New to acrylic paint pouring? After devouring all those pour-painting YouTube videos, you may feel bewildered and overwhelmed when you sit down to paint. I know I did, and I had to figure things out, one pour piece at a time. So here I am, sharing what I learned and what worked for me. Remember, acrylic pouring is all about experimentation—trial and error until you find your style— but I hope you will be off to a good start with these handy pour painting tips!
Top Tips for Acrylic Painting and Pour Projects
1. Start small.
You’ll likely be tempted to choose a large canvas for your initial artwork. However, when it comes to pour away fluid art, large canvases are much harder to maneuver. It takes time to master drying time, paint-to-medium ratios, and motion. You may want to get more comfortable with the fluid painting technique before graduating to larger surfaces. Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it has to be boring. You can tackle a myriad of surfaces including ceramics, plastic, metal, glass, fabric, and stone.
2. Choose your surface wisely.
If you ask pouring artists what base they use the most, you’ll often hear stretched canvas. Canvas is the friendliest surface to paint on. But metal is great too as it doesn’t require any special preparation. Here are some common surfaces to try pour painting on:
- Stretched canvas: Pre-stretched, the canvas provides a resilient paint surface and is ready to paint as soon as it is unwrapped. Just make sure you’re using a pre-primed canvas. To see the benefits of pour painting on primed canvas, check out “The Benefits of Painting on Gesso for Beginner Artists“
- Canvas boards: Thinner and available in smaller sizes, canvas boards are another easy option. A canvas panel consists of material adhered to a cardboard base. It is as lightweight as a stretched canvas but more compact and usually less expensive, making it great for practice. These are also easy to incorporate into a frame if you envision your final piece as a framed work of art.
- Canvas sheets: Acrylic pouring on sheets of canvas is difficult. You will need to place it on a hard and flat surface to allow the paint to flow when poured or when the surface is tilted. It’s also difficult to keep the paint from pooling and cracking. While possible, it’s not advised for beginners.
- Ceramic tiles to make coasters or small decor items
- Serving trays
- Lazy Susans
- Picture frames
- Metal boxes, plates, and decorative pieces
For more interesting acrylic pouring surfaces, check out our full sections on Canvas Pouring and Non-Canvas Pouring ideas.
3. Choose appealing paint color combinations.
I recommend using a color wheel as a reference for choosing color combinations. There are two color wheels – the classic red-yellow-blue color wheel and the cyan-magenta-yellow color wheel. Mixing two primary colors next to each other on the color wheel produces secondary colors. Combining a primary and secondary color sitting next to each other on the color wheel forms tertiary colors.
For a more natural piece, choose colors that are next to one another on the color wheel. This will produce a monotone look that appealing in most home decor. When desiring a piece with higher contrast, choose colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. This often works better for acrylic painting and pour projects because as the paints mix and flow together, you still have a good variance in color that draws the eye to the convergences of the differing tones. For more tips on choosing the correct colors for your pour-away fluid art, check out our article on “Choosing Paint Colors for Acrylic Pouring, and get a free printable color wheel!
Suggested Color Combinations
- Dark and light color contrasts to create a striking effect – for example, light grays and white with dark blue or purple.
- Try neutrals with bold or metallic colors – for example, white, black, or beige with gold or silver.
- Another option is a mix of cool and warm colors. Be careful here as there’s a chance for muddy colors (more on that below), which often occurs from mixing colors on opposite sides of the color wheel.
Avoiding a Muddy Mix
If your acrylic pour looks like a brown, gray, or black blob, that’s what we call ‘muddy.’ This usually happens due to mixing complementary colors, or red, blue, and yellow (primary colors) together. Too much mixing of these shades tends to produce a tone of brown. A muddy mix can result from mixing too much in the cup, which causes the hues to combine and change. So, how do you avoid a muddy mix while still using the complementary colors you want?
My preferred solution is to layer some neutral colors between your complementary ones. It’s easy to do, and you’ll get a range of different colors that look aesthetic and vibrant. You could also mix bright shades in separate cups and pour them next to each other using a puddle pour technique. Then, tilt the canvas slowly in one direction, return the paint mass to the center, and tilt in another direction. Avoid tilting too fast or too much, as there’s a chance for a muddy pour or distorted shapes with too much movement as well. The key to preventing a muddly look is to avoid overmixing, both before and after the pour.
4. Choose the correct pouring medium and ratios.
Using a pouring medium thins the paint and makes it easier to control. It also increases bondage to the surface, extends drying to time to give you longer to work, and helps paint dry to a crack-free and harder finish. You can dilute acrylic paint with water, but it will affect the vibrancy of the paint colors and their bonding ability. There are commercial pouring mediums that will thin paints while retaining their vibrancy:
Liquitex is popular among artists and craft enthusiasts. The transparent, water-based medium dries to a glossy or matte finish, depending on which variety you choose. Liquitex is available at most art stores and online.
Floetrol, available at most hardware stores, is inexpensive and the choice of hobbyists. It is used primarily as a paint extender for house painting and thinning paint for spraying. Floetrol increases the paint’s viscosity, letting it flow more smoothly and evenly. It also prevents the paint from drying out too quickly.
The Correct Ratio
The amount of medium you use will depend on your paint, project, and acrylic paint pour technique. When using thicker paint, you may need to add a bit of water and the flow enhancer to achieve the right consistency. A lesser medium will suffice for thinner craft paint to get the desired consistency. Intermediate and experienced artists may also use silicone oil to create interesting cell effects. In general, more pigmented, high-quality paints will require less medium. Thin, cheaper, liquid acrylics may need more to give them viscosity.
Start slowly. With cheaper paint, you’ll likely end up using a 1:1 ratio. With expensive tints, you may only need a tsp of paint to a cup of medium. Mix slowly, adding paint and medium, until you reach a warm-honey consistency that flows easily in your cup, but retains its opaque coloration. For more tips on medium choice and mixing, take a peek at “The Perfect Acrylic Pouring Medium to Suit Your Pour Paint Technique.”
5. Choose the right mix cup and pour cup.
The mixing cup is for mixing individual paints and mediums. The pour cup is for layering individual paints and then pouring onto the chosen surface.
In your mix cup, use one medium only. This is where you get your consistency right and make sure your color is well blended. With a dirty pour or a flip cup pour, you’ll then layer all your paint colors into your pour cup. This cup will have multiple layers of paint-medium mixes. As you advance, you may find that some of your pigments do better with different mediums. For example, you mix the primary colors in three separate mix cups and use Floetrol in the blue and yellow, but the red admix needs a different flow enhancer. With practice, you’ll better understand which mediums work well together.
Also, remember that the wrong size of pour cup can cause colors to blend before they land on your canvas. For example, say the total amount of paint in your pour cup is less than the size of the cup. Then, the paints will start to mix as they fall from the sides of the cup and continue mixing on the canvas, leading to a muddy effect. In a nutshell, align the cup size to the amount of paint you want to pour. I personally like to use punch-sized plastic cups for my mixing cups, and a normal Solo cup for my pour cup.
6. Prevent bubbles in your acrylic pour painting.
Bubbles are trouble! Mixing acrylic paints vigorously traps air inside them and causes bubbles on top of the paints. After the paint has dried, cells form, which is fine only if you want them, but these don’t look like the cells left by say a silicone oil. They more often leave tiny blank spaces on your canvas that look unprofessional. Bubbles can also occur when the paint mixture is too thick. The thick paint will dry quickly, making the bubbles’ escape difficult. Avoid overmixing your paint, and let it stand for a few minutes to get the bubbles out before pouring.
If the bubbles have already appeared, you can pop them with a toothpick or pin. You can also pop them using a mist of rubbing alcohol from a spray bottle. The other option is to use a blowtorch or heat gun, but do not take the flame too close to the canvas as you risk burning it.
7. Get the steps right.
- Gather your basic supplies and set up your work area. You’ll need a large drop cloth and something to elevate your canvas so that your paint can flow over the sides of the canvas completely. I often just prop mine up on some plastic cups. Take your time here. Art is individually paced, but in your beginner excitement, you’ll want to jump right to paint pouring. Fight the urge, and set yourself up for success first.
- Prime and prepare your canvas if it’s not pre-primed. Some artists also choose to work on a wet surface. You may choose to do a light coat of white or black paint on your canvas right before you begin painting.
- Mix your paint colors. In your separate mixing cups, work with each paint color until you get the warm-honey consistency.
- Choose your acrylic pour technique, and begin pouring your paint. For more information on paint pour techniques, check out our acrylic pouring YouTube videos, or take a look at “The Comprehensive Guide to Acrylic Pour Techniques.”
- Once you’ve poured the paint onto the canvas, hold the canvas with both hands and begin to tilt your surface slowly and slightly. Tipping the canvas guides the flow of paints in the direction you want. Add more colors where needed and tip the canvas again, letting the colors run to the edges and cover the entire surface.
- As a safety measure, spray rubbing alcohol over the artwork to prevent any air bubbles that might have formed. Leave the paint to dry, and give it 2-3 days to dry completely.
8. Learn the essential pours for beginners.
The clean/traditional pour, flip cup, puddle pour, and dirty pour are generally considered to be the easiest for beginner pour artists.
The Traditional Pour
The traditional pour technique involves mixing paint in separate containers and pouring each paint onto the canvas. The colors can be poured in a variety of different methods. For example, sprinkle the paint with a spoon or stick, or pour from your cups directly, layering colors on top of each other at different intervals to create new designs. This technique keeps you from overmixing paint and getting muddy colors.
The Puddle Pour
Based on the traditional technique, the puddle pour involves pouring puddles of each color, or simple mixtures, onto different areas of the canvas. You then expand each of the puddles by pouring additional colors in the center of the puddle. In another variation, you pour many small puddles of different colors and tip your canvas so that the puddles run into each other and create abstract shapes.
The Dirty Pour
In the dirty pour technique, you mix the colors in separate containers, transfer them to a single large container, simply layering them on top of each other. Then, you pour them onto the canvas in one swoop and start tilting.
A variation uses a blend of colors in each cup, such as reds and yellows in one and blues and greens in another. When poured individually on the canvas, the two dirty pours can be blended or kept separate based on your desired look.
The Flip Cup
The flip cup technique involves layering your paints in your pour cup as in the dirty pour. You’ll then place your canvas or flat surface on top of your cup. In one motion, you turn the canvas and cup over, setting it on a flat surface. You then gently lift up the cup and allow the paint to flow.
Acrylic Pouring Dirty Pour Technique with Violets and Yellows!! – YouTube
9. Store paints correctly.
Leftover paint is common. You’ll want to store it correctly so it doesn’t go bad. For starters, seal the paint in airtight containers to prevent it from drying out. You can use any unused household container; make sure it is airtight.
Keep paint in a cool, dry place. Extreme temperatures can dry out your paint, and humidity will make it grow mold. Some people store paint in their sheds or garages without a problem, but that depends on your climate. If your area gets very hot and humid, you’re better off storing your paint elsewhere, like your utility room closet.
10. Enjoy learning!
Every artist masters acrylic painting and pour techniques at their own pace. Enjoy the journey, and note what you could have improved. Get inspiration from acrylic pouring YouTube videos and blogs, sure, but don’t be afraid to experiment to find your style and preferences.
Get to Pouring!
You won’t be a professional on your first piece. Don’t get discouraged, just make some tweaks and try again. You can follow a tutorial to the “T,” but if you’re in a different climate, have a different quality canvas, or use a different brand of paint, you could get a drastically different result. That’s just the way of it. Keep working and tweaking, and you’ll find your groove!
Now…Go forth and pour!
