how to choose acrylic paint

Buying acrylic paint for beginners can be intimidating because there are so many different brands, colors and variations to choose from...but don't worry! This page will help you navigate the maze and find acrylic paint that meets your needs and budget.

The color of acrylic is dazzling. If you are a beginner, please choose 10 colors first. You can mix them as needed to create other colors.

If you want to buy quality paints from artists, you will notice that some colors are much more expensive than others (though still cheaper than oil paints). This is because certain pigments are difficult to obtain. Some manufacturers will group their paints by "series", "1" is the cheapest and "7" is the most expensive. Generally, earth color is the cheapest, and the price of color extracted from cadmium may be as high as four times! Some brands can provide cheaper alternatives by substituting synthetic pigments, but they may have lower durability ratings and lower color strength. You can find it by looking for the word "hue" after the paint name. Having said that, I used some "hue" colors in my art and I am satisfied with the quality.

Persistence, commonly referred to as light fastness, refers to the ability of the pigments in the paint to resist gradual fading when exposed to light. Paints that fade over time are often called fugitive colors. Most acrylic colors have higher permanent ratings than oil or watercolor, which is another reason I like them!

When choosing a paint, you should look for certain light resistance standards. ASTM International (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials) classifies artists' colors based on tests that simulate gallery exposure for 20 years.