Can you create great paintings using cheap craft acrylics?

I began my acrylic painting adventure a little over a decade ago. Well, actually, I created my first painting when I was much younger, but about 11 years ago was when I started to take painting a little more seriously. One day I picked up a few 50¢ bottles of acrylic craft paint and I never looked back.

I found myself painting almost daily in my sketch book, mainly using illustrations and photographs from books as reference. I then graduated to painting on canvases and continued to improve.
 

A couple of my early paintings from 2009 and 2008 in my sketch book. I later began painting on canvas, but continued to use craft paint (below).

I learned so much about painting during those few years using cheap acrylics - how to blend colors, how to mix colors, how to create the look of fur, in what order the tones should be applied, and more - and I didn't feel held back by the cost of the paint, so I didn't stop painting and, thus, I didn't stop learning. That is until I began to read more about professional artists and the materials they use. It was when I learned about lightfastness I realized that I probably should be using the "real stuff" - the stuff that is made to last longer, the stuff that is made for professional artists.

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So I got a few tubes of artists' acrylics to try out and I found that they just aren't the same. I became frustrated with the artists' acrylics because the consistency and colors were not what I was used to and I kept going back to using the craft paints. But the more paintings I created with the cheap paint, the more I became worried that the art I was working so hard to create might not last more than a few years.

Eventually I pushed myself to learn to only use artists' acrylics and I am glad I did. I may not paint as often as I used to due to being afraid of wasting paint, but those lightfastness ratings on the sides of the tubes give me peace of mind. AND now I don't have to deal with the other downsides of low quality paint - the dull, flat, poorly-pigmented colors, and all those bottles full of lumpy dried acrylics! There is, however, one thing I really miss about craft paints...they're cheap...really cheap.

Acrylic craft paint vs. artists' acrylics

 

So, is it possible to create great paintings using cheap craft acrylics? The answer is yes. Would I recommend using craft paint to a complete beginner? That depends on the individual, but I'd probably say yes. Buy a few bottles and try it out. Gradually introduce tubes of artists' acrylics to your collection and use them together with the craft acrylics to compare and get used to them. If you end up not liking painting in acrylics, then be happy you didn't spend all that money on a set of better paints. If you end up loving it, then after you have learned the basics you can move on to using all artists' acrylics and feel confident that your work will last.

P.S. I am relieved to report that I have not yet noticed any fading in my old craft paint paintings (that were kept indoors). 😌

Tips for creating awesome drawings in pen and ink

 

My favorite pen (at the moment) is the Zebra Sarasa 0.7 gel pen. I use it for almost everything I need a pen for, from writing down my shopping list to doodling...on my shopping list. I also use this pen to draw my Nozzles cartoons. I have never drawn a serious piece of artwork with pen and ink, so I can't recommend a type of paper or even the pen I use to someone who plans on selling pen and ink art, but I thought I'd share my method for producing cleaner lines and reducing permanent mistakes. As you can see from the samples in this post, I'm not talking about sketches here - I'm talking about the style you might find in a coloring book (and it is fun to color in your own perfect pen drawings!).

Draw in pencil first. Now this isn't necessary (no pencil was used in the drawing above), but if I want my drawing to be as clean as I can get it, I draw everything in pencil first. That way I can correct all my mistakes before I draw everything with the permanent pen, either directly over the pencil lines or traced onto another piece of paper using a light box or something similar. Keep in mind that pencil will show through some kinds of ink, and once the ink is on top of the graphite there is no way to erase it...at least I don't know of a way.

Use a smooth-flowing pen. This is very important. The gel pens I use not only produce smooth, consistent lines, they also produce dark lines with a matte finish which, to me, makes them look more like they were drawn digitally and printed out. Regular ball-point pens often produce inconsistent (the ink tends to skip spots), thin, and shiny lines with, in my opinion, an ugly colorful sheen.

Double, triple, or even quadruple your lines.
This may take some practice, but once you've mastered it, people will start to wonder how you never make mistakes (when, in fact, you made a lot). Minor mistakes and imperfections caused by the pen are easily covered up when you double the thickness of your lines. If you make a mistake on your second time over, you can make your outline thicker until you have covered up the mistakes. Make every line the same thickness and no one will ever know. Also, it probably helps to be using a pen that produces a fairly thick line when using this method.

Thickening the lines helps to cover up imperfections.

Don't smear your lines. Avoid smearing your lines by waiting for the ink to dry before placing your hand on top of your drawing (and erasing pencil lines). You may also want to work from left to right if you're right-handed or right to left if you're left-handed. It helps to use pens with quick-drying ink as well.

Practice and work slowly. Pen and ink is not a very forgiving medium!

From a doodle to a finished drawing

I usually end up drawing cartoons when I sit down with a pencil and paper nowadays...

I originally drew this Boston Terrier cartoon much smaller as just a doodle, but I liked it so I enlarged it on the copier then traced the outline in pen, copied it again, then shaded it with graphite pencil. By using the copy machine this way I can save the original outline in case I make a mistake with the shading or I feel like coloring it in with a different medium.

Pictures in the sky

If you are having a hard time thinking of what to draw (and you really feel like drawing), look at the clouds! That's what I did here. This Afghan Hound cartoon was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw this cloud from my window. I call the Afghan Hound "Sammy".

 

Funny, huh?

New project

Today I started on a painting of one of my pet Black Star hens named
"Meanie #1".  It is done on an 8" X 10" stretched canvas.

Here are the photos of the work I did today.

Step one: Draw grid in pencil.

Here I used 1" X 1" squares. Notice that one square in the middle of the canvas is divided into four smaller squares. This makes it easier to get an accurate outline of a small but important shape in the picture (the chicken's eye).

Step two: Draw outline in pencil.

Not only do I draw the basic shape of the subject, but I also try to outline certain details that I need to be reminded of when I start painting. Here I outlined the basic area where this chicken's red feathers are.

Step three: Paint background.

Step four: Start painting chicken.

I always like to start with an eye if I am doing an animal. It makes it so I have something to paint around and to compare my colors to (eyes are one of my favorite things to paint, anyway).