Last Updated on July 9, 2024 by Masha Eretnova
There are more than 40 brands that offer high quality acrylic paint, for sure, they will all make you feel like this is your right choice. However, not even all artist-grade paints are really used by artists.
To choose the best acrylic paint brand for you, you need to know something about brand reputation, check the reviews, but consider about 9 different factors affecting price and outcome, including colors, permanence, viscosity, etc.
What is a good acrylic paint?
Good acrylic paint has vibrant solid colors, homogene creamy thick consistency and great coverage on canvas, paper or other surfaces. It comes in a good tube with lightfastness and opacity labels. Good acrylic paint dries to a semi-gloss even and smooth finish.
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A good canvas, soft synthetic brushes and a nice simple spacious palette also play a role in successful, and enjoyable painting session 🙂
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BEST ACRYLIC PAINT FOR BEGINNERS
Liquitex Basics acrylic paint is the best beginner acrylic paint but can be pricey. Cheaper yet still one of the best acrylic paints for beginners are Winsor & Newton Galeria. If you are looking for the Best acrylic paint for professional artists, choose Golden Acrylic paint.
| Acrylic Paint Brand | Grade | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Open Acrylic Paint, 6 colors set | Professional | $36 and more |
| Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylic Paint - Best Professional Paint | Professional | $27 |
| Golden Fluid Acrylics Set of 10 colors | Professional | $48-60 |
| Liquitex Basics Set of 24 - Best for beginners | Student | $37-47 |
| Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paint Set of 6 | Professional | $45-60 |
| Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics, Essential, Set of 12 | Professional | $44 |
| Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint Set of 10 colors RUNNER UP For beginners | Student | $18-19 |
| Winsor & Newton Professional Artist Paint | Professional | $80 |
| Blick Studio paint set of 24 | Student | $29-32 |
| Blick Artists' paint set of 12 colors | Student | $36-37 |
| Blickrylic paint basic colors set of 6 bottles | Craft | $20 |
| Utrecht Artists' Acrylic Paint set of 6 | Professional | $35 |
| Old Holland New Masters Classic Acrylic Paint | Professional | $9.83 per tube, no sets |
| M. Graham Artists' Acrylics | Professional | $46-50 |
| Chroma Atelier Interactive Acrylic paint set of 12 + 4 mediums | Professional | $36 |
| Holbein Heavy Body Acrylics set of 5 | Professional | $55 |
| Holbein Fluid acrylics | Professional | $11 per bottle, no sets |
| Holbein Mat Acrylics | Student | $14 per tube, no sets |
| Hippie Crafter Acrylic Paint for pouring, set of 24 (Best for pouring) | Student | $36 |
| Matisse Structure | Professional | $9 per tube, no sets |
| Matisse Flow Acrylics | Professional | $9 per tube, no sets |
| Matisse Fluid Acrylic Paint | Professional | $12 per bottle, no sets |
| Daler-Rowney System 3 set of 10 | Student | $24 |
| Arteza Acrylic Premium Artist Paint, Set of 12 | Student | $17-20 |
| Reeves Acrylic Paint | Student | $12 |
| Grumbacher Academy Introductory Set, Set of 6 colors, 90 ml tubes | Student | $28 |
| Lascaux Artist Acrylic Paint | Professional | $20 per tube, no sets |
| Amsterdam Expert Acrylic Paint (I often use these paints!) | Student | $20 |
| Pebeo Studio Acrylics | Student | $20 |
| Pebeo Extra-Fine Artist Acrylics | Professional | $11 per tube |
| Acrylic Paint Set by Crafts 4 ALL set of 24 (the cheapest set) | Craft | $12 |
| Sennelier Abstract Innovative Heavy Body Acrylic Paint | Professional | $14 per pouch |
| Castle Art Supplies set of 48 22ml | Craft | $38 |
| Tri-Art High Viscosity Artist Acrylics | Professional | $12-13 per tube, no sets |
| Folk Art, 18 colors set | Craft | $22 |
| Apple Barrel, 16 colors set | Craft | $17 |
| Smart Craft, 16 colors set | Craft | $19 |
Read also: How to Paint with Acrylics on Canvas: 3 Easy Steps [Supplies included]
My FAV ACRYLIC PAINT BRANDS REVIEWED
To support our planet opt for one of these 15 Best Eco-friendly Alternatives to Acrylic Paint
Golden Acrylics – Great but pricey, PRO choice
Golden is one of the market’s most reputable, oldest, and high-quality paint brands. They offer a variety of supplies for painting, including paint and mediums.
3 main paint that you should consider from Golden in Golden Open Acrylics, Golden Heavy Body, and Golden Fluid Acrylics.
Golden Open Acrylic Paint – slow-drying acrylic paint
Golden Open Acrylic Paint | $24.63 – $37.51
Golden Open Acrylic Paint has a unique feature that NO acrylic paint has: they stay open (you can paint and they will be still wet) for up to 1 hour! In simple words they dry really slow.
It is artist-grade paint, great for Plein air, and can be used with natural bristles. Each tube has an opacity mark and details about lightfastness.
Golden Open Acrylics have 3 types of paint sets: Modern colors (sets of 6 or 8 tubes), Traditional colors (set of 6), and Landscape sets (8 tubes + thinner). All colors can be also purchased individually (from $7.41).
| Golden Open Acrylic Paint Set | Colors included |
|---|---|
| Traditional Colors | 6 colors: 0.75 oz (22 ml) tubes of Alizarin Crimson Hue, Indian Yellow Hue, Sap Green Hue, Ultramarine Blue, Van Dyke Brown Hue, and |
| Modern Colors | 6 colors: 0.75 oz (22 ml) tubes of Hansa Yellow Opaque, Phthalo Blue (Green Shade), Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Pyrrole Red, Quinacridone Magenta, and |
| Modern Color Mixing | 8 colors: 0.75 oz (22 ml) tubes of Anthraquinone Blue, Benzimidazolone Yellow Light, Benzimidazolone Yellow Medium, Naphthol Red Light, Phthalo Blue (Green Shade), Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), and Quinacridone Magenta, + a 2 oz (59 ml) tube of |
| Landscape | 8 colors: 0.75 oz (22 ml) tubes of Alizarin Crimson Hue, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Yellow Primrose, Manganese Blue Hue, Sap Green Hue, Ultramarine Blue, and Yellow Ochre, + a 2 oz tube of |
I absolutely LOVE Golden open, buttery, smooth, and really slow slow drying. Here is a small work I did with Open acrylics:
Golden Heavy Body
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylic Paints set of 6 | above $40
Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylic Paints also have artist-grade with no added extenders, opacifiers, or additives. They are thick, opaque (each tube has a mark with opacity), smooth, and have a buttery consistency.
Each color is formulated in a different way based on pigment nature, and as the result, some colors will have a matte finish, and some – are glossy.
Heavy Body paints are permanent and lightfast (why it is an important read in the section below about How to pick the right paint).
Sold in sets and individually, I recommend buying on Blick as it is cheaper than Amazon. 1 tube can cost $7.41, and sets of 6 colors from $24.63.
Golden Fluid Acrylic Paint
Golden Fluid Acrylics set of 8 | under $40
For glazing, pouring, spraying, brushing, and staining fluid paint is the best choice. Golden Fluid Acrylics are permanent, vibrant, lightfast artist grade paint.
They contain 100% pigment with no additives and are low in viscosity.
Instead of thinning Heavy body paint, you can use Fluid paint for better flow and no brush strokes application.
Sold by pieces and in 2 sets: set of 8 colors (around $27) and set of 10 colors (around $45). Pricing per bottle starts from $5.
Please do check the prices as I noticed they are reindexing them quite often.
Read also: Is Acrylic Painting Expensive? Cost Breakdown From An Actual Artist
Liquitex acrylic paint – BEST OVERALL
Liquitex is another big art supplies brand that is widely popular among beginners. They offer a variety of paint: Liquitex Basics for beginners (student grade), Liquitex Professional Heavy Body Acrylic Paints, and Liquitex Professional Soft Body Acrylic Paint and Sets.
Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic Paint
Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic Paint Set of 12 | around $50
Heavy bodies are great for impasto or highly textured pieces, for artists who love to work with thick and heavy mediums on raw or primed surfaces. They are thick, heavy, high in intensity, and pigment. Their open time is a bit longer.
Liquitex also offers Cadmium-Free Colors that are completely non-toxic.
A starter pack of 12 colors includes all basic colors to try out Heavy body paint.
Liquitex Professional Soft Body Acrylic Paint and Sets
Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paint | around $50
Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paint is fluid, with better flow, and already thinned paint. They are good for pouring, glazing, spraying, decorative art, and painting, even in watercolor techniques. Soft Body acrylics are opaque, intense, high in pigment, fluid, and creamy.
To ease the use, Soft Body has bottles with nozzles.
Liquitex Basics – best acrylic paint for beginners on canvas
Set of 24 | around $35
The Liquitex Basics are great student-grade paint for beginners and artists on a budget.
They are vibrant, contain high-quality pigment, are lightfast, easy to blend, and dry to a satin finish. They are thinner than Heavy bodies.
Liquitex Basics can be thinned to imitate watercolor, and also have fluorescent and metallic colors (which are less lightfast).
Basics paints are UV-resistant and water-resistant acrylics colors
Liquitex Basics Sets for beginners include 12, 24 36, or 48 colors. I recommend a set of 24 colors – it is a bestseller and contains all the needed colors.
For beginners.
Winsor & Newton Acrylic Paint – RUNNER UP
Winsor & Newton has student-grade paint and sets – Winsor & Newton Galleria, and artist-grade paint – Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic Paint.
Read my full review of both: Winsor and Newton Acrylic Paint Review (Galeria vs Professional)
Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint
Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint Set of 10 | around $15
Galeria Paint is great for beginners, offering good flow, smooth consistency, water-resistant when dry, and brilliant colors. Galeria sets are suitable for painting on all surfaces.
Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint Set of 10 colors is an affordable choice for those who are just starting painting.
For beginners.
Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic Paint
Winsor & Newton Professional paint is sold in a Starter Set of 12 | around $50-70
Artist-grade paint with high intensity, high in pigments and color strength, deep in colors, and with almost no shift from wet to dry.
Winsor & Newton Professional paint is sold in a Starter Set of 12 Colors or individually in tubes and jars.
For advanced artists.
Looking for some inspiration? Check my 101 painting ideas for beginners as well as amazing selection of Star Wars painting ideas and Winter painting ideas approved by kids and adults!
Amsterdam Expert Acrylic Paint – Great affordable paint
Amsterdam Expert Acrylic Paint Set of 12 colors | around $30
Amsterdam Expert Acrylic Paint is a professional, artist-grade, heavy body paint with high pigment concentration, high viscosity, and excellent lightfastness.
The color range includes 70 non-fading colors. This paint has no additives in it, which means it is 100% binder + pigment.
Drying time = 30 min. which makes the paint regular fast-drying acrylic paint. You can easily buy it online in set or individually.
Even if it artist grade paint, I don’t really know the pros who use this paint, they usually choose other brands.
I have a lot of Amsterdam paint and I use it for small acrylic paintings on paper.
More for beginners.
My review: Amsterdam Acrylic Paint Review: One of My Favorite Paints
Pebeo Acrylic Paint
Pebeo Extra-Fine Artist Acrylics | around $10-11 per tube
Pebeo Extra-Fine Artist Acrylics are heavy body professional acrylic paint in 79 colors.
They are all high viscosity, offer great adhesion and satin sheen, are permanent, non-yellowing, and easy to apply.
- Precaution: they still have a light shift between wet and dry. Remember that acrylics tend to dry darker.
- Only Extra-Fine line is artist-grade.
To sell only individually, as most pro lines do. Not really popular among artists.
More for beginners.
Read my review: Comprehensive Pebeo Acrylic Paint Review [High Viscosity 10 Colors Set]
Hippie Crafter – My personal pick for pouring paint
Read my full review with videos: Great for Pouring – Hippie Crafter Acrylic Paint Review [3 Video Included]
These pour paints from Hippie crafter are just so good and affordable! And they lasted very long for me, even though they come in small bottles.
But I do acknowledge that there are some issues with shipping, I got one bottle damaged and the paint leaked and I know a few people mentioned it online as well.
Yet, I absolutely love them for pouring and never regretted getting them.
They are durable, quick-drying, have superb coverage, and have an amazing color chart, including different metallic colors.
How to pick the best acrylic paint
When choosing acrylic paint consider these key factors: colors, paint grade (quality), permanence, viscosity, opacity, drying, and hue.
Color or Hue
If you’re a beginner, start with 6 to 10 basic colors and learn mixing. Or purchase big sets of 24/36 colors to directly paint without mixing colors.
Different acrylic paints have different levels of saturation. Highly saturated paints will produce more vivid colors.
To find out about color saturation, try swatches, ask for a color chart, and experiment.
Read also: Violet vs Purple: The Difference You Should Know
Quality grade
Acrylic paints exist in 2 main grades:
- professional (or artist) – contains more pigment, tends to be more opaque, thicker, even in application
- student quality – less pigment, lower quality, but cheaper.
To start student grade will work, but improving your skills, upgrade your paint too.
Usually, student quality paint will be marked as Student or Studio. Artist-grade as Artists or Professional.
Lightfastness
Lightfastness measures how much the color will fade over years, and how resistant paint is to light exposure. Usually, acrylic paint is high in lightfastness over time and all manufacturers will mention it.
To learn about lightfastness read carefully the label. There are 2 types of classification: ASTM, Blue Wool or a manufacturer can have its own way to rate lightfastness:
| Lightfastness | ASMT | Blue Wool |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent lightfastness | I | 7, 8 |
| Very good lightfastness | II | 6 |
| Fair lightfastness | III | 4, 5 |
| Poor lightfastness | IV | 2, 3 |
| Very poor lightfastness | V | 1 |
Permanence
The permanence of paint shows how the paint will act over time, how it will age, how permanent the pigment is. This property can also include lightfastness. This factor is to consider for professionals.
Most acrylics are highly permanent, and the manufacturer will mention it on the label or on the website. Here is Winsor & Newton permanence scale for reference:
| Permanence | Label mark |
|---|---|
| Extremely permanent | AA |
| Permanent | A |
| Moderately durable | B |
| Fugitive | C |
Viscosity
Viscosity in simple terms is how thick or thin the paint is. Acrylics usually have 2 main forms:
- heavy body – thick, high viscosity, for textured techniques or painting, similar to oil, good to use with palette knife.
- soft body or fluid paint – thin and creamy, low viscosity, – for pouring, glazing, painting, and decorative art. For pouring, you may use Floetrol to achieve the needed consistency.
Heavy bodies can be thinned with special mediums, or water, to become more fluid and improve the flow.
Read more about it and how to thin acrylics: How to Thin Acrylic Paint: 3 Correct Ways & 3 Dont’s
Opacity
Opacity shows how transparent or opaque the paint is, how the paint interacts with light: reflects it or lets it go through. This property depends on paint composition and the pigment itself, as some are naturally more or less opaque.
Opaque and semi-opaque pigments:
- Lemon Yellow Hue,
- Chrome Yellow Hue,
- Cadmium Yellow Pale,
- Cadmium Yellow,
- Cadmium Yellow Deep,
- Cadmium Orange,
- Scarlet Lake,
- Cadmium Red,
- Cadmium Red Deep,
- Cerulean Blue,
- Cobalt Blue,
- Naples Yellow,
- Yellow Ochre,
- Chrome Green,
- Indian Red,
- Burnt Umber,
- Vandyke Brown,
- Payne’s grey,
- Ivory Black,
- Lamp Black and
- Titanium White.
Transparent and semi-transparent pigments:
- Permanent Rose,
- Permanent Crimson,
- Alizarin crimson,
- Dioxazine blue,
- Ultramarine,
- Pthalo blue,
- Prussian blue,
- Viridian Green,
- Terre Verte,
- Sap Green,
- Burnt Sienna,
- Raw Sienna and
- Raw Umber.
If you want to make your paint more opaque, try one of my 7 tricks.
The finish of the paint
In general, the finish can be glossy, matte, or satin. It depends not only on brand but on the specific pigment too.
Most acrylics dry to a satin or glossy finish. Acrylic gouache dries to a matte finish.
Read also: Satin vs Matte: Which Paint Makes for a Good Finish?
Binder contents
Primary acrylic paint is a pigment and a binder (it is a very general description), but sometimes manufacturers can add other additives like extenders, stabilizers, opacifiers, and mediums to change some specific properties (make dry slower, make more opaque, etc.).
If too many different additives exist, there is less pigment in the paint, and the colors will be dull. Read carefully the label.
There are different paints on the market:
- Tempera Vs Acrylic Paint: What Are The Differences?
- Gouache Vs Acrylic: What’s the Difference, and Which is Best for Beginners?
- Watercolor vs Acrylic: 21 Differences Between Acrylic and Watercolor
- Poster Paint vs Acrylic Paint: What’s the Difference and Which is best?
- Acrylic vs Latex Paint: Which is Better and What is The Difference?
Drying time
Acrylic paint is fast-drying, which means it will dry to touch and no longer be workable in 5-20 min depending on the brand. Here is the list of brands and their drying time with the full (comprehensive) explanation of the acrylic paint drying process.
Considering it, if you are ok with this timing, go for any brand you like, If you’re working in some special environment or with a particular project and you need more time, choose to paint with a longer open time (up to 60 min), there are only 1-2 options, honestly – Golden Open Acrylics and Atelier Interactive.
Here are some good acrylic paint brands for canvas:
- Golden Acrylics
- Liquitex
- Winsor & Newton (2 options)
- Blick acrylics
- Utrecht acrylic paint
- Old Holland Acrylic Paint
- M. Graham Acrylics
- Chroma Atelier Interactive
- Holbein Acrylic
- Hippie Crafter Acrylic Paint
- Daler Rowney
- Arteza
- Grumbacher Acrylic Paint Set
- Lascaux Acrylic Paint
- Amsterdam Expert Acrylic Paint
- Pebeo
- Sennelier Artist Abstract
- TriArt Liquid Acrylics
- Matisse
Hobby acrylic paints brands:
- Reeves
- Castle Art Supplies Acrylic Paint Set
- Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint Set
- Apple Barrel
- Folk Art
Frequently Asked Questions
Is acrylic paint toxic?
Historically, acrylic paint was toxic, but now all acrylics I mentioned are non-toxic. However, some colors may contain heavy metals, read carefully the label. Ex., some brands will mention that they are Cadmium-free.
Even being non-toxic regular acrylic paint is not meant to be on your skin, face, or body. Choose special paint for body and face painting, please.
Keep reading: Is Acrylic Paint Toxic or Safe? 23 Brands Toxicity Included
Is acrylic paint waterproof?
Acrylic paint that artists use is water-based and water-soluble. Once it dries it becomes water-resistant and washable but not waterproof.
Every painting should be protected with a varnish or a protective finish to guarantee its long life. To learn more about 5-step protection, check this post.
Read how to make acrylic waterproof: Is Acrylic Paint Waterproof? 11 Ways To Make Acrylics Waterproof
How long it takes for acrylic paint to dry?
Usually, it takes about 10 to 30 minutes, but it depends on paint composition, brand, and the environment you’re working. Here is a comprehensive explanation of the acrylic paint drying process and timing.
If you want to make acrylic paint dry faster, consider these 5 methods.
If you want to make acrylic paint dry slower, use one of these 15 ways to do it.
What paint do professional artists use?
Professional artists use artist-grade paint, it contains more pigment in it, often is more expensive than the basic line, and offers great coverage. Some professional acrylic paint brands are Liquitex artist, Golden, Chroma Atelier, Winsor & Newton Professional acrylic.
Which acrylic paint is best for beginners?
Liquitex Basic is the best acrylic paint for canvas for beginners. If you want something cheaper, try the acrylic paint set by Amsterdam, Arteza, or Blick. I’m often using Amsterdam even for pouring and happy with results.
If you are ready to start painting on canvas, follow this step-by-step guide with a full supplies list to create your first beautiful painting.
Masha Eretnova, born in 1991, is a Buenos Aires-based certified teacher, artist, and member of the Professional Artist Association with 20+ years of personal painting journey.
She started painting and drawing very early and is now an international abstract artist and educator passionate about acrylic painting, gouache, and crafts.
Her works are part of international exhibitions and contests, including ArtlyMix (Brazil), Al-Tiba 9 (Spain), Exhibizone (Canada), Italy, and many more.
Besides her artistic pursuits, Masha holds a post-grad diploma in Teaching Film Photography and 2 music school diplomas: piano and opera singing.
Last update on 2024-10-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API