Essentials

• Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paints

• Synergy Paintbrushes

• Wooden Artist Palette

Extras

• Prime Art 1013 PK05 Palette Knife

There are many brands of acrylic paints available. However, not all are created equally. I use Golden, Liquitex, and Winsor-Newton. Lascaux is also another good (but expensive!) brand. The good thing about acrylic paint is that you can mix the paint with any brand. So if you’re unsure of which brand to get, buy a tube from every brand to give them a try.

How do I know what kind of paint to get?

Most brands offer two different versions: Student Quality and Artist Quality. What’s the difference? Price and quality. Artist Quality paints have better coverage and more punch, therefore it’s more expensive than Student Quality paints. Yep, it’s tempting to go for the Student Quality paints, because they are cheaper… however, I would generally suggest that you avoid Student paints. They contain more filler and less pigment, so the results will be less satisfactory than the more superior Artist Quality paints. With that said, if budget is an issue, then go with what you can afford. But if you can, buy a tube or two of the Artist Quality paints as well, so that you can see and feel the difference for yourself.
Acrylic paints come in tubes, bottles and jars. They also come in a range of sizes, from 2oz to 32oz. If you’re just starting, stick with the 2oz size. That way you can decide if you like the brand before investing in more. Those 2oz tubes can last a long time, depending on whether you paint large or small. I have had many of my 2oz tubes for years. Therefore, if you’re a total beginner trying out acrylics, go for the smaller tubes or jars!

You can also buy acrylic paints in sets, which might reduce the price per tube. Because of this, buying an acrylic paint set might be a good buy for beginners, since you’ll be starting from scratch with your collection of paint colours.

Which colours do I need to start with?

You might be surprised to learn that you don’t need a whole lot of colours to get started with acrylic painting. I would recommend that you have these 10 basic colours to start with:

You can mix these 10 basic colours to create many of the other colours you will need. You can even start with as few as 6 colours, as evidenced by the Acrylic sets below.
Most brands of acrylic paint offer dozens of different colours to choose from. This can be overwhelming at first, as you might feel that you need every single colour to paint what you want! This isn’t true, however. For instance, Golden makes 8 different shades of grey. But all you need to do is mix white and black, and voila! Who needs to buy grey paint?

If you need to mix a specific colour, always try to make it using the paints that you have on hand. If you try and the resulting colours aren’t up to snuff, then go out and buy the colour that most closely matches what you need. This tactic will save you money in the long run.

Acrylic Painting Sets

If you’re a bit overwhelmed at this point, don’t be! There are a few different acrylic painting sets that come with pretty much everything you need to get started with acrylics. The best thing is that they are quite affordable and contain all the acrylic painting supplies that you need in one compact set. They also make great gifts for budding artists who would like to explore acrylics!

The only downside is that most acrylic paint sets will contain Student Quality paint rather than Artist Quality. These sets will help get your feet wet, but if you want to get serious with acrylics, you’ll need to get good quality acrylic paint. If you want to buy an acrylic paint set, be sure to check whether the paint is Student Quality or Artist Quality, and get the one you feel would suit you best.