The difference between the two is that the impasto range already has the impasto medium mixed into the paint for you.

Some manufacturers produce two ranges of acrylic paint - standard and impasto. You czn then adjust the wet paint mixture to compensate before you actually start adding it to the final canvas. The way to overcome this problem is to test how dark the colour will dry by painting it onto scrap piece of paper / board first, then dry it with a hairdryer to see the final colour. There is however one drawback to adding impasto medium to your paints : the paint tends to dry darker than normal.Īs acrylic normally tends to darken when it dries, already making it a challenge to match your colours, the impasto medium compounds the problem so you often end up with an artwork that is darker than you planned. The impasto medium works beautifully and the effects you get are as good as if you were using oil paint. Tip: Although you can technically use any impasto medium with any acrylic paint, I recommend you use the same brand of impasto medium as the paint to ensure there are no unwanted / unexpected chemical reactions between the two. The impasto medium usually comes in a tub, but some manufacturers also sell it in a tube. You can then use any of the techniques for creating texture, like using lots of paint on your brush, and the effect created will remain in the final artwork.

This makes the paint thicker (less runny) so the paint holds it's shape during the drying process.

To use it you mix it into your paint, so you will mix and match your paint colours on the palette as normal, then before you start painting, you add some of the impasto medium to the paint. To overcome the slumping problem when using acrylic paint you can use an Impasto Medium. If you are an oil painter, skip this section and move on to the knife painting heading. Warning : Only use Acrylic Impasto Medium with acrylic paints.

3d texture painting on canvas