10 Best Acrylic Paints in the Philippines 2026 | Liquitex, Mont Marte, and More

Student-grade acrylic paints have more pigment content than regular craft poster paint but have less pigment and more water than acrylic paints used by professional artists, hence the name "student-grade." This also explains why their price range is in between poster paints and artist-grade paints.

Sometimes, they are also referred to as craft paints because they are not only useful on canvas paintings but also on various craft project ideas. You can use them on wood, ceramics, fabrics, paper-mache, and some metals since their consistency are not too thick, and their texture is smooth.

However, color mixing is challenging, producing limited shades, and you must be careful about getting overly cheap brands because they might not mix well with each other. Nonetheless, they can help you have a great start in identifying your art style, and investing in them will surely improve your painting skills.

Artist-quality acrylic paints offer higher pigment content that produces vivid colors and superior quality. They are easy to use because of their smoother texture and better coverage than student-grade acrylic paints.

Artist-grade acrylics can mix well with other pigments, which means you can easily produce and blend new hues, shades, and tints. Although they are on the pricer side, you will surely get the value of your money because of their superior quality.

The heavy body acrylic has the thickest and buttery consistency and is the most viscous among the three paints. It holds peaks and brush strokes and creates more texture similar to oil paints, minus the long drying time of oil-based paints. It is also ideal for rough canvases and artistic style in the likes of Vincent Van Gogh. 

Among the acrylic paints, this type dries out the longest because it is dense. However, it is the best choice when applying multiple paint layers, paint sculpting with a palette knife or a stiff hog brush, and even incorporating solid materials like glass beads, marble dust, and sand to achieve a 3-D effect on the artworks once dried. 

Soft body, also known as liquid paint or open acrylic, has a consistency similar to yogurtーneither too thick nor too heavy. It may have a low texture and not as vicious as a heavy body paint to hold brush strokes, but it won't lose its pigment density or opacity when applied. 

Open acrylics work best on soft brushes, but they are versatile as they can also do wonders using medium and firm brushes, depending on the artist's style. They can easily cover up painting alterations or mistakes, and some are even formulated to stay workable for longer hours, suitable for blending and wet-in-wet painting.

High-flow acrylic paints, also known as fluid ink or craft acrylic, have a runny consistency. It is primarily for painting basic crafts, and it is applicable to any surface. This type offers vivid colors too, but they contain less viscous binder, resulting to their fluidity. If you want to try dripping and glazing techniques, high-flow acrylics are your best bet.

If you're a beginner, we highly recommend buying a set of acrylic paints because it is more cost-efficient. You'll only need six to ten pigments as a starter packーblack, white, and the primary colors.

From these pigments, you can already produce other colors! As we have learned back in grade school, we can create new colors by mixing up primary colors. We can also make the colors darker or lighter by mixing them with black or white, respectively.

In the course of honing and exploring painting skills, you will use specific colors more often than others. As a result, some paints will run out quickly while others may last longer. This instance makes individual purchases more practical than a set because you can choose the specific color to buy.

Acrylic paints vary in size and packaging. If you need more paint, you can purchase acrylic paints in pouches or bottle jars because they secure the liquid more and usually have drippers for easy palette application. On the other hand, if you need less paint for smaller projects, a tube will suffice.