Best Acrylic Paint.

best acrylic paint UK

I’ve been painting and illustrating professionally now for over 20 years and have tried many different brands of acrylic paints in that time, from student grade to artist grade paints and professional quality, and from matte and gloss to my favoured satin finish.

I have always been partial to Windsor and Newton Artists’ Acrylics, but after much experimentation, there are a number of brands that have proved to be equally as good. I have tried and tested many an acrylic paint brand for this review and after much experimentation, both artist grade acrylic paints and professional acrylic paints, and in no particular order, these are my favourite 6:

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Products Featured In This Article

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1.Golden Fluid Acrylics

About

  • Fluid Acrylic
  • One ounce bottles
  • Set of 10
  • Versatile paint formula
  • Ideal for colour mixing, tinting, and shading

As I have already mentioned, I’ve been painting now for a very long time and these paints are my favourite by far! The pigment is strong and they’re not too thin enabling me to bring out real brush marks, but I can use them as watercolour if required by simply adding additional water. The packaging is also great and portable. These are a great set of acrylic colours and are perfect acrylic paint for beginners or experienced artists looking for a new favourite brand. I have personally used every colour in the set and I love them all!

2. Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint.

About

  • Sets of 10 tubes
  • 60 ml /10 Fl Oz tubes
  • High levels of pigment strength, opacity, and permanence. Vibrant colours
  • Strong brush stroke retention 
  • Acrylic paints that can give you professional-looking results 
  • Conforms to ASTM d4236 

I was really impressed with the quality of this acrylic set and it comes with a good range of paint tubes, which is a good amount to cover most artist’s needs. Each colour is professional quality and the price seems more than fair for this product. Overall, really happy with this product and will be buying more paint sets from Winsor and Newton in the not too distant future!

3. Liquitex Professional Heavy Body Acrylic Paint Set

About

  • Product Dimensions 16 x 3.5 x 36.5 cm
  • Set of 12 x 2oz tubes
  • Thicker paint for retaining crisp brush strokes and palette knife marks

I purchased this product because I was searching for the best acrylic without giving myself any restrictions on price or brand. The Liquitex Professional Heavy Body Acrylics Paint Set had everything I was looking for in an acrylic paint. It has great consistency and is easy to work with. They are also rich in colour, but don’t have much translucency sometimes found in the Liquitex basics acrylic paint.

I also like that these artist quality paints are compatible with different mediums such as tools, spray paint, or ink for more creativity. These affordable and well-made artist grade paints are a great investment for any artist!

4. Arteza Acrylic Paint, 60 Colors Set/Tubes

About

  • Set of 60 Colors
  • 60 x 0.74 oz (22ml) Tubes
  • 22 Milliliters Tubes
  • individually labelled tubes with shade’s lightfast rating, opacity level, pigment information and colour name/number
  • ACMI certified safe
  • Easy to organize and access in a sturdy box

These acrylic paints are high-quality and come in a set of 60 colours. When you purchase this product, you will receive individually labelled tubes with the shade’s lightfast rating, opacity level, pigment information, and colour name.

A good thing to note about these paints is that they are ACMI certified safe, making them great for young kids and people who have allergies or sensitivities to some materials. This paint also comes with an easy to organize and access sturdy box so everything stays securely in place until needed. If you’re looking for great acrylic paint, this set is a great choice.

5. Magicfly Acrylic Paint Set

About

  • Set of 20 colours
  • Bottle Size 20 x 60ml
  • 60 Milliliters Bottles
  • Conforms to ASTM D4236 and EN71, safe and non-toxic

This set has everything that I need for my work. It’s also safe and non-toxic which is great! They produce vibrant colours and the paints don’t get sheered out after you spread them out. I am so glad I’ve tried these paints! They are very high quality and last a long time.

The acrylic paint is thick and covers canvas very well with a few, soft body coats, it makes pictures look beautiful!! Works great on canvas boards, craft paper or cardboard.

6. FolkArt Multi-Surface Acrylic Paint Set

About

  • 16 Assorted Colors
  • 32 Fl Oz
  • Satin
  • 2 fl oz / 59 ml Bottles

I’d been looking for a high-quality satin acrylic paint to use on an outdoor project and as I was researching found this set by FolkArt. Although a matt or a gloss finish can create a fantastic acrylic painting, for this work it was specifically satin I was after. The reviews were also great. They are a little more expensive than other paint brands but I can honestly say that they’re worth it in terms of quality. The professional quality modern acrylic paints set create vibrant colours and the overall quality is excellent…. and it covers well too.

paint brushes

Which brand of acrylic paint is best?

The best acrylic paint brands to use overall that I’ve found is either Golden Acrylics or Liquitex acrylic paints. They are both high-quality, professional paints brands, but there are many different qualities of their paints.

To begin with, you need to determine what level you want to go in at. Is it a student grade acrylic paint you want, some artist quality acrylics, or a professional grade paint – you need to decide what is the right acrylic paint for you!

For beginners

For beginners, I would recommend getting cheaper student grade acrylic paint brands, or artist quality paints like Art Basics and Daler-Rowney. If you want the highest professional quality paints set it’s worth it to spend more on one of these two brands which will give your painting better colors when mixing together with other paint colours, making for some very bright and beautiful paintings.

Golden Acrylics

If you’re looking for the best colors, Golden Acrylics is your perfect go-to acrylic set. They offer a wide variety of high-quality, high pigment, golden heavy body paint that will give you amazing results every time.

Liquitex

Liquitex also has some great colours and would be worth checking out if Golden’s aren’t to your liking. All in all, these two brands are the best acrylic paint sets manufacturers on the market today so it doesn’t really matter which one you choose. They are both professional acrylics, incredibly versatile, contain the highest quality pigments and both retain brushstrokes when used with little to no water.

Golden is one of the most popular brands when it comes to acrylic paint. They have a wide variety of high-quality paint options that will leave your paintings looking vibrant and beautiful every time you use them.

Golden offers many different colours, in matte, satin finish and gloss, including rich jewel tones, muted pastels, bright primaries, deep earthy hues, and more so there’s something for everyone. These are considered some of the best paints which mean they’re not cheap but also worth it if what you want is good results without any hassles or extra work at your end.

Golden Acrylics are made from high-quality pigments that ensure rich, vibrant colours with a smooth finish each time. These paints offer an incredible variety of colour choices and you can be sure to find one or more shades in the spectrum that will work well for your project no matter what it is.

They offer both tube and jar versions in most cases with an array of vivid colours as well as other shades. Liquitex has a great reputation when it comes to acrylic paint in general and is very well known for their quality products at reasonable prices as well, so that’s always an advantage. Just like everything else on the market these days, there is no one set price for each type of paint. However, you don’t have to worry about spending too much money since most brands offer acrylic set options which means they’re more affordable than if you bought all of them individually.

Best quality acrylic paint brand

So as you can see there is a lot of choices out there and many brands offer great products and deal in bulk, which can be an advantage to the novice artist. Some are more expensive than others but you get what you pay for and it is not necessarily true that the more expensive the acrylic paint brand, the better it is.

Try them out for yourself

You really need to try them out yourself over time and see how they work with your own particular style of painting. Different materials can suit different types of work. The top-rated brands may be the best acrylic paint on the market, but they are not necessarily right for any individual artist’s needs. Using regular paint containing pure pigments may react differently on watercolour paper for instance, when using exactly the same painting process but say with a golden heavy body acrylic medium.

If you want to get a really good finish it is worth investing in some quality brushes and an easel for your artwork if you do not have one already. You will find that this will help with your painting time, particularly if you are undertaking a lot of work.

What is the best acrylic paint?

The best overall acrylic paint is those that have a high pigment concentration (i.e., they’re not watered down or diluted) and show great coverage when applied to paper, canvas, wood panels, etc. Acrylics will also be more durable than watercolours.

The best acrylic paints for beginners are those that have been manufactured with low viscosity (thinner) and contain little to no odor. Like oil paint, the more frequently you use your paintbrushes, the better they will become at maintaining their shape. But unlike oil paint, which requires solvents like turpentine or mineral spirits to clean brushes, acrylics can be cleaned with soap and water in most cases because of how easily soluble they are.

Cheap acrylic can also refer to student grade paints that may not be as high quality but cost much less than other acrylic paints referred to as professional-grade paints. These cheaper alternatives make them an ideal choice for students who want access to materials without breaking the bank. There are many benefits to using acrylic paint over other types of paint for artwork. For one, they are much more durable and can last for a long time. This is because acrylics don’t need to be protected with varnishes or another coating that will make them prone to scratches as easily as oil paints might.

Also, unlike watercolour paint which needs to dry before it can become permanent on the canvas, most acrylic come out of an artist’s brush immediately and have enough staying power so that you could even sign your name on top without smudging anything else while still wet! Another benefit is that these paints are very versatile in their many different consistencies, liquid (watery), tube (heavy gel/heavy body acrylics paint), or solid block form.

Best acrylic paint brands for beginners

A tricky one to answer as buying cheap can lead to poor results but at the same time do you need to spend a fortune to ensure quality? To be honest the answer is not straightforward and it all depends on your budget and how much time you are willing to put in. For instance, does the liquitex basics acrylic not perform as well as the professional grade version? Can it not be that as an acrylic painter you can use student grade acrylics and still achieve vibrant colours? It may also come down to what materials you already have available as to what are the best acrylic paints for you. 

The best way to improve your skill is probably trial and error. Remember, not every artist uses the same paints. The best acrylic paint brands for a beginner (or professional for that matter) is one that suits your style and the one you are most comfortable using. It’s always worth taking some time to experiment with different ones to find what works best for you. The choice can also depend on the style of artwork you want to create.

What is the best acrylic paint for artists?

The best acrylic paint for artists can be hard to find. It is important that the artist finds a paint with high quality so their painting does not crack and peel off of canvas over time, but also one that they are very comfortable using.

The cheapness of an artist’s paint often comes at the expense of quality, which is why it is always good to do research before buying your favorite colors. If you are not sure about which colors to buy, try buying paint sets that come with complementary colours. This way you will have paints for a variety of purposes and can experiment until you find the right ones.

You may also want to purchase some more expensive acrylics in order to achieve your desired effect or color palette. For example, artists often use Liquitex Heavy Body painters because they produce such intense pigment vibrancy even when diluted.

If you are working on a mixed media project, it is often best to use acrylic paints and matte mediums since they offer the most versatility. You can create texture with flat brushes or add watercolour effects by using paintbrushes that have been dipped in water before painting.

If you want an extra glossy finish, consider buying some gloss medium that will make your work even more vibrant!

Top Tip:

Remember that each artist’s preference may vary depending on their needs so research the acrylic paint brands as much as possible before purchasing colors from a liquitex basics acrylic to a utrecht artists acrylic colours (artist grade with high pigment load)!

Best cheap acrylic paint

There are a lot of great value acrylic paint on offer and the term cheap is, of course, relative to the individual (and not just for student paints) but some great deals can be found. Why choose cheap acrylic paint when it comes to art? The most important thing is that you do not skimp on quality just because of the price. There are many more expensive products out there that are no better than the cheaper ones and vice versa.

Look at reviews, ask around and see what works for others. I’ve tested the 6 listed above and they all have their pros and cons (not just based on price difference) so take note of my comments but at the same time please evaluate for yourself too as your opinion may well be different to mine.

What is the best acrylic paint to use on canvas?

Painting on canvas is a great way to show your creativity and use it as an art form. If you are planning to paint with acrylics, you’ll want to find the best quality of paint. The best paints for canvas in my opinion are made by Golden and Liquitex. These two acrylic paint brands contain high levels of pigment concentration that make their colours rich with depth (high pigment load is key for this).

The colors also stay true over time without fading or changing color under different light sources and are UV resistant, which is a problem sometimes when people use cheaper and lower-quality paints on canvases.

If you’re looking for affordable but not cheap acrylics then Winsor & Newton Artists Acrylic Paints are an excellent choice because they have great smooth consistency coverage and don’t take as much effort to work with like some other types do.

Best paper to paint on with acrylic paints

Once again this will vary to each artist, but I’ve written another great article that helps identify the key points to look for and as ever I’ll list the ones (good or bad) that I’ve tried. Check it out here:

Top Tip:

Just remember, acrylic paint from the paint tube has limited time exposed to the air before the paint dries. Have a clear idea in your mind regarding colour choices and if needed, mix paint quickly to allow you to get your brush marks underway…once the paint dries fully it becomes water resistant and you’re unable ‘work it ‘ again. You can of course paint over the dried layer if needed.

Best brushes to use with acrylic paints

…you’ve guessed it, I’ve tried and tested these too. Have read through and make sure you give them a trial:

Top Tip:

Make sure you wash any brush whilst the paint is still active. Once dry any line of acrylic paints will become water-resistant and therefore more difficult to clean regardless of the artist grade.

Some FAQs About Acrylic Paints

1. What is the difference between acrylic paints and oil paints?

Oil paints are made of a pigment and oil medium. Acrylic paint sets are only made with acrylic resin, which dries faster than oils such as linseed or walnut oil. This means that you can use it for wet into wet painting techniques without the colours running together.

Acrylic painting also has a more intense colour as the pigments will just sit on top of the surface instead of sinking deep inside the canvas or paper they’re painted onto (and this is especially enhanced if the acrylic has a high pigment to begin with). You’ll be able to achieve brighter hues this way since every layer won’t mix with those below it so much, but sometimes this does give your paintings an unfinished look.

Quality acrylics, with a smooth consistency, can replicate oil paints or even watercolour techniques, but unlike oil painting, is much easier to use and far less messy given that even the heavy body acrylic paints are water based so as easy to clean as actual watercolour paints.

2. How do I know if my canvas needs to be primed before painting?

Before starting any painting job, you would always want to prepare your canvas or any other support surface by giving it a good priming. 

Priming your canvas prevents the acrylic from soaking through into the surface underneath, providing you with a good base colour. This is essential for water-based acrylic paints as these are fast drying and can easily seep onto your support surface if not primed properly.

Asides from priming the canvas, other support surfaces such as wood panels or plywood also need to be prepared by applying a primer coat to make the surface smoother and absorbent.

If you plan on using acrylic paint as your main colour, never prime the canvas with solvent-based products because this would cause the paints to harden.

Also, avoid using solvent-based primers if your paint will be applied over a previously primed canvas.

Most water bases acrylic paints are fast drying in nature and can create blotches if not applied evenly on the surface. For these reasons, it is best to apply a primer first and let it fully dry so that you have an even coat to work on.

3. Which type of paintbrush should I use for acrylics?

For acrylic painting, a good quality soft (or round) synthetic brush is the best option. The bristles of these brushes are designed to be as close in shape and structure to natural hair but with longer fibers that are more durable for such paints. If you’re using watercolor, acrylic gouache or gouache paint over an acrylic base coat then you’ll need a separate stiffer brush that will hold all the wetter ingredients without being too flexible so they don’t seep underneath your painted layer.

4. How do you mix colours in an acrylic paint palette?

Acrylic paint colours are mixed by adding pigment (colouring) to the painting medium. The more you add, the darker that colour becomes. Mixing light and dark tones will create various shades of a single colour family. If you want to mix two different colours together in your palette, use a third brush or an old one with frayed bristles for mixing purposes; this is because acrylic paints dry quickly and it’s important not to contaminate wet paint while working on another area of the canvas.

Different paint brands may contain the same pigment concentration, regardless of cost. High price is not a guarantee of high pigment and it’s also worth noting if the paint uses natural or synthetic pigments, as this may highlight a preference you have.

Conclusion

The tips here should help you determine what is right for your needs when selecting a quality acrylic paint. It’s easy to find great options for all budgets from soft body to heavy body acrylics to the acrylics used by professional artists so there is no reason not to get the best acrylic painting product possible. So whether you’re after a student grade paint or if you’re one of the professional artists out there requiring high end artists quality paints there is a line of acrylic paints available for you.

I hope this blog post has helped you to learn more about acrylic painting. Acrylic mediums are wonderful paint for artists of all abilities and ages, it’s easy-to-use and gives great results!

Get painting

Make sure to use these tips when selecting your next set of paints so that you can get the best quality product possible for maximum enjoyment and success!

Adam has made a name for himself in the illustration industry and is a passionate blogger and writer on the subject of art, illustration and graphic design.

His artwork has been featured in countless publications and used for very well-known media projects. As a professional illustrator for over 20 years, Adams media outlets, a wealth of knowledge, and experience enable him to consult and advise artists and illustrators in this country (from York and Manchester to Southampton and London) and all over the world.

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