Acrylic Painting for Beginners: Dreamy Stories Told w. Paint
What you'll learn
- The basic acrylic toolkit to get you started | How to create a stay-wet palette to prevent acrylics from drying up
- Painting process step-by-step | How to paint in layers | Creating smooth color gradients | Creating depth in paintings
- How to find new painting ideas | Imagination-freeing, inspiration-driving exercises | Composition tips and tricks
- Building confidence by using techniques from the main part of the course to create a new, different image
- Warm-up exercises | Drawing animals from reference photos (photos included) | Quick acrylic sketches | Fixing mistakes
- Painting straight from your imagination | Painting with depth, skill and creativity
Requirements
- No particular art skills are required. I designed the course with beginner artists in mind.
- Materials: acrylic painting materials (acrylic paper or canvas, paints, brushes, palette, water containers, etc.) plus sketching paper, pencil and eraser. A complete list of materials is provided within the course.
Description
MASTER THE BASICS OF BEAUTIFUL PAINTING IN EASY-TO-FOLLOW STEPS:
1. GET READY – all you need to start
- The basic acrylic toolkit to get you started
- How to create a stay-wet palette to prevent acrylics from drying up
- What colors to choose for the beginning (a limited color palette)
2. GET INSPIRED – find new painting ideas
- Imagination-freeing, inspiration-driving exercises
- Composition tips and tricks
- Assignment 1
3. WARM UP – drawing and painting exercises
- Drawing animals from reference photos (free stock photos included)
- Creating quick acrylic sketches
- Fixing mistakes (we all make them!) Assignments 2 and 3
4. LEARN TO PAINT – follow the guided step-by-step process
- How to paint in successive stages (layers)
- Creating smooth color gradients
- Displaying depth in paintings
- Creating vibrant, colorful images using only a few basic colors
5. BUILD CONFIDENCE – a bonus lesson
- How to use techniques from the main part of the course to create a new, different image
6. PAINT STRAIGHT FROM YOUR IMAGINATION
- Creating an original painting based on the outcomes of assignments 1-3, and skills acquired during the course (the final assignment)
- Painting with depth, skill and creativity
But this acrylic painting course IS NOT ABOUT making a copy of my painting.
It’s a great example of various techniques you’ll need to master over your creative journey.
But this video training course IS NOT ABOUT dry technical instruction, either.
This course IS ABOUT the process of painting, from IMAGINATION to CREATION - the inspiration you need to develop your own ideas, and the mindset/skills you need to tell your stories in paint.
Express your creative soul!
Anyone can do this. You’ll be amazed how well you can bring your ideas to life with the techniques I use in my work and the painting know-how I’ll share with you through 10 VIDEO LESSONS.
Then, a SPECIAL BONUS: a time-lapse complete second video lesson (4 parts) where you’ll learn to apply what you learned in the main course to create a completely new, different image – one straight from your own imagination – to build confidence in your skills and talent.
Ready?
I want you to enjoy the learning process as much as you do creating my art! Becoming an artist does take dedication, practice, and time. But you can start enjoying the process of creating beautiful paintings right away – and, if you put your mind to it, you'll reach the stars!
You have wonderful paintings inside you just waiting to get out. Let's bring them to life - together!
Who this course is for:
- Anyone who wants to learn how to create illustration-like paintings with acrylics.
- People of almost any age. This course is suitable for adults, teenagers, and older children
- People who already have some experience with acrylic painting, as well as total beginners who haven’t tried it yet.
Instructor
- 4.4 Instructor Rating
- 76 Reviews
- 964 Students
- 1 Course
Who Am I?
Hey! I'm Aga. A free spirit, a self-thought artist, a painter of imagined worlds (my favorite media are acrylics and watercolors). But before I started this imaginative adventure, I was a scientist for many years – researching new medicines to help people improve their lives. When working at a university, I also was teaching students. Because I’ve always had a…
Passion for Teaching
Having been a university tutor, one could say I am an experienced teacher. But that’s not really how I identify myself – I’ve just always loved to share my skills and knowledge with others… and was trained how to make complicated things easy to understand. Seeing others make progress brings me joy! It’s rewarding to inspire, to motivate… and people tell me my passion’s contagious. Plus I know what it’s like to enjoy learning, because I’ve always been an…
Explorer at Heart
As a child, and then as a teenager, I was an avid painter-drawer. But my real love was the natural world: discovering new things. I knew one day I’d become a biologist. And so I did – after completing my biology studies, then, a doctoral degree, I worked for many years in cancer research, and later exploring nature to discover new, better medicines. My work took me many places, from the mundane to the unforgettably charming. And for a while, I loved it. But things change… As the years passed, I suddenly found myself stuck in a same-old-routine corporate position. I realized I wasn’t leading the life I’d imagined so long ago, and longed for the happy, beautiful freedom I once enjoyed. There was nothing creative left in my job and I started to feel an irresistible need to express myself - through art, music (I play guitar), songwriting... In the summer of 2014, I decided to change my life and follow a new dream - to let my imagination run wild again. I began rediscovering my long-forgotten art skills and the passion that once fueled them. It was like waking up from a long sleep: everything came flooding back as my eyes and mind re-tuned in to the beauty of the world around me.
So I’ve come full circle: back to the love of creating and imagining. I’ve tried many different media: painting in acrylics, with oils, experimenting with watercolors, even creating digital artworks and pattern design in Photoshop, designing my first website and online art boutique, and a lot more.
This creative quest has taught me a ton and I’ve experienced all kinds of joyful moments, alongside some challenges and frustrations to balance them.