While oil and watercolor paints have been staples in the artist community for centuries, acrylic paintings are relatively new. However, this painting method has won over artists all around the globe due to its flexibility and versatility.
One issue that plagues acrylic mediums is the paint becoming dull after they dry. This is a genuine problem, but the fix is not very difficult. So, if you want to know why your acrylic paintings dull, keep reading on this article in which we list 4 Reasons Why Your Acrylic Paintings Look Dull.
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Why Are My Acrylic Paintings Dull?
The main culprit here is not one particular thing. There can be a variety of reasons that make acrylic paint lose its shine over time or even as soon as your painting dries. In no particular order, here are a few reasons:
Improper Color Mixing
This is perhaps the biggest reason an aspiring artist’s acrylic painting may lose its gloss varnish
over time. It is a very common mistake to make, but the proportion of ingredients is key here.
Even investing in artist-quality paint or a great final satin varnish will not be enough if the techniques are not proper. Even for cheaper paints, accurate color mixing is the first thing an artist needs to master.
Acrylic Paint Cracking
A cracked acrylic painting will make the painting’s surface visible, and this will result in making the whole thing look amateur and dull. This issue will occur when an artist uses too thick of a layer on the canvas.
Thicker layers of acrylic paint will make it so that the top paint layer will dry up faster than the bottom one, and the surface tension will break hardened paint very easily.
Another thing to consider is the application of opaque colors. Even on a thin layer of paint, an improper opaque to vibrant color ratio will make the painting crack.
Dust Particles
While this is mainly an issue for old acrylic paintings, we feel like it falls under the same category. The gloss finish of the painting will accumulate dust over time, resulting in dull acrylic paintings.
Heavy body acrylics and light acrylics both are susceptible to this, and the easy solution is to take better care of your paintings. Wiping them down with a damp cloth or white cotton cloth soaked with water will increase the life of your glossy finish by tenfold.
Presence of Lumps
Using old acrylic paint will result in lumps of various sizes and shapes throughout your entire painting. You should know that no matter how much varnish you use, old acrylic colors cannot really be saved.
Marks or spots created due to lumps will stay even if you use a good quality paint film or acrylic binder. Straining the solvent out before mixing is a good remedy, and as a side bonus, you will get your fluid acrylics to shine beautifully.
Even though most paint manufacturers don’t advertise this, straining will improve the quality of any paint.
How to Make Acrylic Paint Vibrant?
Now that you know the problems let’s discuss how to overcome them. Here are a few simple steps that will help you reach your full potential with acrylic paint:
Using Good Quality Paint
The most common misconception for a newbie artist is that they don’t need to invest in good quality products, and student grade paint will work just fine. Usually, they are cheap, and you can buy them in bulk without much of a dent in your wallet.
But why do you think they are so cheap? Because they fill the tubes up with fillers and don’t use good pigments. This results in colors not looking as advertised and becoming dull.
Also, here’s a trick, always avoid paint tubes that have the word “hue” written in them as it’s just a marketing strategy to offer cheaper and lower quality products.
If you can’t spare a lot of expensive paint for just one painting, did you know that Soft body acrylic paints will give you 3 times as much coverage as heavy body ones? So do not waste your time with student grade paints and go for the good quality professional ones. You will save money in the long run.
Choosing Modern Pigments
There are two primary types of acrylic paints available in the market. Ones with inorganic or traditional pigments, and the other are modern or organic pigments.
Organic pigments are made up in the lab with ingredients custom picked to give the finished painting a good shine. So always pick this kind of acrylic paint for brilliant colors.
Knowing When to Use White
Venturing around to the field of water or an oil painting, you will notice those types of painting always appear very glossy. That is because the artists use water and oil respectively to lighten the colors. One very common mistake in the world of acrylic is using white to lighten acrylic paint.
White paint is notorious for decreasing the saturation of your mixed color, and excessive use of white makes acrylic paintings look desaturated. The best alternative here is to use an acrylic medium to lighten your colors instead of white paint. Use Liquitex gloss medium or any other medium of your choice to dilute acrylics.
Not Using Black
Professional and newcomers alike, always suggest not to use black paint to deepen your colors and thus some believe that acrylic sets should not even come with black tube, and if you need black you can mix your own black paint.
Painting Surface Matters
Always, and I repeat, always use bright white surfaces. This means to prime your canvas with bright white gesso. Even if you think your painting would look better with a tinted gesso, for example, if you are thinking of green foliage, we suggest still starting with a white surface.
Additionally, use a surface with good absorbency but avoid an over the absorbent surface. Matte surfaces are also to be avoided.
Strategically Placing Complementary Colors Next to Each Other
For this tip, consult a color wheel and pick complementary colors side-by-side. As this will make both of them pop. While this is hard advice to follow as some scenes require specific colors, a more generalized tip would be to use cool and warm colors next to each other.
What exactly this will do is, your finished oil or acrylic painting will have a sense of depth, and it will make the painting stand out.
Final Words
Now, you’ll never have to ask yourself; why are my acrylic paintings dull! We would recommend using a restricted range of professional acrylics and using the best organic pigments in your mix for the most vibrant acrylic paintings.
We would also recommend taking the time to understand further about color matching so that you aren’t totally dependent on black to deepen colors or white to lighten them. It is likely that these two modifications will have the most influence on the brilliance of your paintings.
Other than that, you can follow all of our other tips to make your long painting sessions more enjoyable and rewarding!