Painting Foundations: Acrylic
3h 15mBeginner2015-02-04
Authors
Will Kemp
Artist, Teacher, Founder of Will Kemp Art School
Course details
Using acrylics is the simplest and most effective way for an absolute beginner to learn how to paint successfully. Acrylics can be used in thin layers like watercolors, or in thicker, more opaque applications of paint, like oil paint. Acrylics dry quickly and can be diluted and cleaned with water, making them simple to use, odorless, and accessible to all.
In this course, Will Kemp takes you on a journey that will unleash your inner artist, providing an introduction to the materials and techniques used in acrylic painting.
The course follows a progressive sequence, covering beginner and advanced acrylic painting methods, from underpainting and glazing to impasto and textural effects. It also addresses setup and materials, color mixing and pigment choice, brush-handling and palette-knife techniques, as well as gels and mediums.
Learning objectives
Choosing a brush, palette, and canvas
Altering acrylic paint with water and other mediums
Blocking in and underpainting
Adding glazes
Choosing pigments
Understanding basic color theory
Creating texture
Signing and protecting your work
In this course, Will Kemp takes you on a journey that will unleash your inner artist, providing an introduction to the materials and techniques used in acrylic painting.
The course follows a progressive sequence, covering beginner and advanced acrylic painting methods, from underpainting and glazing to impasto and textural effects. It also addresses setup and materials, color mixing and pigment choice, brush-handling and palette-knife techniques, as well as gels and mediums.
Learning objectives
Choosing a brush, palette, and canvas
Altering acrylic paint with water and other mediums
Blocking in and underpainting
Adding glazes
Choosing pigments
Understanding basic color theory
Creating texture
Signing and protecting your work
Skills covered
PaintingFoundationsAnimation and Illustration
Concepts
Introduction
- Welcome
- Using the exercise files
Materials and Setup
- The versatility of acrylics
- Which brush to choose
- Palette choice
- Canvas, paper, or board
- Preparing your support
- Using a colored ground
- Additional materials
Paint Properties
- Heavy body vs. fluid body
- Altering paint with water and mediums
- Opacity vs. transparency
Basic Painting Techniques
- Blocking in and underpainting
- Three-tone masses
- Introducing color
- Adding glazes
The Power of Pigments
- Earth colors vs. synthetic colors
- Color bias
- Choosing a white
A Simple Five-Color Palette
- Five key colors
- Color matching
- Choosing a mood for a landscape
- Mixing color strings
- Landscape techniques - Painting clouds using color strings
- Landscape techniques - Adding color to the landscape
Creative Mark Making and the Unique Properties of Acrylic Paints
- Creating texture
- Abstract techniques - Drips and pours
Final Project - Still Life
- Final project - Preparing our colors
- Final project - First stages
- Final Project - Washes and blocking in
- Final project - Impasto and thick passages of paint
- Signing and protecting your work