Acrylic vs oil paints: Which is better for beginners?

Acrylic vs oil paints — what’s the difference? And which is better for beginner painters? 

Acrylic paints and oil paints are two of the most popular mediums used by artists. But which one should you start with?

It’s a good question!

Oil and acrylic have a lot of similarities. But they also have some important differences, too.

In this article, I break down the pros and cons of these two art mediums, and end with my final conclusion of which is best for beginners. So read on!

And here’s some BONUS content for you. Click here to download your QuickStart Guide to Oil Painting. It’s free. Easy to read. And designed to get you painting fast.

Acrylic vs oil paint SIMILARITIES

When I first started working at the art gallery, I couldn’t tell oil paintings from acrylic paintings.

Acrylic and oil:

• can look similar if they are using the same painting technique
• can be painted on many surfaces including canvas or wood
• dry to a nice, hard finish
• don’t need to be framed behind glass
• have a variety of paint mediums that you can add to the paint to change its texture, drying-time or sheen

Over time, and by learning more about the two paints, I can now spot the differences a little better. And after reading this article, you will be able to spot them too!

Acrylic vs oil paint DIFFERENCES

This is where it gets interesting! And why painters like painting in more than one medium: the paints behave differently. Here’s a break down of the differences in the acrylic vs oil paints debate.

Their ingredients

The reason these two paints are different is because of their ingredients. All paints whether oil, acrylic, watercolour or pastels, are made with pigments plus binders.

Pigments are what create the actual colour. They are usually made from rocks, minerals or synthetics ground up into a powder form.

Binders are what you add to the powdered pigment to make it stick together and turn it into paint. 

To make oil paint, the pigments are mixed with hardening oils. These are oils that will cure or dry to a hard, glossy, vibrant finish. (Some oils, such as mineral oil, will never dry, so they won’t work for paint.) The oils used in the manufacturing of oil paints are typically linseed, walnut or safflower oil.

Acrylic paints are pigments mixed with an acrylic polymer and water. When the water evaporates, the paint dries to a hard, resilient finish, but with a somewhat matte sheen. 

Drying time

This is the BIG DIFFERENCE between the 2 paints.

Acrylic paint dries much faster than oil paints. It can become dry to the touch in just 15 minutes if painted thinly. 

Oil paint takes longer to dry. Depending on how thick you paint, oil can take a few days to a few weeks or even months to dry.

The drying time can either be a pro or a con depending on your technique or what you want to paint. I’ll talk about that further on, so keep reading!

Changing the drying times of paints

You CAN add paint mediums to both oil and acrylic paints to speed up or slow down the drying time. But you will never get oil paints to dry in 20 minutes like acrylics, or get acrylic paint to stay “open” and workable as long as oil paint does. Check out this post where I explain everything about paint mediums and all the different varieties.

There are also faster drying oil paints called alkyds. These are made with polymerized oils and can dry in a day or two. They can be mixed with regular oil paints.

Blendability vs. hard edges

This is another big difference between acrylic and oil paints.

Oil paints are great for blending. The paint stays “open” or wet for a long time, allowing the painter to make soft transitions and gradations without worrying that the paint will dry and leave hard edges.

This is great for certain effects where you want soft blends, such as in realistic portraits, or for landscapes where you want the background to appear out of focus and in the distance.

It’s also good for large projects, as the paint can stay wet and workable for days over a large area, especially if you add a slow-drying medium to it.

“Reclining Nude”, by Auguste Renoir, oil on canvas, 1883

Blending acrylic paints is challenging because of the fast drying time. The paint can dry before you get to it leaving hard edges. This is especially challenging for large paintings.

However, if you are looking to create hard edges or straight lines, acrylic paint is your friend. This is why it’s the medium of choice for pop-art, and many abstract paintings.

“Shadow of a Field”, Ivo Ringe, 2015, 180 x 320 cm, acrylic on canvas
 

Painting in layers

Both acrylic and oil paint can be painted in layers.

Acrylic’s fast drying time makes painting in layers easy. Thin layers can dry in just 15 minutes, allowing you to paint over them without worry of disturbing the layers and mixing colours.

You can use masking tape to tape off areas and make straight lines. Or you can use stencils to leave patterns and shapes with crisp edges.

Oscar Abreu, Acrylic (CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Oil paint dries slowly so painting in layers takes longer.

The Classical or Flemish process of oil painting uses thin layers called glazes. This is how they were able to get that beautiful translucency in their paintings. But because oil painting dries slowly, you have to wait a few days between each layer for the paint to dry. This makes painting large paintings a very time consuming process. But the beautiful effects have mesmerized audiences for hundreds of years.

The Mérode Altarpiece (The Annunciation Triptych), Robert Campin, oil on panel, c 1427 until 1432

If you are painting thick, then the oil paint will take a lot longer to dry. 

Paint colour and gloss

Acrylic paints tend to darken as they dry. This makes matching colour a little difficult. The matte finish of acrylic paints also makes the colours appear less vibrant.

Oil paints will stay true to colour when dry. The richness and glossiness of the oil paint makes the colours appear more rich and vibrant than acrylics.

Paint thickness 

Oil paints are typically thicker than acrylics. This means the paint will keep your brushstrokes, and can even hold peaks and ridges. The traditional brush for oil paint is a stiff hog hair brush that shows the brush strokes well.

To thin oil paint you will need OMS (Odorless Mineral Spirits) or Turpentine. But because these can emit toxic fumes, some people choose to thin their paint with hardening oils or mediums. You can also avoid this problem by using water-mixable paints.

Detail of Wheat Field with Cypresses, Vincent van Gogh, June 1889, oil on canvas.

Acrylic paint is usually thinner and more fluid than oil paint. Because of this it has a tendency to flatten when applied, losing the brush strokes and the peaks and ridges that oil paint produces.

Because hog hair will absorb water and go soft, the traditional brush for acrylic is a synthetic bristle brush. These brushes aren’t as stiff as oil paint brushes, so they tend to leave smoother brushstrokes.

Detail showing how acrylic paint flattens

However, acrylic paint does come in different textures. You can:

• buy it in liquid form. This is good for pouring or spattering.
• get heavy-bodied acrylics that are good for making thick impasto paintings.
• buy a variety of mediums that change the consistency of the paint.

Adhesion

Both acrylic and oil paints have excellent adhesion and can be painted on many surfaces including canvas, wood, paper, metals, and glass.

One important difference is that while oil paint will stick to acrylic paint, the reverse is NOT true. Acrylic paint can NOT be painted over oil. It will peel off.

Because of this, many oil painters tone their canvas with acrylic paint, or paint the undercoat with acrylic and finish with oils.

Acrylics may also have adhesion issues if the surface is not prepared properly. 

Art styles

Both oil and acrylic are suitable for many subjects and styles.

Styles of art suited for oils   

• portraits and paintings where you want soft edges, transitions, blends and gradations
• big paintings where you want the paint to stay wet and workable over several days
• artwork featuring rich and vibrant color with a somewhat luminous effect
• impasto painting — paintings with thick, expressive strokes. (Oil paint doesn’t flatten like other paints and keeps its peaks.)
• Realism and Hyperrealism.
• Alla Prima — this is the way The Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and plein air painters paint today. It’s a wet-in-wet style of painting that means you can complete a painting all in one sitting working while the paint is wet.

Check out the oil paintings on the Saatchi website.

 Sunset, Tom Thomson, oil on panel, 1915, 21.3 cm (8.3 in); width: 26.7 cm (10.5 in)

Styles of art suited to acrylics

Acrylic is a relatively new paint. It was first introduced in the 1950s and has become increasingly popular among artists because of it’s versatility. 

Acrylics are good for:

• paintings that are created in many layers
• abstracts that have crisp edges 
• mixed media paintings where you can incorporate collage, cloth, and stenciling
• thin paint techniques like pouring, dribbling, spattering
• Pop Art: acrylic lends itself to flat, graphic styles with strong outlines and solid blocks of color.
• artwork that you want to dry fast
• toning canvases so you don’t start on a white canvas

Check out all the acrylic paintings for sale on the Saatchi website.

Clean up 

Acrylics are considered water-based and can be cleaned up with soap and water. 

Oil is harder to clean than acrylic because oil and water don’t mix. The traditional way to thin or clean oil paint is with turpentine or odourless mineral spirits (OMS). See the toxicity note below. 

However, you can also paint and clean your brushes without using solvents. See the section How To Paint Solvent Free below.

You can also get water-mixable oil paints. These have an additive in the formula that causes the oil to dissolve in water. These are becoming very popular and most brands have a water-mixable version.

#DumaDoArtTip for brush cleaning

This is the BEST tip ever. You do NOT have to clean your oil painting brushes every day.

You can:

• dip them into your medium and lay flat. This should keep them from drying for 1-3+ days depending on what oil you use. The order of drying from fastest to slowest is: linseed, safflower, walnut and poppyseed oil. 
• for longer periods of time you can keep the bristles submerged in a vat of walnut oil.

Toxicity and painting “solvent free”

First, I want to clear up a big misconception: it’s NOT the oil paint that is toxic. It’s the solvents used to thin and clean up oil paint.

Paint & toxicity

Since all paints are made with the same pigments, the toxicity is the same for ALL paints whether you use oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache etc..  

In general, paint is relatively harmless — except for some pigments. Colours made with heavy metals like cadmium, lead, or cobalt are toxic if eaten or inhaled. For this reason, avoid eating in your studio. Or sanding dried paint.

You can also paint in a toxic-free style by avoiding those pigments altogether. Look for paint colours marked as hue. For example, instead of buying Cobalt Blue, buy Cobalt Blue Hue. Hues are paints that try to match the colour of a pigment but use pigments that are not toxic.

Solvents & toxicity

Acrylic is water-based and can be cleaned with soap and water so this is not an issue.

But the traditional thinners and brush cleaners for oil paints are turpentine or Odourless Mineral Spirits.  OMS and “turps” emit aromatic compounds that may cause respiratory problems over time, so it is important to follow instructions and have proper ventilation in your painting space.

How to paint solvent free 

To avoid using thinners or solvents you can clean your brushes with oil.

While you paint, use artist-grade linseed, walnut or safflower oil to clean your brushes. Just dip into the oil and wipe clean with paper towel. Do not use food-grade oil. You want to keep additives away from your painting that might affect the painting’s  longevity. 

To clean brushes after you’ve finished painting, you can use any food grade inexpensive oil like canola or sunflower. Dip into the oil and wipe as much of the oil off as you can. Then finish washing your brushes with Murphy’s Oil Soap, specialty soaps, or even dish soap.

You can also paint with water-mixable oil paints. These can be cleaned with soap and water because the oil paint has been altered so that it can mix with water.  

To sum up

Acrylic paint pros

• Acrylic paint dries quickly, allowing artists to work faster
• Since it can dry in as little as 15 minutes, you can paint in layers more easily  
• Acrylic is versatile: it’s great for making sharp crisp lines, stencilling, pouring and spattering. It’s also great for pop art paintings 
• Can be painted on almost any surface
• Acrylic paint is generally considered to be non-toxic, and can be cleaned with soap and water
• Is low odor, with no fumes and are non-flammable
• Has a wide selection of mediums that can be added to the paint to change its texture and flow.

Acrylic paint cons

• It dries darker than what’s in the tube
• it doesn’t have the rich, sheen and luminosity of oil paint
• It dries quickly, making it difficult to blend or create gradients
• It dries flatter than oil paint, and loses its brush marks and peaks

acrylic drip painting

Oil paint pros

• Because oil paint dries slowly, it’s easier to create blends, transitions and gradients
• Oil paints have a longer working time, allowing artists to make changes and adjustments to their work — important for large works
• Is considered very forgiving: you can cover mistakes or just scrape the paint right off, which makes it a plus for beginners
• Oil paint has a rich, luminous quality that is difficult to achieve with other mediums
• Oil paint can be used on a variety of surfaces, including canvas, wood, and paper
• Comes in a water-mixable version which are non-toxic and easy to clean

Oil paint cons

• The slow drying time of oil paint can be frustrating for artists who prefer to work quickly
• Clean up is harder ( but you don’t have to clean your brushes — you can have then bristles soaking in walnut oil and this will save a lot of time and energy)
• If you are using odourless mineral spirits (OMS), you need proper ventilation unless you are painting solvent-free or with water-mixable oil paints
• Harder to travel with finished paintings because they take so long to dry
• There is a slight smell to the paint because of the oils used. But these are all natural plant-based oils made from linseed (flax plant), walnut, safflower or poppy seeds.

Landscape oil paintings by Irene Duma (moi). 6″ x 6″. Canvas mounted onto wood.

So acrylic vs. oil paints: which is better for beginners?

My answer is ….

it depends on the STYLE of painting you want to pursue. 

If you want sharp crisp lines, flat colour blocks, to paint in many layers quickly, to drip or pour, stencil, or to embed cloth or other objects into your painting, then choose acrylic

If you want rich, vibrant glossy colours, marks that keeps their brushstrokes and peaks, and paint that stays soft and blendable for a long time, then choose oil.

Remember, it does not matter which paint you start with. 

You do not have to follow a certain order when painting. In fact, contrary to popular belief, oil painting is NOT the hardest medium — it might just be the easiest medium. It’s forgiving— that means you can fix your mistakes! You can paint over it. Or scrape it right off and start again.

So, what’s the hardest? Watercolour — it’s transparent so you can’t cover up your mistakes!

So here’s my #DumaDoArtTip: Just choose the one that’s calling to you.

“Follow your bliss,” as Joseph Campbell says.

Listen to your heart. Which one EXCITES you? Then just say YES and go.

The important things is to just start!

You will have plenty of time to try all the different mediums, especially if you paint small or mini paintings — that’s another of my big #DumaDoArtTip‘s for beginners.

Many artists paint in more than one art medium because each one has its own special something something.

Also, once you can paint in one medium, it’s easier to paint in another. The basics of painting are the same, and the principles of art are the same for all the visual arts. I’m predominantly an oil painter, but I also paint with gouache and pastel.

You won’t know what you like unless you try! So just pick one and let’s go!

Ready to try oil painting? You’ll love my QuickStart Guide to Oil Painting