How to Make Acrylic Paint

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Artists like to use acrylic paint because of its ability to mimic both the transparency of watercolor paint and the opacity of oil paint. Artists also like to use acrylic paints because compared to oil paints, acrylic paints are safer to handle and more resistant to heat. Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mark Rothko and David Hockney are some notable 20th-century artists who use acrylic paint extensively in their work.[1]
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Making your own acrylic paint allows you to control what’s in your paint as well as provide you with a way to save money. Purchasing a gallon of acrylic medium and several pigment dispersions or powdered pigments from an art store will produce more paint at a lower cost than purchasing the same quantity of paint in tubes or jars without sacrificing quality.[2]
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Jeanine Hattas WilsonProfessional Painter

Expert Interview. 5 May 2021.

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If you don’t have access to an art store or the right materials, try using the faux acrylic paint method.

Steps

Making Your Own Acrylic Paint

Gather all of your supplies. Place the items together in one area. A plastic mixing container Wooden chopstick Dry pigment Painting spatula An acrylic base Solution (water or an alcohol like rubbing alcohol) Acrylic retarder

Grind the dry pigment. You can use the flat side of a painting spatula to apply pressure until you do not feel any “grittiness." Paint pigments sold in arts supply stores usually come in powdered form. Many artists also choose to find alternative pigments based on crushed dried plants or other substances. Grind the pigment until you do not feel any "grittiness" as you apply pressure. Most pigments will break down fairly easily, so just make sure that there are no irregular lumps remaining. If the pigment has come in powdered form, you may not need to grind it unless it is lumpy.

Measure and record the amounts of pigment and acrylic base. Before you begin mixing the components together, you should measure and record the quantity of pigment and base used. You may need to make more of a color before you finish a painting or to retouch a painting. You can only do so with consistency if you know how much pigment and acrylic base you used. Acrylic base is essentially paint without pigment. It will usually come in a squeezable tube and the substance itself will appear white. There are several different sorts, such as glossy or matte, and you must determine which type you need for your painting.

Add the pigment to the acrylic base in the plastic container. Use the wooden chopstick to mix them thoroughly together, until the pigment is evenly dispersed throughout the acrylic base.

Combine the solution with the pigmented acrylic base thoroughly. Read the instructions that came with your acrylic binder because the preferred ratio of base to solution varies from brand to brand. Some pigments (especially organic ones) have a tendency to float on water. In this case you would substitute alcohol. Make sure you are using a solution appropriate for the pigment. It’s not ideal to mix alcohol into acrylic paints because alcohol dries quickly, causing the paint to also dry quickly. If you are using a pigment that mixes best with alcohol but want the paint to dry more slowly, you can add water after you have mixed the pigment with alcohol. Too much water or alcohol will dilute the acrylic binder, so be careful.

Blend in acrylic retarder. Acrylic retarder helps to slow how quickly acrylic paint dries. It’s important to follow the instructions that came with your acrylic retarder. However, a general rule of thumb is that more retarder used, the slower the acrylic paint will dry. You can figure out ratios of your own liking as you become accustomed to its use. Acrylic retarders are especially necessary if you are attempting to create photorealistic paintings or portraits of a human subject. Colors must be blended together on the canvas to create the contours of complex shapes, but fast-drying acrylics will set before a second color can be added.

Making Faux Acrylic Paint with White Glue

Set up all of your supplies in one area. Though not true acrylic paint, this mix is more adaptable than many of the other paints intended for younger users. You’ll need: A plastic mixing container Wooden chopstick Liquid paint Common white glue

Pour equal portions of the liquid paint and the glue into your plastic mixing container. You can alter the ratio slightly to modify the clarity of the color, but too much water-based paint will break down the glue altogether. Some versions of the white glue dry clearer than others. For more vibrant colors (rather than pastels), you may want to find a variety with that dries more clear.