Tips for getting the best acrylic paint

best acrylic paint brands
Image courtesy Steve McClanahan via Flickr. Used under a CC BY 2.0 license.

About two years ago, I gave away all my paint supplies. It was a box full of professional quality acrylic and oil paint, along with brushes.

Before I gave them away, I had not painted on a canvas in a long time and did not think I ever would. I knew the woman I gave them to would use them.

Just recently, I started drawing again and wanted to paint again. Now I am in the market for the best acrylic paint again.

Good acrylic paint reviews

SaleBestseller No. 1
Liquitex BASICS Acrylic Paint, 250ml Tube, Titanium White, 8.45 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)
  • Thick, creamy with satin finish; Good pigment load
  • Retains peaks and brush strokes; Ideal for learning color theory and color mixing
  • Includes 8.45-ounce / 250 millilitre tube of acrylic paint
  • Intermixable with Liquitex Professional Acrylic Paint Colors and Mediums.
  • Conforms to ASTM D4236; Safe for educational use
SaleBestseller No. 2
Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint, 10 x 60ml (2--oz) Tube Paint Set
  • High quality Acrylic which delivers professional results
  • Ideal for artists who want good quality color at an affordable price
  • These acrylics can be used on a variety of surfaces and can be used directly from the tube, diluted, or mixed with other Acrylic mediums and gels
SaleBestseller No. 3
Liquitex Professional Heavy Body Acrylic Paint, Classic 6 x 59ml (2-oz) Set
  • Basic palette for the student, beginner, or professional.
  • Set includes six 2-oz tubes of Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paint
  • Colors include Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue, Naphthol Crimson, Ultramarine Blue (Green Shade), Phthalocyanine Green (Blue Shade), Mars Black and Titanium White
SaleBestseller No. 4
Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Color, 200ml (6.75-oz) Tube, Titanium White
  • Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Colours are strong and vibrant with good covering power and a smooth, satin finish.
  • Series: 1/Color Code: 644
  • Permanence Rating: AA - Extremely Permanent
  • Transparency / Opacity: O
  • Lightfastness Rating: ASTM I - Excellent
SaleBestseller No. 5
52 PCS Acrylic Paint Set with 12 Brushes, 2 Knives and Palette, 36 Colors (2oz/60ml) Art Craft Paints Gifts for Adults Kids Artists Beginners
  • 【Deluxe Acrylic Paint Set】Our 52 PCS acrylic paint set includes 36 vibrant colors paints in 60ml bottles, 12 professional brushes, 2 painting knives, sponge, and palette, everything you need for your artistic journey, making it the perfect choice for beginners and experienced artists alike.
  • 【Premium Quality & Non-Toxic】Our painting kits are crafted to the highest standards, the smooth consistency of acrylic paints ensures easy application and blending. Each color in the art set is highly pigmented provide excellent coverage and intensity, helping artists achieve the desired effects and make artwork stands out.And these art paints that conform to ASTM D-4236 and EN71-3, safe for all ages and suitable for various art projects.
  • 【Perfect Gift for All】Looking for the perfect gift for an artist or creative friend? Our acrylic paint set is a fantastic choice, offering a complete art kit for their next masterpiece.For adults, artists, beginners, students, kids, teens of all levels on Christmas, Birthday, Children's Day, Mother's Day, Easter Day, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Party, New Year. Share the joy of art with friends and family, and watch their creativity bloom.
  • 【Easy Mix for Infinite Colors】Explore your creativity with our 36 vibrant colors acrylic paints, you can effortlessly blend colors to create your unique palette of shades and tones, offering an infinite range of possibilities for you to create stunning and eye-catching artwork.
  • 【Multi-Purpose Craft Paint】These paints are designed for a wide range of surfaces, like canvas, stone, eggs, glass, ceramics, fabrics, metal, plastic, wall, blackboard, paper, plaster and more, which is versatile and making it ideal for painting, crafting, and more. And Our paints dry quickly, allowing artists to layer colors, make corrections, and add details without long waiting times. Once dried, acrylic paints become water-resistant and durable.
Bestseller No. 6
GOTIDEAL Acrylic Paint Titanium White Tubes(120ml, 4.1 oz) Non Toxic Non Fading,Rich Pigments for Painters, Adults & Kids, Ideal for Canvas Wood Clay Fabric Ceramic Craft Supplies (Titanium White)
  • Water Based Large Selection of Colors: selecting the colors you want to create unique works of art.
  • ARTIST GRADE: Heavy Body Highest Quality Raw Materials are selected to make our Acrylic paint set. They are uniquely formulated to ensure the best quality with a fantastic consistency for easy mixing and blending. Ideal for canvas painting, these colors won’t fade over time.
  • Safe to Use: NON-TOXIC & QUICK DRY. AP, ASTM D-4236 and EN71-3 (CE) certified. Great for creative adults, teens and kids.
  • PERFECT GIFT: Adults and kids love the versatility of our acrylic painting set. Great for most surfaces including Wood,Glass, Stretched Canvas, card,plastic,Craft Foam,Ceramic,Decorative Wallpaper, Terracotta, Blackboard easel, Paper, Chalk Board And More.
  • INDDIVIDUALLY LABLED: Each tube is labeled with pigment information including: opacity level, shade's lightfastness rating, color name/number
Bestseller No. 7
MEEDEN Professional Acrylic Paint Set - Artist Grade Acrylic Paint Tubes - Heavy Body Acrylic Paints for Adults - Art Supplies for Canvas Painting - 2 oz*9 Tubes
  • ARTIST-GRADE PIGMENTS: Designed for artists, this set of acrylic paint from MEEDEN is your first choice to create excellent artwork. High-quality raw materials and multi-step grinding provide perfect texture and surface affinity, offering a fantastic experience.
  • RICH & VIVID PIGMENTS: Quality materials have stable consistency, accurate coverage, and proper hues, as each color exact are. The MEEDEN heavy-body acrylic paints are updated for a better "standing" effect - you could easily create 3D textures with them.
  • NON-TOXIC STATEMENT: MEEDEN acrylic colors are certified to AP, CE, and ASTM D-4236 standards and comply with solvent & acid-free, harmless elements and 100% environmental principles. From art watchers to seasoned artists and toddlers to the elderly, the set will suit them just fine.
  • UNIQUE AND CREATIVE GIFTS: It's not just pigment but a complete set of the basic color system you can gift. Canvas paintings, handcrafts colorings, home decorating, all artistic things will be a cinch. Your close artists gonna love it!
  • MEEDEN for ULTIMATE SATISFACTION: MEEDEN is more like a family with hundreds of members wholly dedicated to helping you succeed in your artistic endeavors through high-quality, unique art supplies. And like a family, we stick together, and if anything goes south, you can always rely on MEEDEN, through thick and thin - give us a little sign - a mail, a call, or a message.

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Back to the drawing board

I know most of the stuff I gave away was the Liquitex brand.

But, I don’t recall little about variations in a paint lightfastness, for instance. I thought I would re-learn the technical aspects and write about it as a getting started again exercise.

Note: Art supply brands and materials like paint are highly subjective.

There are a few factors to consider before making a purchase, though. Let’s take a look.

Quality

Paint quality is usually divided between student and professional (artist) quality.

Student quality paints are less expensive than artist quality, may have lower amounts of pigment (more filler), and may be less vibrant.

Artist quality will cost more, may have more amounts of pigment (less filler), and may be more vibrant.

The higher quality acrylic paints may be easier to layer and there will be more colors available.

Generally, student paints work well for hobbyists or new painters and experimenting with new styles and techniques.

Generally, if you are selling paintings, giving them as gifts or planning on keeping them a long while, artistic quality paints are the way to go.

Color

The amount of colors available is staggering — for professional and student quality paints!

When I started painting in school, I remember using one of the pre-made student sets, which saved a few bucks and kept color choices to a minimum.

Lightfastness

Lightfastness is the paint pigment’s ability to resist fading as it is exposed to light.

The American Society of Testing and Materials set standards for paint color’s lightfastness.

The ASTM ratings go from I to V, which is the lowest.

A I rating indicates that it has excellent lightfastness. A II rating indicates a very good lightfastness.

“Only Lightfastness Ratings of I and II are good enough for artists’ materials,” according to a ASTM document.

Unless you are experimenting and don’t care if the artwork last, a I or II is the safest bet.

Viscosity

Viscosity is the thickness or consistency of the paint, which can be purchased in low or high viscosities.

A low viscosity paint — also known as a soft body paint — does not have a thick consistency. It is slightly “runny” and used for detail work, for instance.

A high viscosity paint — aka a heavy body paint — has a thick consistency. It can be used to show brush strokes, for instance.

There are mediums acrylic paint can be mixed with, as well. They can change the consistency even more to your liking.

Find the best acrylic paint in 2023 on Amazon.

Originally posted 2023-01-06 01:37:31.