Last Updated on February 13, 2024 by Masha Eretnova
Experimenting with acrylics, you probably found yourself wondering if acrylic inks are good. And one of the most accessible acrylic inks are Daler Rowney Acrylic Artist Inks.
Daler Rowney Acrylic Artist Inks are professional inks used for mixed media paintings, drawings, airbrushing and illustration and they offer great quality and color choice for an affordable price.
Most of the colors are quite transparent yet vivid.
Below is my more detailed review of this product.
Read also: Using Acrylic Ink vs Acrylic Paint: Key Differences
Is Daler Rowney Acrylic Ink Good?
Acrylic ink from Daler Rowney is amazing satin ink with large selection of regular, metallic, pearl and neon colors.
It has beautiful consistency, flowy with no chunks. Comes in small glass bottles with a dropper or a bigger bottles (180ml).
Daler Rowney Acrylic inks are high quality for 2 reasons:
- artist-grade, meaning they are made by professionals for professionals. It means they will last long, stay water-resistant and consistent from bottle to bottle. They go thorugh quality control in England.
- they use only pigments to acheive vibrant and intense colors. No substitutes, no dyes. No cutting corners.
I found that they are quite popular and easy to buy both online (even Amazon) and offline (traveling I saw them almost in every country).
Price wise, each bottle of 29.5 ml is around 8-9 USD but the sets will be cheaper – you will pay only around 30 USD for 6 colors. And sets often come with a brush pen you can refill with ink.
It has proven to be really good for airbrushing, so can be good for painting miniatures, but also creates really nice watercolor effects when used with water and a round brush.
There are 45 colors in their color chart but of course, just like acrylic paint, all colors are mixable! So you can make your own pastel colors, shades and tones.
I had Process Cyan and Emerald Green Daler Rowney acrylic inks. They are easy to use, very flowy, quite transparent and easy for making watercolor washes and mix colros.
Perfect for using on watercolor or mixed media paper.
Out of 45 colors availble:
- almost half, 20, are transparent
- only 10 are fully opaque: black, greys, indigo and cyan, light green, red earth, white and gold.
- The rest is semi-opaque.
Although, the colors are very durable, permanent and lightfast, they are not as lightfast as regular acrylic paint. Specifically fluorescent colors – they are fugitive and tend to fade under sun exposure.
How can you use Daler Rowney acrylic paint ink?
Just like acrylics, acrylic ink is super versatile and even easier to use than regular paint in some cases.
Because it is so flowy it works amazing for marbling and pouring effects and customizing tumblers or other items when you want that waves/marble effect. And it is all beginner-friendly.
- airbrushing and pens
- pouring (pared with pouring medium)
- mixed with epoxy for resin crafts
- painting on canvas or paper, paired with paints, pens and markers for mixed media works.
- illustrations
I really enjoyed using acrylic inks for mixed media projects but you do need to keep in mind that they are runny and very fast drying!!
Some FAQs
Can I use Daler-Rowney ink for tattoo?
Although Daler Rowney ink is very versatile – it is for painting and decorative art only. Acrylic-based mediums are not safe to use on skin, inhale or ingest and certainly not for tattoo.
They contain less than <1% of some products that can irritate the skin. And they are not safe for contact with blood at all – they were not even created or tested for this.
If you have sensitive skin but using Daler Rowney for painting or airbrushing, use nitrile gloves to protect yor hands.
Have you tried Daler Rowney inks yet? Do you have any questions? Leave a comment – I check every comment and I will answer you 🙂
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 2024-05-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API