Are you ready to try painting but not sure where to start? The last time you held a paintbrush, you were a high school student? Don’t worry! With the right painting techniques, tips and passion, you can paint like a pro if you practice enough!
Be Aware of Different Grade Paints
If you want to take your painting skills to the next level, we recommend simply searching for student-grade paints. Craft paint doesn’t have enough pigment.
There’s also professional-grade paint on the market, which is of the highest quality. It is also much more expensive, though. So, if you have a tight budget, then student-grade paints are a good idea.
Beginners should always start with acrylic paints. They’re easy to use and easier to clean up compared to oil paints.
Learn to Mix and Match Colors
The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. There are two fundamental reasons why painters blend paint colors. They do that in the event that they have to repair a harmed portrait or to total an unfinished region.
To get a certain color, look at the bigger picture. What color mix is needed to get it? Imagine the goal in your mind. If it feels right for you, then give it a try.
Always Begin With Basic Colors
As a beginner, always begin with a basic palette. Once you feel you’re prepared for that step, you’ll effectively learn to blend any color from the three essential colors, ruddy, blue, and yellow.
This ability can spare your cash and extend your palette in no time. Take your time and enjoy baby steps. You can’t get professional overnight.
Learn the very basics of color theory. Blue and red make purple, red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue make green, and so on. Once you learn to mix with the primary colors, you’ll be ready to mix shades.
Clean Your Brushes After Use
Take care of your paint brushes after every use. No professional painter will tell you that this is not an important step.
Caring for brushes is easier than you thought. Prepare foamy water and pour it into a clean holder. Dip the paintbrush into the mixture and wash the paint away with your hands. Repeat the process if necessary.
If you do not wash your brushes after each use, they will quickly deteriorate, and you have to buy new ones.
Store Your Brushes With Bristles on Top
After you have washed your brushes, lay them flat to dry. That will help prevent water from getting into the ferrule and extricating the glue. At that point store your paint brushes with the bristles confronting up
Always make sure the brushes are clean and dry. Put them in a container of your choice (preferably a glass jar). This way, your brushes will stay safe from damage.
Use Palette Knife for Mixing Paints
The palette knife is a great thing for beginners in painting. It is easy to use and not expensive. And since acrylic paint is best for beginners, don’t think palette knives are just for oil paints.
There are many types and sizes of these knives on the market, and as a beginner, we recommend that you look for the basic shapes in a few different sizes. They should be quite enough for most techniques.
Painters generally utilize them for blending paint on their palette. But they are excellent for scratching paint off a glass palette or botches from a painting too. We recommend that you opt for metal blades as they are easier to clean.
Sign and Date Your Works
We will tell you not to compare your work with anyone. Each is unique and stands for itself. You don’t have to be a professional to call yourself a painter.
But still, one of the important painting tips for beginners is to sign and date their works. That gives them a sense of ownership and beauty. Also, it’s a good idea once you step out of the beginner zone to take a look at your beginner work and see how far you’ve progressed.
Make Notes for Future Purposes
We know that many of the greatest painters spent their entire lives researching various painting techniques. And what did they leave behind? One great work or two. Quality matters over quantity. Painting is a complex art, and as a beginner, one of the most relevant painting tips is to make notes for future purposes.
Write notes to yourself about everything interesting and relevant you have seen and read over time: how you mix colors, your preferable compositions, and everything else that inspires you.
Spend More Time With Practices
It takes a lot of time to learn and improve a skill. Don’t be strict with yourself and lose your will. The more you paint, the better you get. That’s a fact.
Try to paint every day because the practice makes you better. There will always be mistakes. But there is a solution for that as well. If you are not satisfied, cover the whole picture with a coat or two of gesso and start over.
We learn from our mistakes. As a beginner in painting, you can experience a lot of frustration. But don’t let such things get in the way. Did you know that the average beginner needs about six years to perfect his painting technique and recognize themselves as an artist?
Take Time to Practice Blending
Acrylic paint is great for beginners but dries quickly. Blending can therefore present a problem. If you have decided to use acrylic, then you need to work on the blending technique.
The fastest way to mix colors is to use a “damp paint with damp paint,” technique, also called “wet-on-wet.” However, don’t forget to work quickly when doing it, as acrylic dries fast.
There is another little slower blending technique, wet-on-dry paint. And if you want to grant yourself even more time, try using some acrylic glaze to blend your paints.
