When you want to get into painting, it can confusing to know where to start, especially when it comes to the medium you use! A medium is the type of material you work with, so your medium of choice could be oil paint, pastels, watercolor, etc. However, when starting your painting journey, we recommend choosing acrylic paint over any other kind. Acrylic is a water-based paint that is such a joy to work with no matter your subject matter. Let's get into why!
You can also get soft-body acrylic paint for a more seamless, blendable look, perfect for more graphic or realistic art! We use soft body for all our painting kits here at The Sketching Pad because it's easy to blend, and it's easy to fix mistakes!
CUT OUT THE GUESSWORK, GET A KIT!
Get a great look at how acrylic paint works and exactly what makes it great in a stress-free way with our canvas painting kits! You'll have everything you need to make a masterpiece.
Be sure to read the descriptions and uses for any products like these before you purchase to make sure they're suitable for what you need. If you need any guidance, we'll be happy to help, just email kits@thesketchingpad.com.
Want to learn some tips and techniques for using your new acrylic paint? Get free access to our library of video tutorials and canvas painting tips here!
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You've decided to make a mosaic; that's awesome! Now for the fun but challenging part: where do you begin choosing your tiles? There are so many kinds of tiles to choose from, which can make it all too easy to make the wrong choice if you're unsure what to look for! That's why we created this post; we've worked (sometimes through trial and error) to determine what makes them great for each project!
First, let's cover what you probably want to avoid getting and why! You might want to avoid plastic tiles, which won't be able to stand up to regular use. Durability is important when creating a functional project, like a trivet or tabletop. We don't want your beautiful mosaic trivet melting when you put a pot on it because your tiles are plastic! You may also want to avoid tiles with designs etched into the top. While these tiles can be gorgeous, it can be hard to get grout out of all the indentions when you finish your project.
Now it's time to cover what tiles you should use! Glass and Ceramic tiles are beautiful and functional, making them our top choice and the types we include in our mosaic kits. They're great in many ways, but one of my favorite things about them is that they can withstand heat, so they're great for making things like trivets or coasters. You can also use them outside without the sun bleaching them like it would with plastic tiles. There are loads of stunning options for glass and ceramic tiles on Etsy! Glass is particularly great to work with because you can purchase sheets of glass and cut out your own tiles in the exact shapes you need! You can watch this great video from Bonnie Fitzgerald & Kim Wozniak on YouTube to learn everything you need to know about the glass cutting process!
Now you understand all the tile options at your disposal, but what about the other supplies you'll need for mosaics? Check out Our Guide To An Absolutely Stunning Mosaic to learn everything you need to know about mosaic making from surfaces, grout, tile adhesive, and more!
If you're ready to get a feel for mosaic making, check out our mosaic kits for a great project that won't have you stressing about supplies!
Whether it's just you and your BOO, a large group of family and friends, or something in-between, we have loads of inspiration for a spooktacular Halloween painting party, so get on your costume and let's get into it!
This guide will give you ideas for snacks, drinks, decorations, and of course, painting kits! We offer loads of fall painting options that will get you PUMPED for Halloween. And if you're looking for something more spooky to paint than our examples, you can always get a custom kit! We can sketch anything you'd like on a canvas and give you paint, brushes, and tips on how to paint! And don't worry if you need a little more guidance; you can always email kits@thesketchingpad.com, and we'll offer you guidance and techniques to execute your specific vision! FALL IN LOVE WITH MORE KITS!
IT'S TIME TO BREW UP A NEW PAINTING!
(No cauldron necessary!) We love fall so much, which is why we have so many seasonal fall painting kits and we add more almost every year! You'll be sure to find something that LEAVES you in awe!
Want to be known for throwing flawless painting parties among your loved ones? Look no further than this guide that gives you everything you need to know to do just that with no added stress!
Even though not all of us have been able to make it to the Eras tour, we all get to experience the concert in theaters on October 13th, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Plus, with 1989 (Taylor's Version) coming out only a month after tis the season for Taylor parties, so let's get into it!
Want to know how to host a flawless painting party? Check out our free Painting Party guide. We'll explain how to prep your house, what to buy, and even give you printables for your guests!
LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED
WATCH PARTY INVITATIONS
MAGICAL DECORATIONS
FOOD IDEAS
LOKI INSPIRED MOCKTAIL RECIPE
Want more info on every little detail for the perfect painting party? We'll explain how to prep your house, what to buy, and even give you printables for your guests!
UNDERSTANDING CONTRAST
EXAMPLES OF CONTRAST IN A BLACK AND WHITE PAINTINGThe example below shows the difference between high contrast and low contrast in a simple black-and-white painting. Below is an excellent example of why high contrast is important in making things clear and readable. On the high contrast side everything is highlighted where it should be and everything that is meant to be bold stands out as it should! That isn't the case on our low contrast side; it's tough to see what it is. Of course, you can still tell that it's a flower, but you might have to look closely to distinguish the details. Art needs to be clear, especially if it's something like this where it's an object; it's even more critical in a portrait where it needs to look like someone specific. EXAMPLES OF CONTRAST IN A FULL COLOR PAINTINGIn the following example, you can see high contrast versus low contrast in a full-color painting. Just like the first example, you can see just how much easier it is to tell what you're looking at in the high contrast painting; even though the color makes it a little more apparent where different objects are in the image, it's still nowhere near as pleasing to look at as the high contrast example. HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR ART HAS ENOUGH CONTRASTIt's easy to tell if your art has enough contrast if it's already in black and white, but what if it's in color? How on earth are you supposed to be able to tell what your color values are? It's easier than you might think! Just take a photo of your painting and edit the saturation down to zero; this will give you an exact look at the values so you know if you'll need to make any adjustments! Not that technical? Try this: when looking at your painting, identify the lightest and darkest areas. If you need help determining what those are or if the lightest and darkest areas are at all similar to each other, bump up the contrast! You can mix white with colors to lighten certain areas and darken others by mixing in black. This method can be especially helpful if you're working from a reference because you can go ahead and adjust the saturation of your reference photo too, to see if they match up!
Have you ever wondered how to clean acrylic paint out of your brushes? Look no further! First, you'll see how to clean acrylic paint brushes, and then we've included a bonus section on fixing brushes that are bent out of shape or have dried paint stuck in them! Let's get started with...
OUR FAVORITE BRUSH CLEANERS!
WANT TO START A NEW PROJECT WITH YOUR CLEAN BRUSHES?OUR FAVORITE CLEANER FOR GETTING DRIED ACRYLIC PAINT OUT OF BRUSHES!
Is one of your favorite brushes a little bent out of shape? We have a super easy solution! Grab The Masters Brush Cleaner, a cup of water or a sink, and your bent-up brush. Let's fix it!
LEARN MORE ABOUT ACRYLIC PAINTING AND SUPPLIES!
Want to learn how to use your paint brushes in dozens of fun ways? Sign up to receive FREE access to our Acrylic Basics Video Library, where we demonstrate techniques and give painting tips!
Does your child have a favorite superhero? When families come into our studio to paint with us, we absolutely love seeing the kids' eyes shine when they get to paint the superhero that most inspires them. That's why we've created painting kits that make it easy for you to paint from home! Children everywhere should get to experience the joy of painting their heroes.
Painting parties are a blast, but being sure that you have all the right supplies can be stressful. When you order canvas painting kits from The Sketching Pad, we send you everything you'll need, including a canvas with the design drawn out for you. You'll also receive a video tutorial that you can pull up on the tv or project on the wall, so your guests can follow along!
One thing we really like about this invitation is that it works really well for a kids party or a teen party. It's not too cutesy, not too grown up! It's just the right amount of fun and eye-catching.
Want more info on every little detail for the perfect painting party? We'll explain how to prep your house, what supplies you'll need, and even give you printables for your guests!
You'll find kits for Spiderman, Black Panther, Batman, and more!
Is there anything more satisfying than adding the finishing touches to a project? This step can be a little bit nerve-racking for beginners to DIY mosaics, but you'll be amazed at how you'll feel when your grout is wiped clean. Check out our video for this process here.
STEP 1: MIX THE GROUT
Put a small amount of your grout powder into your disposable cup. The amount will vary based on the size of your project. For a 6"-12" project, start with about a half cup of grout. Keep in mind that you can always mix more, but you can't reuse grout later that you've already mixed up.
Next, add a couple of tablespoons of water at a time. The goal is to have grout the consistency of a thick milkshake. It needs to be thick enough that it won't drip, but thin enough to be smooth and spreadable.
Do you want to learn more mosaic techniques or tips like how to color grout? Check out Our Guide to an Absolutely Stunning Mosaic!
For some people, picking colors for canvas paintings is very intuitive. For others, it can feel like a shot in the dark. Painting may not be rocket science, but there is definitely a science to what our eyes are naturally attracted to. If you don't feel confident selecting colors for your paintings, we have good news for you! There are four types of easy-to-learn color schemes that can make this process incredibly simple. All four of them are covered in our FREE How to Choose a Background Color course, as well as our comprehensive Foundations Studies course. Today, we're going to cover the simplest of the four color schemes: complementary colors. The reason that this is the easiest color palette to create is that you are simply selecting opposite colors on a color wheel.
Now that you understand the concept, how do you use it? Let's put this into practice by showing some examples in paintings!
In this case, you would more than likely also want to adjust the background color from purple to something that will make the red stand out more. If you don't want to use green as the complement to red in this case, check out How to Choose a Background Color for other color palettes that would work well! Below you'll see two examples of butterfly paintings that we made using our Butterfly Canvas Painting Kit. In one, the artist wanted the butterfly to be yellow, so they chose to make the flowers purple to complement the yellow. In the other, the artist chose orange for the butterfly, so blue was the natural choice! As you can see, this is a super easy method for choosing two colors that look great together. Want to get more in-depth and advanced with your color theory skills? Check out our Foundations Studies courses, which each include around 10 video art lessons and everything you'll need to do several exercises and complete paintings!
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hey there!The Sketching Pad has been helping people just like you have fun and stress-free painting experiences for over a decade. Whether we're helping people create masterpieces in person in our studio, or we're guiding people who are painting at home through our painting kits and video tutorials, we are passionate about helping people see that everyone can be an artist with the right tools and guidance! This FREE Acrylic Painting Guide includes:
You'll learn...
This FREE course includes...
You'll learn...
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