Tube Acrylics

[Kheprera]

I'm looking at picking up some tube paints for basic colors to start trying and wanted to just get five basic colors. What would be the best colors to pick up?

 

Also, was thinking of going with Liquitex, but have never tried these kinds of paints before, so if anyone has any ideas on brands to suggest, I'm listening.

 

 

Cadmium Yellow (Deep)

Titanium White

Burnt Umber

Cerulean Blue

Alizarin Crimson or Cadmium Red (Deep)

Possibly also Mars Black

 

Was also looking at the Iridescent Effects to add.

 

I plan on using these to paint my larger models (lots of dragons).

 

Also, is there a different primer I should consider as well?

[Pingo]

Liquitex is an okay brand.

 

Just be sure you get the "Heavy Body Professional" acrylics or the "Soft Body Professional" acrylics and not the "Basics" acrylics. "Liquitex Basics" are student-grade, low-quality cheap paints that will only frustrate.

 

The "Soft Body" acrylics are more fluid than the "Heavy Body".

 

Don't bother with Alizarin Crimson. (Does any acrylic company actually still put out genuine Alizarin Crimson these days?) It's the poster child for not-really-permanent-enough, but for a long time it was the only readily available transparent bright red.

 

The Cadmium colors are as opaque as acrylics can get, and good and bright. I think you will find them far less frustrating than the commonly available translucent non-toxic yellows and reds in most miniatures paints. They are a heavy metal hazard, though, so take care with them.

 

Cerulean Blue ... Eh. It's cobalt-based and way expensive. It's a moderately opaque medium-light turquoise blue that I find less useful than some others. Oh, and also hazardous because of cobalt and nickel.

 

If you would like a cobalt-based blue, Cobalt Blue is probably better. It's a clean, bright, slightly greenish translucent blue. Also expensive and also hazardous, though.

 

Two useful blues -- the two I use for just about everything -- are Ultramarine Blue, a translucent deep blue with a slight tilt towards the violet, and Phthalo Blue, an intensely powerful completely transparent dark peacock green-blue.

Edited May 14, 2016 by Pingo

[Kheprera]

I am looking for a translucent dark red I can add the iridescent effects to for a sheen I can place over scales. I had a very lovely one that was an enamel for car/train hobby painting, but really don't want to work with enamels.

 

Is there a better brand you prefer? Liquitex and W&N are what I'm most familiar with.

[Corporea]

Golden is a good company.  they also have fluid colors that are closer in consistency to our mini paints.

[Egg of Coot]

I've been using W&N's Galleria line myself.  Hardly top of the line as far as paint goes, but it's worked out quite well for my purposes.

 

The Egg

[MojoBob]

Maimeri do an excellent line of gouache acrylics — high pigment density, opaque, and they dry dead matte. I used them for many years for figure-painting before changing over to pre-mixed colours from Vallejo and the like.

[Pingo]

Liquitex and Winsor and Newton are perfectly okay. My preferred brand is Golden.

 

The best transparent reds these days are the Quinacridone colors. They are bright and cover a range of reds from hot pinks to deep flame. They are fantastic for glazing. They are a little weak in mixes, though, and can get overwhelmed.

[Ghool]

I am looking for a translucent dark red I can add the iridescent effects to for a sheen I can place over scales. I had a very lovely one that was an enamel for car/train hobby painting, but really don't want to work with enamels.

 

Is there a better brand you prefer? Liquitex and W&N are what I'm most familiar with.

 

Have you tried any of the Tamiya transparent paints? The reds and oranges are really nice, and easy to work with.

 

[Kheprera]

Honestly I want tube paints for the thicker consistency as I'm trying to branch into canvas painting, so the tube paints will serve a dual purpose. I'm looking into classes in the area.

 

My grandmother did oil painting and one Salvador Dalí tried to buy but she wouldn't sell.

 

Interesting note, she stored her palette in the freezer.

[Ghool]

Honestly I want tube paints for the thicker consistency as I'm trying to branch into canvas painting, so the tube paints will serve a dual purpose. I'm looking into classes in the area.

 

My grandmother did oil painting and one Salvador Dalí tried to buy but she wouldn't sell.

 

Interesting note, she stored her palette in the freezer.

 

Helps keep the paints wet through condensation. It works best with a metal palette, although ceramic works well too.

You might want to mix oils in there, as they are excellent for glazing and painting over acrylics.

[Pingo]

Honestly I want tube paints for the thicker consistency as I'm trying to branch into canvas painting, so the tube paints will serve a dual purpose. I'm looking into classes in the area.

My grandmother did oil painting and one Salvador Dalí tried to buy but she wouldn't sell.

Interesting note, she stored her palette in the freezer.

Honestly I want tube paints for the thicker consistency as I'm trying to branch into canvas painting, so the tube paints will serve a dual purpose. I'm looking into classes in the area.

My grandmother did oil painting and one Salvador Dalí tried to buy but she wouldn't sell.

Interesting note, she stored her palette in the freezer.

Huh. I hadn't heard that one.

 

Oil paint dries by oxidation, not evaporation, so anything that keeps oxygen away will slow down its drying. Although thinking about it, cold slows down the reaction too -- and when I painted out of doors in the hot summer my paints dried noticeably faster. Maybe that's it.

 

I wouldn't recommend stashing a palette in the freezer, anyhow. Too many potentially toxic substances to risk getting near food.

 

And it won't work at all for acrylics.

[Kheprera]

 

 

Honestly I want tube paints for the thicker consistency as I'm trying to branch into canvas painting, so the tube paints will serve a dual purpose. I'm looking into classes in the area.

 

My grandmother did oil painting and one Salvador Dalí tried to buy but she wouldn't sell.

 

Interesting note, she stored her palette in the freezer.

Helps keep the paints wet through condensation. It works best with a metal palette, although ceramic works well too.

You might want to mix oils in there, as they are excellent for glazing and painting over acrylics.

I am planning on grabbing some oils later on, but wanted to start experimenting with acrylics since they're easier cleanup. I can't stand the smell of turpentine.

 

 

Honestly I want tube paints for the thicker consistency as I'm trying to branch into canvas painting, so the tube paints will serve a dual purpose. I'm looking into classes in the area.

My grandmother did oil painting and one Salvador Dalí tried to buy but she wouldn't sell.

Interesting note, she stored her palette in the freezer.

Huh. I hadn't heard that one.

 

Oil paint dries by oxidation, not evaporation, so anything that keeps oxygen away will slow down its drying. Although thinking about it, cold slows down the reaction too -- and when I painted out of doors in the hot summer my paints dried noticeably faster. Maybe that's it.

 

I wouldn't recommend stashing a palette in the freezer, anyhow. Too many potentially toxic substances to risk getting near food.

 

And it won't work at all for acrylics.

I don't have room in my freezer to store anything anyway. I was just a curiosity.

[Guildenstern]

interesting thoughts, I'd wondered a lot about acrylic paint (artist tubes) as well but the cost factor's really kept me away (too much in addition to all my already ok other paints lol)

 

I would note though the Tamiya clear paints have a horrible smell. They work really well! but they smell awful, almost mediciny - I don't know how else to describe it. I just wear my regular airbrushing/spraypainting mask when I use them and up the fan - then it's ok. But just wanted to mention.

[Pingo]

Tamiya paints are hobbyists' paints, not artists' paints.

 

I have no idea what is in them, but the smell suggests some cocktail of alcohol and lacquer solvents, nothing I would wish to get near proper acrylic paints.

[Ghool]

What I meant about the palette keeping the paints wet was - keep the clean palette in the freezer and take it out when you want to use it. The metal/ceramic will then pull moisture from the air onto the surface of the palette through condensation. That's how it will slow the drying.

Alternately, there's a method for putting the palette over a tray of ice or some such, and it functions the same way.

 

As for using oils, no need to use turpentine. That stuff is awful smelling and gives me a headache personally.

if you use odorless paint thinner, you're all good. I use linseed oil for thinning the oils, the paint thinner for cleaning, and if you want them to dry really fast (in a day or so) add some cobalt drier into your paint before application. It's toxic due to the cobalt of course but should be found at most fine art stores in the oil painting section.