Acrylic Pouring Guide
There’s no doubt you’ve seen the incredibly popular acrylic pouring technique that artists around the world are exploring. If you’ve been wondering how to get started, what supplies to use, and the best paints for the best results, then read on.
Acrylic pouring paint
The real star of any acrylic pour is the paint. As always, the question is: which paint will give you the best results at the lowest cost? There are three brands that I think you should consider. ARTEZA makes acrylic paint that works well for pouring and you can look for regular acrylics or find one that says “high flow.” The other two brands would be Liquitex, as mentioned in our Acrylic Paint section or Golden (also mentioned in our Acrylic Paint recommendations). If you decide to go with Golden, you should opt for the high flow type. Makes sense, right?
Acrylic Pouring Medium
In general, acrylic paint is too thick to get the kind of flow used in pouring techniques so it needs to be thinned down. If you thin the paint with water, you’ll increase the flow but you’ll reduce the richness of the color. What you need is a painting medium. I recommend the Flood Floetrol additive for any acrylic paint that you have. If you already have some Liquitex paint and want to keep everything consistent, then try their Professional Pouring Effects Medium. As you learn how the process works and get familiar with the different ratios of paint to medium, you should also consider getting some Acrylic Pouring Oil. It’s only 4 ounces so it’s used to enhance the results from the materials mentioned above.
Everything else
Once you have the paint and the medium, you need a few more things to get started, like a surface to pour it on. A pre-stretched canvas will work best. You will need cups to mix the paint in and something to cover your work surface when the paint inevitably drips off. Some people have these supplies lying around the house, but if you’re like me, it’s easier to just get a kit with everything included and then replenish supplies as needed. The Acrylic Pouring Bundle is a great place to start if you’re going to buy everything anyway. Also, if you know that you’ll be making a lot of acrylic pours (for a class or group of people) then try the Acrylic Paint Pouring Supplies instead. There’s a lot of little things that can make paint pouring easier but aren’t really necessary if you’re resourceful. You might consider these Pyramid Stands that come with cups and sticks. And don’t forget about books! A quick search will certainly help you find a video or online article, but check out Fluid Art Mastery for a good reference guide to getting started.