is it better to use oil paint or acryllic?

Question

what's the advantages from using one versus the other? i've used oil once but not in any real depth.

Answer 1

There are a number of really good answers already, but I'll add my 2 cents. I work in acrylics for the most part. Oils are beautiful and their properties permit glazes that can be applied in thin layers. These glazes add depth and richness to the colors. Early in the 20th century the graphic illustrator Maxfield Parish used an unusual technique in his oil paintings. He painted in the same manner as commercial printers would reproduce his work, using glazes of yellow, cyan, magenta, and perhaps some black.

Acrylics can be used in a similar way, there is a clear medium that can be mixed in the colors to slow the drying time. As you work with acrylics you will notice that some colors are more transparent than others which are definitely opaque. There are also gel mediums that can be mixed with the colors and create glazes similar to oils.

There are challenges in using either medium. If you like to work quickly acrylics are probably the best choice. Oil paints are not only the most traditional painting medium but they have a beauty of their own.

The next time you visit a museum or art gallery take a good look at how other artists use each medium and how each has apparent differences. Of course most acrylic will have been painted more recently.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Different strokes for different folks. However, my favorite is oil. By the time I get the color I want with acrylic, it's too dry to use. Oil paints can be worked for a long time because of the slow drying. I like to leave my work for awhile and then come back to it and look at it with fresh eyes. I believe there is a difference in the effect of a finished oil and a finished acrylic painting. Colors are more vibrant, deep, glowing with oil paints. I love to walk by my studio and just smell the oil and turpentine!

Answer 3

If you're the type of artist that really likes to blend their colors on the canvas, then oil is a better choice. Acrylic dries too fast, so if you want to go back into an area you can't smooth the colors out as well. You can use a medium that slows down the drying process of acrylics, but I found that it made my paint a little less opaque.
Of course, clean up is far easier with acrylics, and if you transport your work back and forth while you're still working on it, it's impossible to protect your oils from smearing.

Answer 4

Well acryllic is definately less expensive! A difference between oil and acryllic is the thickness/texture of the paint. Oil is thicker and 'wetter'. An advantage to oil is the fact that is takes FOREVER to dry, so you can leave your work out for a period of time and continue blending colors when you get back to it. Oil is very thick, but you can thin it out using liquin, so you can basically control how thick you want your paint. Oil paints also blend more nicely so you can sometimes get better/more variety of colors with oil than you can with acryllic.

Acryllic paints are thinner, and to some people are easier to work with. Acryillics dry fairly quickly.

I personally, like oils a lot more than actyllics- but like I said acryllic paint is way more expensive than oil paint!

Answer 5

I began using oils at age 15 or so. Later, I tried other media. I like acrylics better than oils for several reasons. They are not as smelly and messy. They dry much quicker. My leather acrylic paintings dry in 1/2 hour or so, while oils take days or weeks depending upon how thickly applied. Acrylics can be used like oils or watercolors, so I mix the techniques for effects one cannot achieve with oils or watercolors alone. Some things are best done with oils, while others are better with watercolors. With avcrylics, I "have my cake and eat it too."

Answer 6

i have to admit that I am super biased because I really HATE using acrylics...but oils are my life!

the pigment in oil paints is much more vibrant and rich! there is also the texture which is unmatchable. given, it's more expensive and there are so many mediums to blend the paint with, it can get a bit overwhelming! another plus to oils, however is their longevity. acrylics have only been around within the last century, so there is no evidence of their true light-fast ability...oil, on the other hand, will last for hundreds of years, if you're into durability!

YAY OILS!

Answer 7

I just like oil because the drying time is so prolonged I can scrape off and redo until I've got it like I want it. Oil is also much more transparent - especially the cool colors. You can do these jewel like glazes ( a little color in the medium) over the dry colors below to make a rich, deep, hypnotic, beautiful, complicated color. Acrylics dry fast, are opaque, and are fun, but I'm an oil fan. Maybe try the "alkyds" like Winsor Newton makes. They are like oils only are resin instead of oil based so dry usually overnight but can be built up like oil paints more subtly and I think beautifully like oils.

Answer 8

-Acrylic paints are very good on the exterior as they hold color and gloss retention better than oils. They have more elasticity allowing them to expand and contract with temperature changes.
-Oils fade and dull on the outside because of oxidation cycles they go through. They may also crack and pop under stress from extreme weather conditions.
-Oils on the interior are a harder, more durable surface. They level as they dry reducing brush strokes and leaving a more regal appearance. They clean very easily. The downside is that they tend to yellow over time. They dry much slower, smell much stronger, and require mineral spirits for clean up.
-Acrylics on the inside as on the outside, retain their color longer and do not yellow with time. They are not as hard of a finish, and don't seem to leave as regal an appearance as oils. They clean well in higher sheens. They dry faster, have less odor, and clean up with soap and water making them a little more user friendly.

Answer 9

Oil is far superior. If you're serious about painting you'll use oil. It mixes better, you can get the consistencies you need. It's just the best to work with. Acrylic is cheap.

Answer 10

In painting pictures personally I prefer oils, the length of time it takes for them to dry gives you a little more leeway when laying color to the canvas, it can be blended and touched up - up to a day or more later. Oils can be layered so much more easily to give the light effects a more realistic look.
Acrylics just dry to fast for me, the colors have no depth, even when you try to mix your own. Plus I think after all these years, I am addicted to the smells of linseed oil, turpentine, and paint tube....lol.