Heavy Body Acrylic Paints

[Lynn in St. Louis]

Acrylic paints...I have tons....some cheap, some more expensive. I recently got some heavy body acrylic paints and am wondering what is the advantage of heavy body paints over the "not-so-heavy body" acrylic paints?

Are there special applications or techniques that are more suited for heavy body?


I'm sure at one time or another I read or watched someone doing something awesome with them, and thought I should get some, but by the time they arrived, I'd forgotten why I needed them. (oy, my age)

[Louisa May]

I think the answer is "yes" to both your questions, but I'm not sure why. I've read that heavy body acrylics are more pigmented than regular, but also read it's the same! I know you can get texture effects with heavy body you can't get with others. But you can get texture effects with regular body too with an additive that's less expensive than heavy body acrylic paint. I'm sorry I'm not more helpful but I'm sure others here have more expertise than I !

[UnderstandBlue]

It's really good for showing those beautiful brushtrokes - like impasto - just gorgeous texture because it's gloppier...

Impasto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Lynn in St. Louis]

Roger that...gloppier! ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnderstandBlue

It's really good for showing those beautiful brushtrokes - like impasto - just gorgeous texture because it's gloppier...

Impasto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[lylacfey]

My favorite about Heavy Body acrylics is that it's flexible when dry. You I use heavy body acrylics in my nail art and my decoden if that helps with an example. Probably not but I can't think of a better example right now.

Heavy Body also tends to paint like oil paints. It's nice to have a few in your arsenal if you want to try some oil painting techniques without the dangers of oil paints & the clean up. Remember it won't be exactly the same but close. My DH does oil painting and he switched over to Acrylics recently.

Many years ago I used heavy body acrylics in Printmaking. I have not done that in years though. I don't know if that is still the trend or even taught in classes.

My big paper love is collages. I am a massive collage junkie. Heavy body acrylics are loved by collage artists. It's a wow factor in collaging.

Already mentioned is Impasto. Heavy Body acrylics are a must if you want to work with Impasto or other paint knife techniques.

I keep a few colors in my acrylic toolbox. It is fun to work with. They are a bit expensive so it is an investment. They do last a long time with good care.

Hope that helps.

[Denverkat276]

DeeAnn, I agree... I LOVE LOVE LOVE the flexibility of the heavy body when it's dry.

[rubberinker]

Heavy body paints have a higher pigment load than some other types of paint, such as craft paint. When I want to tint modeling paste and maintain color integrity, I use heavy body paints. As others have mentioned, since it has 'body', you can use a heavy body paint to add texture to your work.

[Rebecca Ednie]

Both fluid (aka not-heavy) acrylics and heavy bodied acrylics have their place. Both are highly pigmented. But Heavy body's base is thicker so the paints apply thicker and therefore are more opaque. Liquid acrylics are the opposite. If you want more texture or opacity, use heavy body. If you want a translucent effect (I like it over patterned, music or vintage text paper) and want to see what's beneath, use liquid acrylic. I only had fluid but sometimes it wasn't doing what I wanted and heavy body by Liquitex was on sale 2 for 1 so I tried them and they are great too. My liquid are Golden. I recommend buying a good brand or you won't be as happy with the pigmentation or texture.

These are very different from craft paint and I save mine for art projects, not for things like painting boxes etc. Liquid acrylics are slightly thinner than craft paint and heavy body are much thicker.

[jeanne3579]

See, one can always learn things here! I didn't even know there was a difference in acrylic paints. Now I have to seek out some of the "heavy body" kind. Such enablers here!!!

[QueenOfInkland]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeanne3579

See, one can always learn things here! I didn't even know there was a difference in acrylic paints. Now I have to seek out some of the "heavy body" kind. Such enablers here!!!

Dina Wakley's paints are heavy body:
Dina Wakley Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints | Ranger Ink and Innovative Craft Products

And she just came out in CHA Winter 2015 with needle tips that you can screw onto her paint tubes if you want to write with her paints or do finer line drawing/work.