We Answer 5 Truly Interesting Questions

Can outliners also be used on canvas?

Among art and craft paints, you’ll also find outliners. These are tubes or bottles of paint with an applicator tip that is longer and much narrower than the one on standard paint tubes. These products are usually classed as craft supplies because they’re most often used for painting on glass or fabric (especially silk), but there are also universal versions that can be used on almost any material. We were asked whether they can also be used for painting and whether they can be combined with acrylic paints and oil paints. The answer is yes.

Universal outliners are acrylic-based, so you can also apply them to canvas prepared for use with acrylic paints, as well as to paper or cardboard. Artists use them to emphasize a drawing or, very often, to write something on their painting in a delicate, elegant font. This “tool” lets you create a stroke you can’t achieve with brushes or palette knives: a solid, raised line.

In addition to outliners that already contain paint, you can also find empty outliner bottles. To use one, pour paint into the bottle. Depending on whether you want the stroke to spread slightly or stay as a firm, clear line, you can thin the paint with water or thicken it by adding, for example, acrylic gel. Then use it in the same way. You can even use piping bags for this (triangular bags made of sturdier plastic film), but outliner bottles are much easier to use because you can hold them almost like a pencil and the paint comes out with gentle pressure.

Can acrylic paints be used for face and body painting?

We sometimes get asked whether acrylic paints can be used on the face or skin at all. Since body painting is becoming more popular and most children’s birthday parties include face painting, we think it’s important to remind you that acrylic paints are not intended for body painting. The truth is, it could make for a very successful and striking project, but we recommend using only paints made for this purpose on your skin. Fortunately, there are many available today, and they’re easy to find for sale, such as face paints.

Acrylic paints may contain ingredients that are harmful to your skin and body if you use them this way, applying a thick layer and leaving it on for a long time. Of course, you don’t need to be so strict about keeping acrylic paint from touching your skin while you paint. It’s a small amount of paint, and it stays on your hands for only a short time, where the skin isn’t as sensitive as, for example, the skin on your face.

How do you thicken oil paint?

This is a question you often send us. Oil paints are much thicker than standard acrylic paints, and artists don’t often need to thicken them further. That’s probably why there are far more products on the market for thickening acrylic paints than oil paints.

When you squeeze ordinary oil paint from a tube and spread it on canvas with a palette knife, it holds its shape. It doesn’t spread out the way acrylic paint would. Likewise, when you make a stroke on canvas with undiluted oil paint, the brushstroke remains visible. But if you do want to make the paint thicker, you can try squeezing it onto cardboard a few hours before painting and leaving it there. The cardboard will absorb oil from the paint, making it slightly thicker. You can add powdered materials such as marble dust, fine sand, or kaolin to oil paint, or mix it with transparent wax paste. But remember that all of these will change the shade and coverage, and reduce the paint’s gloss.

Can you use pastels to draw over oil paints?

Another interesting question. In case you didn’t know, professionals often combine fluid paints with dry media such as pastels. Of course, the layer of paint you’re drawing over must be completely dry, and you need to use oil pastels. You can always work over an oil pastel drawing again with oil paints, but don’t apply acrylic paint over it. The paint won’t adhere well, and these layers may later start to peel.

This lets you soften and cover transitions between different shades in a painting, and use a contrasting pastel shade to strengthen the drawing. Oil pastels applied over dry oil paint can reduce the gloss or even it out in areas where you’re not happy with how it looks.

Can you use liquid metal in painting, and how?

Besides decorative uses alongside decoupage and similar techniques, liquid metal can also be used in paintings on canvas, paper, or cardboard. It’s a solvent-based product that contains a special fine metallic pigment, so when you apply it to a surface, it really looks like metal. Several brands make it in a range of shades, including silver, gold, antique gold, bronze, and copper.

Keep in mind that it’s solvent-based and should only be applied to surfaces coated with a preparatory layer (gesso, primer). If you want to varnish your work after it dries, it’s also important not to use acrylic varnish under any circumstances. Choose solvent-based varnishes instead. Areas of a painting with pronounced relief create a particularly interesting effect. When you brush liquid metal over them, the way the light reflects makes the relief even more visible.