How to Make Soft Body Acrylic Paint - for Artists
What is soft body acrylic paint for artists?
Soft body acrylic paint is a wonderful addition to acrylic paint choices. It has the consistency of pancake batter, thicker than milk but not as thin as water. It is available in different quantities and is packaged in squeeze bottles. I am a professional artist so the paint I am referring to is the professional line of paints, not craft paint. The artists brands for soft body and fluid paint are Liquitex and Golden.
There is a large selection of colors to choose from, and new colors are being added regularly. But this paint is quite expensive and oftentimes you may only need a small amount of one or two colors. This is why I often make my own. I usually will make more than I need and save the rest to use later. It is great to use for transparent layers or some wet on wet painting.
Can water be used to make soft body acrylic?
Earlier in my career I used water to thin down my acrylic paints. I found that the problem with using water is if too much is used (more than 25%) the pigment saturation decreases and the binders in the paint will break apart. This resulted in a diluted, dull, and transparent paint that would peel off the layer beneath it. This was extremely frustrating.
What are acrylic mediums?
Acrylic mediums are additive products created specifically for acrylic paint. When they are added to the paint it changes the paint viscosity. This means that to make soft body acrylic paint, an acrylic medium is necessary. I have found that adding equal parts of satin glazing liquid medium to heavy body acrylic paint will yield a very nice soft body acrylic paint.
How to make soft body acrylic paint
Supplies:
6-ounce empty screw cap plastic container
Heavy Body Acrylic Paint
Satin Glazing Liquid Medium
popsicle sticks
plastic tablespoons
Directions:
In a 6-ounce empty screw cap plastic container, add 2 Tablespoons of heavy body acrylic paint.
Add 2 Tablespoons of Satin Glazing Liquid Medium to the container and stir with a popsicle stick. Do not stir too quickly as bubbles will form.
Screw lid back on to the container to store until ready to use.
Enjoy your soft body acrylic paint.
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Until next time, Happy Painting!!!
Tamara