Acrylic is one of the most popular mediums used for creating art. It is relatively inexpensive, you can find almost anything color-bleeding acrylic at any craft store, and it will always take your hands as challenge!
Acrylic paint is typically mixed with an alcohol or water base in a ratio of 1:1 (alcohol:water) until it is thinned down enough to pour. This allows users to work with it easily and removes some of the worry about it drying completely.
However, when painting with acrylic, the consistency can be the biggest downfall. Some people prefer using very thick paints while others like it thinner. A person who prefers thicker paints may choose to mix their own matte acrylics or buy already mixed ones but those colors may not look quite right.
There are several ways to make acrylic paint more matte looking.
Use water-based paint and apply a lot of thin layers
When painting with acrylics, one must consider how to make your paints go down. If you use too much liquid acrylic, your paintings will not hold their shape and will be soft and blurry.
To make acrylic paints matte, start by using a small amount of liquid acrylic. Apply as many light coats as possible until the layer flattens and no longer looks fluid. The beauty of this process is that once it’s done, you can leave the paint wet for hours! This way, the gel in the paint solidifies but does not dry out.
Acrylic is made up of molecules called polymers. These molecules link together to form long chains, making it very stable. Because it is so stable, it can be easily worked with and painted over. Liquid acrylic has lots of fluidity, or stickiness, which makes it easy to spread around the brush. But when it dries, it hardens and becomes less vibrant and reflective. To create a matte finish, we need to reduce the intensity of these qualities.
Use a mixture of oil and water paints
For normal, everyday paintings, use only water or oils as your medium. When painting with acrylics, one must remember that you can add another liquid to change the texture!
You can mix them together in a container and apply it using a brush or a palette knife. To make the paint more durable, let dry for a few minutes before applying it onto your surface. This will allow time to set and harden.
Acrylic is very fluid so if the shape or area you want to cover is not large enough, then drag your finger through the color or pull out some of the liquid to see how this changes the consistency. You can also put some pressure on it to see how much force takes away from its softness.
Removing excess moisture and plasticizing the surface helps create a matte finish.
Use a mixture of acrylic paints
The way to make your painted pieces fully matte is by using a combination of acrylizing mediums in them!
Acrylic paint comes in many different varieties, but they all have something in common – liquid. That means you can add some of these media into your paint and it will thin out the consistency of the paint.
Some examples of acrylizing media are alcohol, water, or glycerin along with clay, soap, milk, or other solvents. By mixing all those liquids together, you create an acrylic painting surface that is not only durable, but also works well for cleaning up excess paint.
Use a mixture of oil and acrylic paints
For normal consistency, use one part oil to two parts acrylic paint.
For example, if you wanted to make your painting very matte, use half olive oil and half white acrylic paint.
This article will talk about some types of oils and how to use them in recipes for acryllic paint.
We will also discuss how to mix solid colors with no shades or tints. To create darker colors, add more paint to achieve the same thickness.
Use a soft brush and blend with a wet towel
With all types of painting, brushes are an important tool! The way you use your paintbrush has a big effect on how well your paintings come out. There are two main ways to take care of your painted objects: washing or cleaning your brushes and either matting or non-matting paints.
The way you wash your brushes makes a huge difference in what kind of results you get. Washing your brushes using alcohol or water will only remove some of the glue that holds the pigment together. If this is done improperly, then these loose particles will remain in the next stage, which is applying more layers of paint onto your canvas. These chunks of color would not set properly, making your painting look muddy and flawed.
To avoid this, there are several methods used to make acrylic paint stay put. One method is adding a surface coating to prevent sticking. This is usually leaving a thin layer of transparent liquid over the top of the paint before putting it onto the canvas. A common source of this liquid is pure ethanol (alcohol) solvent.
Another option is rubbing the end of the brush against a rough surface, such as wood or plastic. This helps break down the adhesive strength of the brush so that it can be removed later.
Use a soft brush and blend with dry rice
When painting with acrylics, some people prefer the glisten of the paint. Others prefer it to be more matte! This is usually determined by the type of surface the painted item will have.
If the item being painted is going onto a smooth surface like glass or wood, then you want your paint to shine. But if the item is hanging off the wall or has texture, then a slightly matte look is desired.
One way to achieve this is use a very soft brush and apply little bit of liquid rice as a blending agent in between layers. The rice acts as a natural abrasive that removes some of the gloss from the paint.
Reminder: Never scrape wet paints off of your canvas, only add more coats later! That could result in puddles or even dripping colors.
Use a soft cloth and press down on the paint
When painting with acrylics, one must consider how to make your paints work for you! There are two main types of painted layers-matte and strong glaze. A beginner can start off just focusing on creating a matte surface which is very helpful as they learn about layering.
A strong glazed layer will use up more paint but can be designed to show off the texture and shape of an object. The way to achieve this is to apply several thin coats that dry together. As you pull away the brush, it leaves a trail of wet paint showing the texture behind.
There are some tips depending on the size of the canvas or project that can help create a nice looking wash of color or strong lines. For example, instead of rubbing the brush back and forth across the canvas, hold the brush like a pencil and roll it along the edge of the palette or table. This creates a thicker, longer lasting line than dragging the brush back and forth directly on the top coat of paint.
Use a hard surface
For every brush size, you will need adequate space to work in and out. Because acrylic paint is liquid, it can be tricky to control how much you use of each color.
If your painting area is small, the colors may blend together into one solid mass! The same goes for if you have to add more thickness to the paint layer – it may not mix properly due to limited mixing room.
Acrylic paintings are very versatile because you can always add more thickening coats or take away some of the top coat to make the paint lighter. So, do not worry about having enough space to create your masterpiece!
Also, remember that not all types of surfaces are compatible with acrylics. Glass and metal cannot hold an appropriate amount of moisture so they must be used with care.
Surfaces such as plastic and wood can also dry out and peel off over time when exposed to air, making them unsuitable for most applications.