Floetrol is very easy to use and find, but also has the additional benefit of being relatively inexpensive in comparison to artist mediums like, 6 parts Floetrol, 1 part Heavy Body Acrylics, Liquitex can be used with any acrylic paint – and. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram as @studioblackwater. Humbrol 125 ml Acrylic Thinners. A common issue with Floetrol is the presence of small to large clumps that form within the medium. I’ve looked on the internet for recommendations of ratios before, only to find that most artists dont give exact ratios of their mixtures. Professional artist mediums help you avoid cracks and crazing in your piece, which can ruin an entire painting if they occur. The same goes for DIY mediums, as the ingredients are usually inexpensive. Great article. Because Floetrol is not archival, creating pieces meant to be displayed outdoors or in direct sunlight with it is not advisable. My daily problem is: should I do laundry or paint? Although it starts out white, Floetrol dries clear and will not dilute the finished colors. Yes please! There are a lot of benefits to using a professional artist medium. As long as you’re using safe materials and enjoying yourself as an artist, the sky’s the limit with acrylic pouring. Across the board, certain colors will carry more weight, which means they will require their own special ratios. Unlike Floetrol, it is very uncommon for Liquitex Pouring Medium to clump or separate, although this can happen infrequently. will make it difficult for the paint to flow. You cannot over-mix your paint! Metallics also need special consideration when mixing, since they also are heavier than standard colors. Finally l don’t have to search the entire web to find the ratios, this is a keeper and has answered a lot of my problems. To come up with the ratios below I tested a number of different paint brands in each category of craft, artist, and heavy body acrylic. am just starting to try fluid painting and your piece is very informative -put them in my notebook of tips. A gallon of Floetrol generally costs about $15-$20 (US). If you’re creating a Dutch pour, you might consider thinning your consistency just slightly so that your paint moves easier, but remember to adjust all of your paint ratios when doing this so that your primary background color doesn’t swallow up the thinner paint. Give your bottle a good shake before using to make sure that you don’t have any separation, otherwise, if separation is present in your paint mixture, it will affect the consistency and quality of the paint negatively. Enhances blending, workability, and adhesion of acrylic colors for painting directly on fabric or unprimed canvas A pre-filtered, ready-to-use medium that easily thins any acrylic, watercolor, or gouache to the right consistency for spray application Adds richness to acrylic colors by … Using water to thin acrylic paint can be done, but is preferred using distilled water. If you’re having trouble with your pours like lumps, or bumps as well check out our guide: Lumps, Bumps, and Clumps: Solving Common Acrylic Pouring Problems. Using a less expensive medium also means that you won’t be as scared to experiment and waste a little bit to find your style. But you have given all of the information that I was hoping to obtain through those videos in one very informative article. i too have printed this out as a good referral. Acrylic pouring is an abstract art technique, which means there’s really no right or wrong way to do it. Floetrol can and does separate; it’s just the nature of the product. You also have more control over the consistency and customize it to your benefit. Your email address will not be published. “Craft-level acrylic paint comes in small bottles and are thinner in consistency than tube acrylics,” says Markham. If you don’t want to purchase one of the commercially available mediums listed above, you can make your own pouring medium using Elmer’s Glue-All and water. You can add an acrylic medium or flow improver, which helps increase the flow and also keeps the tip from drying. Your email address will not be published. The problem is that every brand and color are slightly different, so it will require some judgment on your part. This is true across brands; whether you’re using craft acrylics, artist acrylics or heavy body acrylics. If your paint mixture is too thick, you’re going to have a hard time breaking the surface tension properly, which can result in a muddy piece. – Add a little bit more medium to thin it out. If they’re too thick, they will sink through the other colors in your painting and either be barely visible, or create a distorted pattern. If you notice that the delineation between your colors is very thin or nonexistent, it’s likely that your mixture is too thin. For this article I’ve tested and researched all the most popular paint brands and mediums so you don’t have to. Liquitex Pouring Medium is designed not to craze in poured applications and has an ultra smooth glossy finish. Professional artist mediums also extend the longevity of your painting to protect it against yellowing, peeling, fading, or any of the other nasties that can happen to unprotected paintings over time. Unfortunately, while professional painters and DIY mediums are great for the short term, they don’t always hold up to long term wear. Consistency in acrylic pouring comes down to the ratios you’re using for your paint and medium. of your paint ratios when doing this so that your primary background color doesn’t swallow up the thinner paint. A thicker pouring medium, even if it is diluted with a little water beforehand, should be used rather for thinner acrylic paints. We’ll also discuss the benefits and drawbacks of popular mediums, including: Once you’ve got your paint to medium ratios down, you’re well on your way to creating beautiful pieces, and we’ve got the medium recipes to help! Across the board, certain colors will carry more weight, which means they will require their own special ratios. Add water. Before using Floetrol, and even if you don’t see any visible clumps when you peer inside of the bottle, make it a practice to strain it first. A gallon of Liquitex Pouring Medium weighs in at around $99 (direct from Liquitex’s site), which puts it firmly out of reach for many fluid artists. Golden density info can be found here: Golden Pigment Density Guide. Hola!!!! Floetrol starts as a semi-opaque white fluid, and may alter the initial vibrance of your paints, but it will. 6 parts Floetrol, 1 part Heavy Body Acrylic, 6 parts Liquitex, 1 part Heavy Body Acrylic, 4 to 5 parts GAC 800, 1 part Heavy Body Acrylic, 5 to 6 parts Glue-All, 1 part Heavy Body Acrylic, 2 to 3 parts Water, 1 part Artist Acrylic. Liquitex makes acrylic ink and Golden calls their product “High Flow Acrylics”. Great article! Too thick – Add a little bit more medium to thin it out. Gloss Level. Although it starts out white, Floetrol dries clear and will not dilute the finished colors. Lol.. thanks again. Because the paint cannot flow properly, you may struggle to manipulate the colors around the surface of your piece. You can add more, but you cannot take it out once you’ve added it, so start a little at a time and mix well in between additions so that you can find the best consistency while wasting the least amount of product. Floetrol can and does separate; it’s just the nature of the product. Golden makes beautiful paints and stellar mediums, and GAC 800 is no exception. Because the paint cannot flow properly, you may struggle to manipulate the colors around the surface of your piece. That being said, this fading will happen over the course of many years, expedited only if your piece is placed in direct sunlight. Tip: If you find that your paint isn’t incorporated thoroughly and you’re not sure why, try using a clear cup for mixing so that you can see where there may be pockets of medium that haven’t been mixed in. Liquidtex make acrylic paint thinners too. I have not done any pouring for awhile, but your ratios seem way off for using the Golden Fluid acrylics–no way is it 2 parts of the fluid acrylics to one part liquitex pouring solution. They think it’s easier to use and makes their work look better, so test it out! Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge. Here is one really cool thing you can try (since you've already bought the paint!) For each of the ratios in this guide, this is the goal! If you’re a hobbyist, it’s best to experiment with a lower cost medium or buy a very small amount before taking the big dive into a gallon. I live in high desert — so humidity is usually around or below 12%. In general, you can use the same consistency and ratios for each technique, and you’ll get a great result. If you’re using a thinner craft paint like Nicole’s Acrylics, you will need less medium to get to the consistency you’d like. Thank you for sharing this great information! If you do decide to use heavy body paint, keep in mind that the standard ratio for a heavy body paint and medium is about 6 parts medium to 1 part heavy body. However, it. Additionally, you may have issues with cracking and/or crazing because of thick spots in the paint. Use Mediums to Thin Acrylic Paint. That means that if you have an ounce of heavy body paint, you’ll need to add 6 ounces of medium to thin it out, as opposed to a craft paint, where you’d only need to add one ounce of medium. Liquitex Pouring Medium can help reduce the chance of crazing or cracking within your piece, and when cured, lends a glossy finish. I’ll share  common medium ratios using the examples of craft acrylics, artist acrylics, and heavy body acrylics. It dries almost completely matte, which means that a white charcoal pencil or transfer paperwork quite well with it. Wish I had known this a year ago. Liquitex Pouring Medium is a professional artist medium, which means it was made specifically for use with acrylic paint in art. acrylic paint. This is because the amount of medium you’ll need to use in order to get the heavy body paint to the proper consistency is sometimes double or even triple the amount you’ll need with a craft or artist acrylic. Using a proper sealant over the piece will slow down the fading and yellowing, but it is still likely to occur over time. But, if you want to create a vibrant piece that will stand the test of time, water as a medium is not the way to go. The problem is that every brand and color are slightly different, so it will require some judgment on your part. Thanks again!! Higher density paints will also require additional mixing time, especially if you’re using heavy body acrylics. Thinning acrylic paint is easy, but you need to watch out for potential problems. Great thorough article, Sara!! vivo en Argentina y me es imposible poder comprar FLOETROL. Liquitex acrylic paints can be used on a ton of surfaces, from paper and canvas to wood and glass. is a range of extremely fluid acrylic paints that use super-fine pigments in a state-of-the-art acrylic emulsion. Si quisiera comprar un producto que es lo que tengo que preguntar. Heavy Body Acrylics tested: I have only tested Liquitex Heavy Body, I did not want to spend a lot of time on it since it’s not recommended to use heavy body paints for pouring. 1. For example, one gallon of GAC 800 costs approximately $130 (US). Keep me up to date on the latest products, eCatalogues, inspiration and is hard to describe, but is often said to be like warm honey, motor oil, or syrup. different than the other mediums on our list, in that GAC 800 is thinner than Floetrol or Liquitex Pouring Medium and because of this, you’ll need less of it to get your paints to the right consistency. This guide should only be used to get you started and give you basic guidelines, but in the long term you’ll need to create the right consistency on your own. Give your bottle a good shake before using to make sure that you don’t have any separation, otherwise, if separation is present in your paint mixture, it will affect the consistency and quality of the paint negatively. For each of the ratios in this guide, this is the goal! When cured, GAC 800 gives paintings a shiny, still-wet look. Metallics can be finicky; if they’re too thin, layering them in a cup may cause a metallic sheen over your finished piece. Because of the amount of water used, and because Glue-All/PVA Glue is not meant to be used in this way, you do risk your paints breaking down and becoming less pigmented when creating pieces with this medium. Metallic paint as well as @ studioblackwater is relatively waterproof once dry, mixing water directly with acrylic! 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