[Returner]

Got an acryl kit a couple of months ago and started playing with it yesterday. And damn it's hard. I've only sketched before. But right now I can't understand how anybody can get anything done with all those colours and brushes. Isn't it alot better/easier using color markers/pencils?
How long is the "threshold" using olis and acrylic? Especially all the waiting and mixing colours/cleaning etc is alot of work. Should I buy some markers instead? Is there some basic "keys" you should learn when you are just starting to learn painting? Any insightfull thoughts/experiences? I'm thinking about giving up on the whole thing right now.

[Riven]

Like any medium, it will take a bit of practice and patience to master. Acrylics are very versitile - you can paint in a range varying from a thick oil style, to a watercolour style.

If you're frustrated, try taking an Intro to Acrylics course or something at a local school, it will usually set you on the right track.

Yes, learning acrylics is worth it

[DJorgensen]

Gee, and I've always gotten really frustrated when trying to use pencil crayons and markers.


In terms of "threshold," I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

If it is drying time, it can vary depending upon the brand of paints. For oil paints it seems in general that the more expensive that paint it the longer it takes to dry. I've got some that will take around two weeks to dry enough to touch without really worrying. Also it depends upon the thickness of the paint applied.

For acryics, the paints generally dry when applied after about 15-30 minutes I guess, again depending upon the thickness.

Learning how to really use them, just try and mess around, without painting anything in particular. Get a feel for them without trying to paint a masterpiece. Remember to paint from the background to the foreground, more solid mediums first (some might argue this), with the finishing details - highlights and lowlights on top.

For mixing colors, it really takes experience to get them right. Red, blue, and yellow can make all the colors you need (potentially). There's really too much to describe to go into much detail here.



If you're really stuck, I'm sure there's some links in Sumaleth's link Archive that should help.

Hope this helps a bit, acrylics arn't actually that bad once you kinda figure them out. If you can narrow down your questions though, it would make it much easier to answer.
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[Returner]

Thanks for the replys. Yeah I'll probably take an acrylic course soon.
I'll fiddle around with the colours a bit more.