Acrylic paints are a go-to medium for visual artists and enthusiasts because they are water-based, non-flammable, and fume-free. These paints are long-lasting once dried, perfect for paintings on canvas and other craft ideas. There are so many uses of acrylic paints, and they come in handy for both beginners and more experienced artists.
An acrylic paint set offers various colors too, so you can produce beautiful artworks and create new color shades! And since now that people have more time to explore painting as a hobby, we are glad to help you choose the best acrylic paints. In this article, we are giving you a list of recommended products and a buying guide.
Quick List - Top Acrylic Paints
Our recommendation articles are carefully researched and crafted by the mybest Philippines team of writers and editors. To stay true to our company’s mission and vision to help users’ selection process easier, we also collaborate with experts from various fields to ensure that our content stays factual and useful.
Table of Contents
Here are some key points to consider:
For more detailed information, read through our buying guide below.
To achieve lively and paintings, one must purchase acrylic paints with excellent pigment qualityーwhether student-grade or artist-grade paintsーto cater to one's skill and style.
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.
Consistency refers to the thickness of paint in proportion with water, while viscosity refers to the resistance of paint to spread. They both affect the drying time and the quality of artworks. We can classify the acrylic paints' consistency into heavy body, soft body, and fluid ink.
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.
Most manufacturers sell acrylic paints both as sets and as individual packages to cater to the varying needs of the consumers.
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.
The lightfastness of acrylic paint is very important, especially to painters who sell their artworks. Lightfastness refers to how the color's intensity maintains or changes over time, especially when exposed to any kind of light and humidity.
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Permanence Standard determines the lightfastness of paint. Expressed in Roman numerals, ASTM I means excellent lightfastness, ASTM II means very good, and ASTM III means fair or non-permanent. This information is usually found at the bottom or back of the package.
Other manufacturers use the Typical Manufacturer Standard where ** or AA means it has extremely permanent colors, * or A means that has durable colors, ** or B means it has moderately durable colors, and * or C means that the colors are more likely easy to fade.
The Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. is the approving agency that art products are non-toxic and safe to use, even for kids. The ACMI seal indicates that the product has been evaluated by medical experts and will help you identify which product contains poisonous ingredients or substances that may cause fatal health issues.
Keep in mind to check the labelーnot only the specifications but also the health cautions. Even though they are water-based, non-toxic, and have a mild odor, they may cause irritations, allergies, or breathing problems when inhaled or gets in contact with the skin. Acrylic paints do not expire, but they may dry out when the lids are not closed properly.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Liquitex Basics Acrylic | ![]() | Acrylic Paint for All Creatives and Painting Techniques | |
2 | Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint | ![]() | Highly Pigmented Acrylic Paint for Vivid Paintings | |
3 | Sennelier Abstract Innovative Acrylic | ![]() | Rich and Buttery Consistency for Creating Texture | |
4 | Golden Fluid Acrylic Color | ![]() | Bold and Intense Shades for Thinner Painting Styles | |
5 | Liquitex Acrylic Ink | ![]() | Intensely Pigmented Ink for Airbrushing, Stamping, or Creating Fluid Art | |
6 | Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylic | ![]() | A Soft Body, Alkali-Resistant Acrylic for Wall Paintings | |
7 | Marie's Acrylic Colour 12|12-pc Set | ![]() | Brilliant and Opaque Colors That Can Be Used on a Wide Range of Surfaces | |
8 | Pebeo Studio Acrylics|24-pc Set | ![]() | A Good Mid-Range Brand With a Satin and Matte Finish | |
9 | Mont Marte Dimension Acrylic Paint Intro Set|8-pc Set | ![]() | A Set of 8 Glossy Colors With a Thick Consistency for Retaining Brush Strokes | |
10 | Art Ranger Acrylic Colour Original|8-pc Set | ![]() | Acrylic Paint Suitable for Beginners and Students |
Liquitex is one of the most trusted, known, and not to mention, the pioneer in developing water-based acrylic paints. It is ACMI-approved as non-toxic, so it is safe to use even by children. Made of artist-quality pigments, Liquitex Basics' medium viscosity makes the paint easy to apply, mix, and blend.
Each shade gives a satin finish, easily sticks to any surface, works well with other art materials like fabric and airbrush medium, and is lightfast so your paintings will stay vibrant and beautiful, even when displayed and exposed to the light for a long time.
This acrylic paint suits any painting techniques such as underpainting, collage, mixed media, and more. It is also good for beginners, especially for those who are just learning to mix colors. On the professional side, this will meet the high standards of professional artists.
The Galeria Acrylic is another option for aspiring artists who are looking for high-quality acrylic paint at an affordable price. The brand offers a wide range of brilliant, clean, and vibrant colors. Plus, they have high pigmentation that will surely give life to each color!
The paints are very opaque and have a permanent hold to their color. Painting with this is easy because of its yogurt-like consistency and strong brush stroke retention, which can be used on different surfaces.
Sennelier's Abstract Innovative Acrylic has a hard-bodied, buttery consistency, which allows for more control to create various brush strokes and textures. You can dilute it with water if you want to change the paint consistency according to your style. It dries quickly, so you don't need to worry about stains or transfers while painting.
For over a century, this French brand has ensured top-notch paints with vivid colors for excellent artworks and was used by famous painters like Pablo Picasso and Nicolas de Staël. They are non-toxic and packaged in durable, air-tight pouches that can withstand the pressure even if you accidentally step on them.
These acrylic ink paints from Golden have a more fluid consistency for smoother applications. And if you are concerned that the color intensity might have been compromised, don't be! Their pigment quality, along with tinting strength, adhesion, and film integrity, is at par with their heavy-body counterparts.
You will be pleasantly surprised at how versatile Golden's acrylic paints are, as you can do a wide range of painting techniques such as dry brushing, fine detailing, glazing, water-based media, and staining. You can also mix it with an airbrush medium if you want to give airbrushing a hand! Additionally, they are easy to mix with other acrylics, tint gels, and other paint media.
Created using artist-quality pigments, Liquitex acrylic ink offers an intense pigment for lively colors, but with a thinner textureーthe ideal consistency for quills and technical pens. And because the inks are not made from typical dyes, they have a high lightfastness rating and will stay vibrant over time.
This paint works best if you want to achieve paintings without blots or lumps. Since the ink is smooth-flowing and quick-drying, expect fine line details and broad washes of hues without worrying about bleeding and smudges. Besides painting, you can also use them for airbrush art and stamping!
The Amsterdam Standard product line offers acrylic paints with pure, non-fading pigments. They have a commendable lightfast level and durable film finish that guarantee artworks to last for decades. In addition, the acrylics are alkali-resistant to protect the wall paintings from moisture that will cause paint to peel or fade.
They offer a prismatic palette of traditional and contemporary colors that you can mix and blend easily with each other to form new shades and attractive motifs. If you prefer to have a more fluid consistency, just add water to the paint to thin it out. They are also odorless and non-toxic, perfect even for young artists.
If you're looking for a great student-grade paint, Marie's acrylic paint set offers brilliant shades and excellent air permeability to produce vivid paintings, perfect for students, beginners, or even just for practice. It gives a smooth and satin finish to your artwork and has excellent lightfastness to avoid fading and decolorization.
Aside from canvases, you can also apply these paints on bamboo crafts, woodwork, textiles, and even cement. The paint is also fast-drying, and once dried, it remains stable and water-resistant. With this, you need to clean your tools immediately after use, or you can drip and soak them in a cup of water while in use.
If you're after affordable yet high-quality pigments, Pebeo Studio Acrylic offers a multiple-colored paint set that gives off matte and satin finishes on your masterpieces. With a thick consistency, you can leave spatula and brush marks as painting details. It is perfect for practicing painting, crafting, and other projects.
The paint comes in a variety of vibrant colorsーfrom traditional hues to fluorescent and iridescent colors! It is free from harmful heavy metals, so even kids can safely use it. This set is also versatile enough for use on other surfaces to execute different effects.
This set of acrylic paint from Mont Mart's Dimension is made from prime quality, non-toxic pigments that gives intense and beautiful colors. They dry pretty quickly, so they are not suitable for beginners. Despite that, the paint holds its shape and brushstroke texture well and stays as how you painted it.
Each pigment also has an excellent lightfastness for professional artwork, maintaining its glossy and smooth finish. It is heavy-bodied having paste-like consistency, so you may want to dilute it with water for a watercolor effect on your paintings.
This acrylic paint set is well-known among Filipino artists because of its quality and affordability. It has intense colors for exceptional coverage, is versatile for any oil-free surface, and gives off a satin finish. When it dries out while you are still painting, you can just reactivate it by diluting it with water.
Art Ranger also offers various sets: (1) metallic colors for techno appeal, (2) pastel colors for clean, crisp, and dainty visuals, (3) glitter colors for glowing effects, and (4) neon colors for light effects. Each of them works perfectly to complement the original set. You can use those for extra details to enhance your artwork.
Below are some of the most asked questions on the web answered by the mybest team.
The acrylic paint itself is not formulated for clothes and other fabrics, but mixing it with a fabric medium makes the impossible possible. The paint's consistency is too thick to be absorbed by the clothes fibers. And once dried, it becomes flaky and may crack when folded or washed.
The fabric medium thins out the acrylic paint so the clothes can absorb it better. If you cannot find a fabric medium, you can also create a homemade one by mixing one part of vinegar, one part of glycerine, and two parts of water. Then, blend it with the acrylic paint until you achieve a honey-like consistency.
Any kind of paint fades over time, but acrylic paint is one of the most long-lasting paints because of its pigment quality and viscous texture. And among the brands and types of acrylic paints, the one with a high lightfast rating can outlast the others, about 50-100 years without fading under typical gallery conditions.
Lightfastness refers to the ability of the paint to fade quickly when exposed to normal daylight. Generally, non-metallic acrylic paints labeled with ASTM I or II lightfast provide archival masterpieces while the metallic ones fade faster. You can refer to our buying guide for more information about lightfastness.
Acrylic paints are applied in layers to build up a wonderful artwork once finished. The layers help in establishing the entire painting details, and up to a little extent, they prevent the paint from chipping off easily. While there is no hard and fast rule, most recommend at least three layers of paint.
The first layer is to establish the background colors, while the second layer is for the foreground color and to build up the bigger details and textures. Lastly, the third layer is for the smaller details. Keep in mind that the second and third layers may entail several sub-layers to make the artwork more realistic.
Level up your creativity with more paint and drawing tools by checking out our other articles.
No. 1: Liquitex|Basics Acrylic
No. 2: Winsor & Newton|Galeria Acrylic Paint
No. 3: Sennelier|Abstract Innovative Acrylic
No. 4: Golden|Fluid Acrylic Color
No. 5: Liquitex|Acrylic Ink
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