Preparing the Surface: A Foundation for Aquatic Art

We began by carefully transferring our fish drawing onto the  Arches 300gsm (140lb) paper. This choice of paper is paramount for our acrylic illustration, offering a robust and forgiving surface that can withstand multiple washes without buckling or deteriorating. We opted for a trusty HB graphite pencil for this initial sketching phase. The HB lead provides a good balance between darkness and erasability, allowing for clear preliminary lines that can be easily corrected or lightened as the composition evolves, without leaving deep indentations that might interfere with subsequent acrylic layers.  

(This illustration was fine lined just so we could see it on this photograph to illustrate the composition).

 Selecting the Perfect Palette:

We created a range of paint swatches that were used to select our colour palette. 

These swatches served as an indispensable tool, allowing us to accurately visualize and ultimately choose the ideal hues for our artistic endeavour.

With such a vast array of shades available, we were able to find near-perfect equivalents for even the most subtle variations in tone and saturation within the reference image. 

ARTdiscount's Acrylic Paint Colour Chart

 Achieving diverse textures is effortlessly simple with these versatile acrylic paints. One highly effective method is employing ‘Sgraffito’ techniques, which involve scraping and scratching directly into the wet paint layers. This can reveal underlying colours or the canvas or paper itself, creating dynamic linear patterns and raw, expressive marks. 

Alternatively, texture can be built by pressing a printing block, or any object with an interesting surface, into the wet paint. This transfers the object's relief pattern, producing repeated motifs or unique imprints that add tactile dimension to the artwork.

The soft body consistency of these acrylic paints make them ideal for such manipulations, as they hold their shape well while remaining pliable enough to be easily worked. 

Experimentation with different tools and techniques will unlock the full potential of these paints for creating rich and engaging textural surfaces.

Here we used the end of the paint brush to create small circles and dots. 

Glazes of colour:

Multiple layers of vibrant colours were applied to our underwater theme, especially whilst creating the tropical fish.

Using the transparent and semi transparent colours allow you to build up some beautiful gradients and colour ways.

Each layer of paint contributed to building depth and luminosity.

Thick impasto and thin washes:

The beauty of the ARTdiscount acrylic paints is their versatility. They can be used straight from the tube for a creamy impasto either with a brush or with a palette knife. 

Alternatively, you can build glazes of colour once you have diluted the paints with water or wetting solution. some of the translucent colours you don't need to dilute at all!

A good tip would be before you start painting, aim to create a colour chart using the colours in your chosen palette, swatch them out on the same paper you are going to paint on for your final artwork and note what colours  are more opaque or transparent than others. Test mixing the paints to brighten, lighten or mute and try laying colours over each other for glazing effects.

Exploring shades with ARTdiscount Acrylic Paints

The exploration of colour manipulation extends beyond simply lightening tones; achieving a darker shade, or deepening a hue, is an equally fundamental and straightforward technique in acrylic painting. Our experimentation focused on demonstrating this by utilizing three core ARTdiscount soft body acrylic colours: Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Orange, and Primary Red.

To illustrate the process of darkening, we incrementally added small quantities of black paint to each of these vibrant base colours. The key to successful deepening lies in controlled, gradual addition. Beginning with a minute amount of black on the palette, it was thoroughly mixed into a portion of the chosen colour. The resulting shade was then assessed, and if further intensity was desired, another tiny amount of black was introduced and blended. This step-by-step approach allowed for precise control over the depth of the hue, preventing the colour from becoming muddy or losing its inherent vibrancy too quickly.

For instance, with Cadmium Yellow Deep, the addition of black transformed it from a bright, sunny yellow into a more earthy, almost olive-toned yellow, and with further additions, a rich, deeper olive green. Similarly, Cadmium Orange, when mixed with black, transitioned through a range of burnt oranges and deep siennas, eventually achieving a profound, almost autumnal russet. Primary Red, a classic vibrant hue, deepened into sophisticated maroon, then into a deep, almost velvety burgundy, demonstrating the versatility of black in creating a spectrum of darker red tones. This method not only intensifies and deepens the original hues but also creates a broader palette of sophisticated and nuanced colours, expanding the artist's expressive capabilities.

Exploring Tones with ARTdiscount Acrylic Paints

Our concluding colour test involved the creation of muted colour tones using Artsdiscount’s acrylic paint; Emerald Green, Primary Red, and Burnt Sienna.

Minor increments of grey were incorporated to subdue the colours, simultaneously increasing their opacity. This technique unveils a new spectrum of earthy tones, enriching one's artistic toolkit and proving particularly suitable for autumnal landscape paintings.

The neutral grey was created by mixing Titanium White and Black.

Colour 

Transparency

Lightfastness/Permanence 

Lemon Yellow, Primary Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Hues, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Burnt Sienna, Primary Blue, Emerald, Leaf Green, Sap Green, Cobalt Blue Hue, Silver, Gold.

Ultramarine, Naples Yellow, Primary Red, Cadmium Red Hue, Violet,  Permanent Rose, Cadmium Orange Hue, Crimson, Phthalo Blue, Burnt Umber, Payne’s Grey.

Buff Titanium, Peach Pink, Coeruleum Blue Hue, Yellow Ochre,  Raw Umber, Black, White.