What's the best type of paint...?

Question

I'm quite good at drawing, but am rubbish when it comes to using paints. However, I want to try my hand at a painting to present to my best friend.

I'd like to do it a canvas, but wondered what paint would be best to use - bearing in mind that I'm relatively new to painting, and that the peice of work I wish to create will adopt a 'cartoon' style (think Powerpuff Girls)?

Answer 1

If you're working on canvas, you're better off using either acrylic or oil paints - watercolours only really work on good quality paper, and they are extremely difficult to use anyway.

I'd start with acrylic. But a word to the wise - acrylic paint dries into a hard plastic very quickly, so paint in old clothes and cover all surfaces around you. That said, it's a versatile medium, you can use it with water, thin it down so it's translucent, or use it straight from the tube without any medium through it. The shop will probably try to sell you an acrylic medium, it really isn't necessary, water is fine.

Oil paint is also good, better colours in oil paints if you use turpentine as a thinner (not white spirits!) and even nice if you mix with linseed oil. But turps is a bit of a fire hazard as well as being smelly. There is water-soluble oil paint available also, I haven't used that myself but I have heard good things about it.

More tips: start with a colour wheel, mix your colours with a palette knife and not your brush, and have fun experimenting.

Answer 2

Acrylics all the way, they behave like water colours or oils or poster colours and are very forgiving as well as being cheap and cheerful. Those in the know believe that they can last as long as oils when done on a canvas, so your Powerpuff Girls could be around for hundreds of years.

Answer 3

If you are doing a cartoon style and want it to dry quick I would suggest acryllic paint. In the future if you want to do more realistic work you can't do better than oil paint. You say you're rubbish at painting, everyone is to start with, you will get better with practice and with a bit of trial and error.

Answer 4

For a cartoon style I would recomend gouache. the down side is that they are quite expensive and are not waterproof.
Personally I wouldn't use acrylics. I used to use them but they are crap in so many different ways.

the best type of paint overall are oil paints. The range of effects you can get with them is simply so much more than with any other paints and simply have a richer more vibrant appearance.
The downsides are longer dryingtimes and more difficult to use.

Answer 5

I always like to paint in Oils. But if your new to painting I'd give water colour a shot, they're less forgiving.
For Cartoon style drawings try poster paints

Answer 6

Choose whatever paint suits your fancy...watercolors can be a real sonofafemaledog to paint with. Acrylics dry super fast and thinning them down can be like painting with watercolors. Oils take forever to dry and will not lend themselves to your type of work easily. colored inks may be best but I cannot attest. If you are a drawer, painting is totally unlike it. Most beginners try to draw with paint and that's a road to nowhere. Painting is about shape, form, texture,value and color, not about line. Only experienced painters should try to introduce lines to their work. The drawing background is great for understanding foreground, background, figure-ground relationships..shape even and form..but you have to be careful to avoid drawing: Mix paint to the right value, dip a brush into the glob of it, lay it down and do not brush the hell out of it. One, twice...that's it. Pick up more paint if you have to. But remember, you want cartoons. They are flat with black outlines. That's why I am suggesting that you not paint the cartoon figures...rather color them with inks. You'll be happier...unless you can master watercolors. Then there is the tooth of canvas to consider...this, too, will thwart your goal. If you insist, use only portrait (smooth) grade.

Answer 7

acryllic,paint is cheaper than oil it dries quicker, try not to use cheap poster paint, you can draw with your brush just as you would a pencil, if you go for paper buy pre stretched paper to prevent buckling, or you can strech the paper yourself, there are lots of cheap and nasty canvas stretchers out ther dont buy any that show the staples on the edges, good luck LF

Answer 8

My painting professor had us start with Golden brand acrylics. They act basicly just like oils except they dry faster. That way if you get results you like the tranition to oil won't be as dramatic. Buy the kind in the tub (jar) if you can because it will save you money in the long run because you can put unmixed and unused paint back in and save it for another time.

Answer 9

I would recommend acrylics. They dry fast, and can be painted over if you make a mistake that you don't like, they are inexpensive and can be blended when painting wet-on-wet or with a "dirty" brush. There are also extenders to make them stay wet longer for blending. Great bottled acrylics are Decoart Americana and Delta.

Answer 10

For a cartoon i would use watercolours. They're supposedly the hardest medium to master, but anything else would dwarf the cartoon