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Getting the right acrylic paint can be a tricky job. Youâll have to factor in a lot of factors – like consistency, vibrancy, permanence, etc. to know whether or not a given paint is worth the price.
And then youâll have to judge whether or not itâs the right one for you!
At A Glance: Our Top 5 Picks for Acrylic Paints
If you are not in the mood to create an excel sheet and compare all the different brands and variety, then youâve come to the right place.
We have done the hard work for you! We have tried and tested several brands of acrylic paints and have brought the best ones on this list.
Here are the 13 Best Acrylic Paints for Beginners and Professionals!
Go on and give it a read!
Best Acrylic Paints
Contents
- Best Acrylic Paints
- Utrecht Artists’ Acrylic Colors
- Blick Artists’ Acrylic
- M. Graham Acrylic Paint
- Arteza Acrylic Paint Set
- Chroma Atelier Interactive Acrylics
- Golden Heavy Body Acrylic
- Daler-Rowney Acrylics
- Matisse Structure Formula Acrylics
- Castle Art Supplies Acrylic Paint Set
- Grumbacher Acrylic Paint Set
- Liquitex Professional Acrylic Set
- Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Paint
- Sennelier Acrylics
- Best Acrylic Paint Buyerâs Guide
IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS | |
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Our Top PickOur Top Pick![]() | Utrecht Artistsâ Acrylic Colors |
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![]() | Blick Artistsâ Acrylic |
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![]() | M. Graham Acrylic Paint |
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![]() | Arteza Acrylic Paint Set |
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![]() | Chroma Atelier Interactive Acrylics |
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![]() | Golden Heavy Body Acrylic |
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![]() | Daler-Rowney Acrylics |
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![]() | Matisse Structure Formula Acrylics |
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![]() | Castle Art Supplies Acrylic Paint Set |
| VIEW LATEST PRICE â |
![]() | Grumbacher Acrylic Paint Set |
| VIEW LATEST PRICE â |
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Utrecht Artists’ Acrylic Colors
Utrecht is a famous company in the art community as the maker of some of the best gears for professional artists. They have been serving for the past 50 years or more and now are part of another globally renowned company, Blick. This product, in particular, is one of the best acrylic paints and professionalsâ favorite.
Experience
The colors are of top-notch quality. They are amazingly vibrant and the paint has a very high pigment count. And the saturation of individual color is as expected.
Of course, the lightfastness and permeance of each color vary from each other but the quality is uber with no doubt.
They also mix evenly and accurately. The colors, truly, are artistsâ grade colors.
The colors can be bought individually or as a set of 65, and are available in 3 sizes of tubes – 2, 5 and 16 oz.
They are quite expensive but the performance and quality make it totally worth the price.
- Amazing color performance in terms of vibrancy, accuracy, lightfastness, and permeance
- Available in various options of size and are sold individually and as a set of 65
- Truly artist grade quality and from a brand that has been established for over 50 years
- It is expensive but totally worth the price for a professional
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Blick Artists’ Acrylic
Blick is a world famous company when it comes to professional grade art products. We have already talked once about it in the previous section.
Blick Artistsâ Acrylics are available in 70 different colors and all of them are absolutely the best quality. Although a bit expensive these colors are totally worth the price.
Experience
The colors have a very high pigment count, astoundingly lightfast, and great saturation and accuracy.
Itâs not news though because Blick is one of the worldâs most renowned art companies for a good reason.
The colors are available in 4 sizes – 2, 8, 16 and 65 oz. Youâll have to be decisive about the quantity of each color you get with Blick because they are super expensive.
There are 70 different colors in total. Out of the 70, 38 are made from a single pigment source and they perform the same in terms of lightfastness and permanence. The other 32 are made from a combination of pigments.
- Colors are amazingly vibrant, lightfast and accurate, A-grade performance
- Available in many sizes and each color can be bought individually
- This line up has one of the widest color selection
- It is expensive but totally worth the price for professionals
Graham is an US-based company that makes good quality paint – oil, watercolors, acrylic, etc. – for artists all around the world. This line-up comes in a set of 6 colors that can also be bought individually. The colors are Azo Yellow, Naphthol Red, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Green, Mars Black, and Titanium White.
- 5 Color Acrylic Set, Plus Bonus 6th Color
- M. Graham paint set
Experience
The colors have a high pigment count, which makes the color vibrant no matter what surface you are using. The performance is also great in terms of lightfastness and permanence. These truly are professional grade colors.
Although the colors mix accurately and you get the primary colors, the inclusion of only 6 colors makes creating other colors a manual process which is cumbersome.
The feel of the paint is great if you are switching to acrylic from oil paint. The application and the performance are pretty similar between the two.
Since the colors are meant for professional artists, they donât come for cheap and there are two sizes available for the paint – 2 oz (59ml) and 6 oz (150ml).
- Vibrant and saturated colors with high pigment count
- Each color can be bought separately or you can buy a set of 6
- Great for artists who are switching to acrylic from oil paint
- Although all the primary colors are present, with only 6 total colors, it is cumbersome to produce other colors
Till now, we have only discussed professional grade expensive acrylic paint. In this entry, Arteza brings an option for casual painters, kids, and decorative artists. The paint has decent performance at an affordable price along with a wide variety of colors to choose from – 60 different colors in a given set.
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Experience
The colors perform pretty well for the price. They are plenty vibrant and they mix reasonably accurate. The pigment count and permanence may not be that impressive but for the price, it is to be expected.
One thing that did impress us in terms of performance was the colorsâ lightfastness which is more than just sufficient given the price.
Thereâs a wide variety of colors in the set but unfortunately, the colors canât be purchased individually.
The colors are completely safe and non-toxic, so donât be scared to give these to your child. Also, the caps can be resealed without any hassle making it a perfect buy for the occasional creator.
- Very affordable price
- Colors perform really good for hobbyists, beginners, and kids
- Huge variety of colors
- Tube caps can be resealed for long-term storage
- Colors can’t be bought individually
Chroma Atelier Interactive Acrylics donât give exactly the experience of painting with acrylics. It is best suited for artists who are switching to acrylics from watercolors. The paint has been engineered in such a way that it behaves more like watercolors than acrylics while still giving similar results.
- Amazing Atelier Quality
Experience
This paint doesnât form a skin over the canvas or paper as conventional acrylic does when it dries. That means you can use water to rehydrate the paint again with water and control the spread again – somewhat, like watercolors.
All acrylic painters know that blending correctly is one of the hardest things to do with acrylic paint because it dries up so fast. This paint doesnât have that issue. Thereâs no sense of urgency with this paint when it comes to blending.
Thatâs why watercolors artists would feel at home with this paint and we recommend you to also try this if you do a lot of blending and not glazing.
- Good performance in terms of vibrancy and accuracy
- Blending with it is super easy – like watercolors
- It comes at a pretty reasonable price
- Itâs not very lightfast and is less permanent than conventional acrylic paint
Goldenâs Heavy Body Acrylic is our top pick for artists who are more comfortable with heavy body acrylic paint. For the uninitiated, heavy body paint is more viscous or in other words, heavy. They form a thicker skin and usually dry up faster.
There are 6 colors in this set (can also be bought individually) – Phthalo Blue, Hansa Yellow Medium, Quinacridone Magenta, Titanium White, Carbon Black, and Phthalo Green.
- This set of 6 Professional Golden Heavy Body Acrylics...
- Heavy Body acrylics are known for their smooth, thick,...
Experience
Painting with heavy body acrylic is a thing of preference and if itâs your preference then Golden Heavy Body is our top recommendation for you.
The colors perform amazingly. The colors are obviously very saturated and vibrant. They are also incredibly lightfast and permanent.
One thing to keep in mind if you are new to heavy body acrylic is that blending is difficult with it. You’ll have to resort to glazing and use a knife for mixing colors. Even special acrylic brushes will not be able to handle the harshness of heavy body acrylic paint.
And the fact that there are only 6 different colors makes getting specific colors and blends a totally manual process, which is quite cumbersome.
- It has amazing saturation and vibrancy due to high pigment count
- The quality and performance is professional grade
- Smooth experience and amazing permanence
- It is expensive
Daler-Rowney provides good acrylics at a cheaper price than other brands like Golden, Liquitex, and Winsor and Newton. We included this option because of the quality you get the price and more importantly because we know that artists need cheap acrylics for background filling.
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Experience
Every painter has to use a large portion of colors for filling up the background and other large areas of the painting. For that purpose, we recommend using this cheap acrylic for Daler-Rowney.
Donât let the cheap price tag fool you because the colors are actually pretty decent and in the box, you get a total of 10 different colors. The variety is sufficient for base filling.
Do keep in mind that the colors are not of professional grade, so, we donât recommend using this color set for anything more than background filling for serious work.
Other than that, also keep in mind that the colors are a little on the thicker side.
- It is inexpensive
- Good color variety right out of the box
- Thick and buttery consistency
- Great for casual use
- It is not meant for professional use
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Matisse Structure Formula Acrylics
Matisse Structure Formula Acrylics is a great option for kids because of its modularity in terms of consistency and its affordable price. We also recommend it to casual artists and hobbyists. In the set we reviewed, you get 12 different shades of 12ml each.
Experience
Controlling the paint is one of the toughest jobs when it comes to painting with acrylic paint. So, if you are new to painting, in general, then it can scare you away.
Thatâs where this paint impressed us the most. You can dilute this color with water or medium to give a thinner and more fluid experience.
You can also make it thicker using impasto or texture medium if you prefer that experience.
Otherwise, the colors perform decently enough for the price. The vibrancy is great for the price and the permanency is above average.
If you are new to the art or have kids who want to discover their artistic side, then go with this as itâll be really helpful for learning the basics.
- Very affordable
- Color performance is pretty decent
- Paint permanency is great for the price
- Paint is extremely modular in terms of consistency
- It is only meant for casual use
Castle Art Supplies Acrylic Paint Set is our top budget pick that is meant for beginner and casual artists. These colors come at almost half the price of the Arteza color set we talked about. The set has 48 different colors, and the quality and the performance of the paint is well beyond the expectations one could have given the price.
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Experience
The colors have a decent pigment count, and they are pretty vibrant. The permanence and the lightfastness are also well above average.
The experience of painting with this color set is also very satisfactory, especially, given the price point.
The set has 48 different colors, which is more than enough in terms of variety. The variety of the color set becomes even more important if you consider that this paint set will mostly be used by beginners and casual artists.
The only gripe that we have with this color set is the fact that the tubes are not big – 22ml each – and the colors canât be purchased individually. Because of this the basic colors, which are used the used the most, run out pretty soon.
- It is the best value for money in the budget category
- Colors perform decently in terms of permanency, vibrancy, and experience
- There are 48 different colors in the set
- Colors canât be purchased individually
Grumbacher Acrylic Paint Set is the best student grade acrylic set according to us. At the student grade bracket, this acrylic set gives the closest performance to professional grade acrylic paint. These colors can be bought individually as well as in sets. There are four sizes available as well – 2.5, 3, 5.07 and 6.76 oz.
- Set includes one tube each: Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber,...
- ASTM lightfast rating of 1- Excellent
Experience
The experience of painting with these colors is amazing. The consistency is extremely smooth and the feel of the paint is spectacular for the price. Itâs a little surprising to see such a good performance in a student grade color set.
The colors excel in vibrancy as well. It seems like the paint has high pigment count and the colors are, hence, very poopy and bright. The results look very close to what weâd have gotten with professional grade paint.
The paint is decently permanent and lightfast as well. But the colors vary from each other in terms of durability, so, we recommend you to check their website for the specifics.
- Well into the affordable range for most artists
- 48 different colors in the set and it offers plenty of variety
- Consistency and vibrancy are almost at par with professional grade paint
- Color is extremely durable as well with great lightfastness and permanency
- However good this acrylic paint may be, these are not professional grade colors
Liquitex is a brand of art supplies that was founded in 1955 and since then Liquitex has made some of the best art products including paint. This heavy body acrylic set performs outstandingly in every regard and we can recommend this paint enough to the professionals who use heavy body acrylics.
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Experience
This heavy body acrylic has outstanding performance in every area. The consistency is marvelous with a buttery flow and a gorgeous satin finish.
The colors are pretty bright and vibrant, even though the pigment count is not very high. Itâs good in a way because many professionals like more somber colors.
The durability of the paint is incredible. The paint is extremely lightfast and permanent, no matter the color. The paint is water resistant and UV resistant.
It is our top recommendation for professionals who prefer heavy body acrylics.
The set we reviewed had 12 different colors and the colors can also be individually purchased through various online and offline retailers. The color variety is a bit underwhelming but we figure itâs enough to satisfy most artistsâ needs.
There are four sizes to choose from – 2, 4.65 and 32 oz.
- The colors have an amazing performance in terms of vibrancy and consistency
- It has a gorgeous satin finish
- The colors are incredibly durable as well, they are water resistant and UV resistant
- It is expensive
Winsor & Newton’s Galeria is a series of paint that bridges the gap between the student grade and the professional grade paints. With a modest price tag, this paint set provides more than most student grade paint sets. Itâs sort of a middle ground of acrylic paint and hence, it makes it on our list.
- High quality Acrylic which delivers professional results
- Ideal for artists who want good quality color at an...
Experience
The colors are reasonable vibrant and sort of mimic the look of professional grade paint while being a lot cheaper. We think professional artists who are new to acrylics will find this paint the most useful.
The colors are fairly lightfast adn permanent but youâll have to look up online for details about the durability of individual colors.
Although the colors we are discussing here came in a set of 10, you can buy 57 different colors individually as well.
There are in total 4 different sizes for the paint – 60, 200, 250 and 500 ml. Although do keep in mind that some colors donât have all the sizes available.
- Perfect paint set for intermediates or professionals who are new to acrylics
- Colors perform reasonably well and are extremely durable
- Thereâs a wide selection of colors available – 57 in total – that can be bought individually
- Moderate price tag and good performance providing a middle ground of acrylic paintsÂ
- The size options and their availability is a bit problematic
This acrylic set makes it here because of the incredible handiness of blending and glazing with these. The colors perform reasonably well and that too at an affordable price. The smoothness of the flow and colorsâ vibrancy is a delightful experience.
- Paint has very little odor and dries rapidly to create a...
- Made with high quality pigments, from the most demanding...
Experience
The colors are on the more saturated and strong side. The colors pop out after drying and overall, itâs a good look.
The consistency is on the softer side – kind of thin. The paint seems to glide on the canvas and the experience, hence, is very smooth and pleasing.
For that very reason, we think that this acrylic set is perfect for blending, glazing, and mixing colors.
On the other side, the colors are also very durable. They are decently lightfast and retain the saturation very well. Overall, itâs a good pick.
- Colors are well saturated and vibrant
- Paint has a buttery experience when putting to the canvas
- Colors are plenty durable – light-fast and donât lose their saturation
- Not recommended for professionals, fall short in performance when compared to artist grade paints
Best Acrylic Paint Buyerâs Guide
Here are some parameters that are used to judge the quality of acrylic paint.
Vibrancy
The vibrancy of the paint depends on the pigments that are used to make the paint. The source of the pigment, its purity, and its concentration, all together, decide the brightness of the paint.
The paint that has âHueâ in its name are made from a combination of pigments to produce that specific color. These are, hence, not naturally sourced.
Typically, artist grade paints are more vibrant and have better pigments than student grade paints.
Consistency
Acrylic paint can be of various kinds in terms of consistency. And in acrylic paints, consistency matters a lot becaue the experience is significantly different and different consistencies are used to achieve different results.
Heavy body paint is, especially, a different breed of its own. Because it has almost putty-like consistency and the artists use it to achieve very different results from other acrylic paints.
Lightfastness
Lightfastness is the ability of the paint to resist the depreciation that is caused by light and radiation. A lightfast paint retains its saturation even after long exposure to light.
ASTM categorizes colors using 5 buckets of lightfastness: Very poor, Poor, Fair, Very good and Excellent.
Often lightfastness varies from color to color even if they come from the same line-up. This is because different kinds of pigments are used for different colors.
If you are concerned about the lightfastness of the paint you use, be sure to check the ratings of individual color from the website of the manufacturer.
Permanence
Permanence of a paint tries to quantify or categorize the permanancy of that paint. Of course, this also includes how lightfast the paint is but it also includes other aging factors of the paint.
Often, casual artists can ignore the permanancy of the paint but professional artists are very serious about this.
Our recommendation for them will be to carefully note the permanency for individual color from the manufacturerâs website as permanency also varies with the colors.
Conclusion
So, thatâll be all for this article.
We listed our top picks for acrylic paints and also included our review about it. Keep in mind that these entries are listed to cater to unique and different needs so thereâs not any sort of ranking.
We hope that you enjoyed reading this piece and found it helpful. We hope you the very best in your endeavors and thank you for reading!
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