 2-ounce, 4-ounce, 8-ounce, 16-ounce, 32-ounce and 128-ounce tubes and tubs. In almost all cases, this paint receives glowing reviews. Golden is available in a huge array of colors, and with the many sizes available, it’s certainly a brand to put on your short list to evaluate.
Holbein Acryla Artists’ Acrylics
Holbein has been producing professional grade paints for over 70 years, and it is one of the leading manufacturers of quality art supplies. Their line of over 70 colors has many unique hues that are not available elsewhere. They are well reviewed for quality, but the price of some of the colors is rather steep.
Maimeri Brera Artist Acrylics
Founded in 1923, this company produces paints in all mediums. Their acrylic paints are lightfast and they offer specialty colors, metallic hues and traditional colors in 2-ounce tubes. They are not the cheapest paint on the display rack, but they are well reviewed as a superior quality product.
Old Holland New Masters Classic Acrylics
Old Holland has provided artists with paints since 1664. However, as the oldest manufacturer of artist’s paints, they are a newcomer to the acrylic paint market. They introduced their line of 168 colors in 2005, and they have perhaps the largest selection of hues available in the marketplace. Their line includes metallic and iridescent colors, as well as every popular color imaginable in 60 ml tubes and 250 ml tubs. The price of these paints is not for the faint of heart, but the quality and selection will make you a believer.
Liquitex Heavy Body Artist Acrylics
Liquitex has been supplying artists with acrylic paint products since 1955. They have several lines of paints for both craftsmen, students and professional artists. Many of their paints are available in 2-ounce, 4-ounce, 4.65-ounce, 8-ounce, 16-ounce and 32-ounce containers.
The Heavy Body Artist Acrylics are their professional series and are available in a wide range of 100 colors. The prices are very reasonable, the colors are vibrant, dependable and they consistently get good reviews by both students and professionals.
This company makes a full line of artist’s supplies, which makes them a one-stop shopping manufacturer for all your painting needs.
Sennelier Extra-Fine Artist Acryliques
A French manufacturer, Sennelier has produced paints since 1887 and has a strong reputation for quality in the oil and watercolor paint market. They have added a 120 color line of acrylic paints to their products, which gives them one of the broadest ranges of colors in the acrylic field. Their paints are available in both 60 ml and 200 ml tubes, and reviewers uniformly praise the vibrancy and texture of the paint. The pricing is a little steep. However, it is not as costly as some brands, and the quality makes it worth the price.
Winsor & Newton Artists’ Acrylics
Providing artists with paints and painting supplies since 1832, this British company introduced acrylic paint to their line in 1970. As a leader in the paint-manufacturing realm, Winsor & Newton provides a very practical line of 80 colors that are reputed not to have any color shift. This makes painting a bit easier for students who don’t have the color experience that seasoned artists acquire. Their pricing is in line with other manufacturers, and the line is widely available.
Additional Paint Manufacturers
You will find a number of manufacturers that produce Acrylic Paints of varying quality and availability:
Chroma Atelier Interactive Artists’ Acrylics
Daler-Rowney Cryla Artists’ Acrylics
Lascaux Artist Acrylics
M. Graham Artists’ Acrylics
Pebeo Extra-Fine Artist Acrylics
Tri-Art Finest Quality Artist Acrylics
Acrylic paints are widely used for home, industry, manufacturing and crafts. Test them out. You may have some serendipitous moments of discovery. Experimenting with new brands and colors of paints is one of the joys of being an artist, and maintaining an open mind to try new products helps to keep the inspiration flowing.
FREE Online Art Paint Course
There are 27 Chapters in this Free Online Painting Course:
Let Us Begin…
The Beginners Guide to Painting
Watercolor Paints
Watercolor – Where to Start
Watercolor Paints
Watercolor Paint Brands
Watercolor Supports
Watercolor Paint Brushes
Watercolor Basic Painting Techniques
Advanced Watercolor Painting Techniques
Watercolor Painting Accessories
Watercolor Painting Tips and Tricks
Oil Paints
Oils – Where to Start
Oil Paints
Oil Paint Brands
Oil Paint Supports
Oil Paint Brushes
Oil Painting Techniques
Oil Painting Accessories
Oil Painting Tips and Tricks
Acrylic Paints
Acrylics – Where to Start
Acrylic Paints
Acrylic Paint Brands (This Article)
Acrylic Painting Support
Acrylic Paint Brushes
Acrylic Painting Techniques
Acrylic Painting Accessories
Acrylic Painting Tips and Tricks
In Closing…
Enjoy the Free Art Course!
Paint on! :)