Teoría de toma de decisiones

A good beginner’s palette of colors consists of one warm and one cool version of each of the primary colors: yellow, red, and blue. You’ll also want to include white, black, and a few browns, such as burnt sienna or raw umber. From these basics, you should be able to mix just about any color you’ll need. A basic palette generally consists of the following 17 colors: alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, Naples yellow, pink (or flesh), dioxazine purple, cadmium red light, cadmium yellow light, unbleached titanium, titanium white, sap green, emerald green, Prussian blue, phthalocyanine (abbreviated phthalo) blue, Payne’s gray, light blue (or cerulean blue), and light blue-violet.

Selecting Paints

Acrylic paints come in jars, cans, and tubes. Most artists prefer tubes, as they make it easy to squeeze out the appropriate amount of paint onto your palette. There are two types of acrylic paints: “student grade” and “artist grade.” Artist-grade paints contain more pigment and less filler, so they are more vibrant and produce richer mixes.

Purchasing a Palette

Palettes for acrylic paints are available in many different materials—from wood and ceramic to metal and glass. Plastic palettes are inexpensive, and they can be cleaned with soap and water. Disposable paper palette pads are also very convenient; instead of washing away the remains of your paint, you can simply tear off the top sheet to reveal a fresh surface beneath.

Gathering the Basics

To get started, you’ll want to have a few household materials on hand. You’ll need two jars of water: one for adding to your paint mixes and one for rinsing out your brushes. A spray bottle will help keep the paints and mixes on your palette moist, and paper towels or rags will help with clean up. Payne’s Gray Prussian Blue Sap Green Dioxazine Purple Alizarin Crimson Light Blue Phthalo Blue Emerald Green Cadmium Red Light Burnt Sienna Light Blue- Violet Cadmium Yellow Light Yellow Ochre Unbleached Titanium Naples Yellow

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Supports

Acrylic paint will adhere to just about any surface, or support, as long as it’s slightly porous and isn’t greasy or waxy. Most acrylic artists use canvas or canvas board that has been primed (coated with gesso, a material used for sealing and protecting fabric and wood supports to make them less porous). It’s easiest to purchase preprimed canvas, but you also can buy raw canvas and a jar of gesso and prime the canvas yourself. Be sure to use an old brush (a house-painting brush works well) when priming your own canvas. Watercolor papers and illustration boards also work well with acrylic paint and provide a smoother working surface. And primed pressed-wood panels—which generally have a smooth side and a rough side—are another popular option.

Illustration Board

Illustration board is good-quality, sturdy cardboard with a simulated canvas surface. It can be used with acrylic,

watercolor, pencil, and ink. Illustration boards come with paper mounted on the back to prevent buckling and are available in a variety of sizes and weights.

Hardwood Panel

Pressed-wood panels are available “tempered” and “untempered”—be sure to choose untempered boards, as the tempered panels have been treated with oil, which isn’t compatible with acrylic paints. Preprimed pressed-wood panels are available in a range of shapes and sizes at your local art supply store.

Painting on Smooth Hardwood Panel Using the smooth side of a pressed-

wood panel produces finer, more detailed brushstrokes. This example shows acrylic paint applied to smooth hardwood panel in thick strokes (left) and as a thin wash (right).

Painting on Canvas

This example shows acrylic applied to canvas in thick strokes (left) and as a thin wash (right).

Canvas

Ready-made canvases are available in dozens of sizes and come either stretched on a frame or glued on a board. Canvases usually are made of either linen or cotton and typically come preprimed. Make sure that your preprimed canvas does not have an oil primer on it, as acrylic paint doesn’t adhere to this slick substance.

Painting on Rough Hardwood Panel Using the textured side of a pressed-

wood panel will result in a rougher, more tactile painting. This example shows acrylic paint applied to rough hardwood panel in thick strokes (left) and as a thin wash (right).

Illustration Board

This example shows acrylic applied to illustration board as a thin wash (left) and in thick strokes (right).

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Primer A primer acts as a barrier between the support and the paint. It is easy

to prepare unprimed (raw) surfaces with three coats of a professional-grade gesso. Less expensive student-grade gesso tends to be too rough, and the paint tends to sink in. For some paintings it may be helpful to tint the final coat of gesso by mixing in acrylic paint. A light sanding before and after each coat of gesso ensures a stable and smooth painting surface.

Canvas You can purchase your canvas primed and pre-stretched. When

working with unusual sizes, you can stretch the canvas yourself using canvas pliers and a stapler. For paintings larger than 20" x 24", use medium-duty stretcher bars with a good “lip” edge to keep the painting surface well separated from the inside edge of the stretcher bar. This prevents the stretchers from leaving an impression on the canvas (called “ghosting”).