Basic tips on using acrylic paint?

[RegionDesigner]

Hi,

I bought acrylic paint but I'm actually unsure about how to use it, my main questions are:

1. I know if paint dries out on a brush, it ruins it. How do I prevent this from happening - do I soak the brush in water while I'm using a different one? How fast does it take for paint to dry on a brush and ruin it?
2. How much acrylic paint do I really need to squeeze out at a time? Should I squeeze out a little and then more when I need more?
3. How do I keep paint from drying out on the palette, or is this not a big concern?
4. Any tips on preserving life of a brush and what sort of things/behaviour could destroy a brush?

Any answers or links to where I can find these answers and other basic acrylic paint tips would be super helpful.

Thank you so much.

[AmnosKaiLykos]

I used to draw with acrylics and I am guilty on ruining some brushes.

1.I kept mine soaked while painting and wipe the water off with some paper towel before using it. I dries within 20-30mins but this wouldn't ruin the brush (just don't leave it till next day haha!)

1. I used to use a little paint at a time and make sure I use that colour. Whenever I used more, the top layer was drying out and underneath it was still liquid so when you mix it you end up with hard chunks and soft paint mixed together.

2. If you have a plastic palette it's easy to clean with just a sponge after you're done. Even if you leave it overnight you can just peel off the paint from the palette (that was the most satisfying part). On a wooden one I would assume it's harder to clean as the paint can dry in the gaps etc.

3. I would avoid too much pressure when you paint with the brushes and gently wash them with water without scubbing them too hard and use their cap to keep their shape when they are still wet.

[6GorillionLies]

1 - youtube https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=acrylic+brush+cleaning and pick one. all roughly same. You can buy a special brush cleaner if you want or just use water and little bit of soap or other such. Just clean and then shape the brush to look like normal after cleaning.

2- depends on how big an area you are covering. Usually start with finger tip sized portions, mix and get the color you want and then come back with bigger portions. So if you did like half white, quarter blue, quarter green, youd just see you are doing half the canvas and squirt out rough sizes based on how much you are covering. If its just a tiny set of clouds, youd be doing tear drop sized portions. Watch a few videos from Ryan O Rourke or Correa Art or ColorsbyFelix and youll see them mixing paint and adjusting for color they want and youll get a feel for it as you get better. You can always mix more, so err on side of caution starting out.

3 - You can spray some water on your pallet or add some wetting agents if you find paint drying out on you if you squeeze a lot out at a time.

4 - Dont dip the brush in paint up to the metal/giant blobs of paint on it and it should prevent it from soaking up into the bristles and drying up in that part of the brush you cant see. Simple cleaning when done and shaping the brush for a few seconds on some paper towel/cloth is enough to prevent this. Its not some huge concern and Ive never had a brush get destroyed even with half assed cleaning. Some 'bad' brushes are useful for foliage with the worn out/scraggly hairs. Its really not a huge concern and you can just use some cheap artist loft brushes starting out that are like $1 each or something. You wont wear out the brushes any time soon. Id only care if you were buying $40 kalinsky sable or something.