Step-by-Step Acrylic Painting

for Beginners
How to Paint With Acrylics
To start an acrylic painting you need to make sure you have these two things:
1. Five basic painting supplies (see below), and
2. Ideas for what to paint.
Things to think about:
 Best lighting
 Deciding the subject and focal point
 Planning your painting's layout
 Drawing your idea first
 Painting the middle values first

7 Supplies You'll Need for Acrylic Painting

1. Acrylic paint
2. A variety of brushes
3. Painting support (canvas or gesso boards)
4. Palette
5. Water
6. Cloth rags or paper towels
7. Easel

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1. Brushes of Different Shapes and Sizes
A rule of thumb for brushes is to use big brushes for big areas and loose painting styles and to
use small brushes for small areas and details. That's why it's important to have a variety of sizes.

2. Painting Support
Acrylic paint works on many kinds of surfaces, including canvas, paper, or board. If you buy
pre-primed canvas, make sure it’s primed with acrylic gesso.
3. Palette
Your palette is the surface on which you mix your paint. You can use any flat, tray-like object
made of plastic or other water-proof material.

4. Water
Get a big jug of water to rinse the brushes when you switch from one color to another. Better yet,
you should have two containers of water: one to rinse brushes after painting and one with clean
water to use to dilute the paint and moisten brushes when needed.
5. Cloth Rag or Paper Towel
These come in very handy to dab brushes after rinsing, correct mistakes, and keep your hands
clean.

6. Easel
It’s beneficial to keep your painting support at an angle directly opposite you as you work. This
helps a lot with perspective and proportions. To keep your canvas or board inclined, you can use
a stand-up easel or a tabletop one.

Deciding Your Painting's Focus

What do you want to paint? What are you trying to represent? Maybe it’s a landscape, but what
is it about that landscape that inspired you to paint it? Its light? Its calm? Its liveliness?
Before you get started, decide what you are trying to represent in your painting and, on a piece of
paper, plan the composition of your painting keeping your focus in mind. It might take several
small composition sketches before you find one that "sings" to you.
If you work from a photograph, there is no reason to be 100% faithful to the photo layout and/or
colors. You can alter sizes, positions, and colors of things to suit your artistic goal. You can edit
some of the trees out, add some others, and move a home or a bridge to make your composition
more balanced.
In fact if you do use a photograph, use it for reference only, don't copy it. Make a sketch of the
elements and shapes that you like, but then put the photo away. Then feel free to rearrange the
figures and create your own composition for your painting.

Plan Your Layout: It Will Save You Trouble

Later
The temptation to start painting right away is huge, but if you jump right into the drawing and
painting on your canvas, you may find yourself stuck with a weak painting that needs
improvement and you don't know how to "save" it. In many cases, this is a sign of poor
composition and value structure.
Before you jump into your painting, make some preliminary sketches to use as a reference. The
rule of thirds can help you decide how to plan the layout of your painting and where to place
your focal point.
You can paint different colors from what you see in order to stick with a specific color scheme.
Some planning using value sketches can make a huge difference.
 Paint the Middle Values First
When you are happy with your composition, fill the rough shape of the focal point of your
painting with the middle value for that object.
Then move to another object or shape adjacent your focal point and paint its rough shape with
the middle value.
Keep working around the whole composition blocking in all the shapes and objects. Don’t bother
about shadows and highlights at this stage.