Acrylic is one of the most popular mediums used in all types of painting, including glass painting. However, working with transparent acrylic can sometimes be tricky!
Acrylic paint that is not quite completely mixed will usually take on color from its surroundings, which makes it difficult to use it as a base layer to add other colors onto. This does not matter too much if you are going for an abstract or expressionist style painting, but if you want to create more detailed pictures, then this is something to watch out for!
By adding another layer of paint over the exposed part of the acryllic surface, your new coat of paint will blend into the old one, making the painted element invisible! This article will teach you how to make your first layer of acrylic totally disappear so you can start building upon it.
Reminder: When talking about layers of acrylic here, we mean thin coats of liquid acrylic applied directly onto the already painted surface. We are not referring to heavy globs of paint that have not dried yet.
Use a soft, slightly damp cloth to wipe down your glass
When painting onto or coating a surface that does not accept paint, like glass, there are several ways to work around it. One of these is by using an underlying layer of transparent acrylic paint as a base coat.
Acrylic paints contain solvents and additives that evaporate during application, leaving a thin layer of liquid behind. This allows you to create a very smooth painted surface. It also helps make your paintings more durable since some of the protective layers have been stripped away.
If you run into a problem where your newly applied layer of paint is no longer fully visible due to being covered up with another layer, let us tell you about one easy way to fix it!
You can take any leftover bits of paint and add them to a new batch of paint along with some of the original clear acrylic gel.
Use lighter colors first to get transparency
For all of you novice acrylic artists, it can be tricky deciding how much transparent paint you should use in your designs. Luckily, we have some tips that will help!
Acrylic is a medium that many people are familiar with. It is probably one of the most common art media out there. Many people create beautiful paintings using only acrylic as their main painting tool.
However, creating works of art with acrylic alone can become very tedious because almost every color contains an opaque layer of pigment. This does not change depending on the brand or type of acryllic paint used.
Many times, artists have to completely start over because they run out of space to work within or the paint just doesn’t seem to want to fully wash down when rolled onto a surface. This can really hurt production and creativity.
Fortunately, there are several tricks artist have learned to fix this problem. These tricks include mixing different types of paints together, adding more liquid to the brush to reduce drying time, and boiling the paint until it goes clear. All of these tricks can save you a lot of headache and money if done correctly.
We will go through three easy ways to make any glass painted item look like it has no layers of paint under it here: cost effective, beginner friendly, and personal.
Keep layers thin to get transparency
Mixing your paint with thinner is an excellent way to achieve transparent colors in acrylics!
Acrylic paints are some of the most versatile painting materials out there. They can be mixed with alcohol or water as many times as you want to layer up your paintings, which allows you to mix new shades easily.
One thing that may trip people out is when those new translucent colors they have been experimenting with suddenly become completely opaque. That does not make the color useless, it just means you need to add more liquid to keep it that consistency.
There are several ways to mix your paints with additives such as mineral spirits, acetone, and alcohol. This article will talk about mixing with alcohol.
Blend your paint using alcohol
Alcohol is the best fluid to use to blend your acrylic paints because it is totally miscible. This means all parts of the alcohol dissolve into the painted surface, leaving no white powdery residue.
Mixing your paint with alcohol also helps create smooth, wet surfaces that are easy to work with. When drying, the alcohol evaporates, leaving no sticky texture or marks. You can then carefully remove any excess alcohol until the paint dries.
Removing the alcohol requires rubbing the surface with a soft cloth or brush. Do not scrape off the dried paint, this could result in flaking and chipping.
Use a non-glare glass painting surface
When working with transparent acrylic paint, you will need a smooth, non-reflective glass surface where your artwork can truly shine. Non-glass surfaces are usually painted using plastic or metal as a surface, which do not work well for most artistic styles that use color and texture.
You may have already used this type of surface in projects like making jewelry or stained glass windows. The only difference here is instead of being clear, these new colors fade into the background, becoming more translucent. These types of surfaces are very common when working with liquid materials like water or oils, because they allow the material to be seen through it.
For example, if we were to pour some milk onto a glass tabletop, the cream would seep through and show up the natural reflection of the table underneath. Liquid does not stick to the glass easily, so having a compatible surface helps shape the way the art looks.
Use the right paint mixture for the effect you want
Acrylic is one of the most versatile mediums there are! It can be painted onto almost any surface- glass, metal, wood, plastic, if you know how to use it.
Acrylic comes in many different colors and textures which makes it very unique. You will probably find yourself being drawn to certain types of acrylic painting styles depending on what kind of look you desire.
Making some colors lighter or darker than their natural state is an excellent way to add depth to your paintings. For example, using heavy cream colored paints as highlights gives your image more emphasis on color over shape.
This article will discuss how to make solid colors in your artwork transparent. If you would like to learn more about other ways to achieve interesting effects, see our related articles here: https://www.artworkmasters.
Use a different brand of acrylic paint
For some people, transparent colors are not worked because they use opaque paints as their starting materials. These individuals cannot seem to achieve fully translucent paintings due to that fact!
If you are one of these artists, there is something we can do about it! By mixing your normal color with white, then adding another layer of topcoat, you can create an effect similar to what they would normally use. Just make sure your new top coat does not contain any additives such as titanium or silver particles which could potentially be mixed in with the liquid surface of your painting when applied.
This article will talk more about how to mix transparent acrylics and tips and tricks for creating beautiful works using this technique.
Add gel to the paint
For many artists, transparent colors are the most difficult to work with due to the texture of the painted surface. Because acrylic paints have a solid form, it can be tricky to achieve truly translucent effects.
A simple way to make some colors more transluscent is to add an additional ingredient called a gelling agent or modifier. Glutaraldehyde is one such product that works as a gellant (or thickening agent) in art supplies. It creates a thicker consistency which makes the color seem lighter and thinner, respectively.
Use a different brand of acrylic paint
Mixing your colors is one of the most important parts of painting! The way you mix your paints can make a big difference in how transparent or solid your final product will be.
Acrylics contain plasticizers that help them flow easily, which is why they are usually considered the easiest type of paint to work with. However, these additives also mean that it is more difficult to make some shades of color completely disappear into each other.
This does not matter much if your painting is intended to fade away, but if you want to display it as a piece designed to stand out then it becomes an issue.
By mixing brands of acrylic paint, you can find ones that do not have too many plasticizers in them. These types of paint may cost slightly more than their less expensive counterparts, but they will let you achieve far brighter and sharper results.
These tips also apply to when using oils as a medium.