DK Art School: An Introduction to Acrylics

by Ray Campbell Smith

Whether you've taken art classes or never held a brush before, this comprehensive, clear, and concise guide will show you everything you need to know about working in this challenging—but rewarding— medium. Written by accomplished artist Ray Smith, it paints a clear picture of everything an acrylic artist needs to know, from selecting your colors and working with washes to the alla prima layering technique and exploring new ideas and presenting your art, in only 72 concise pages.
 
The book features hundreds of vivid, crystal-clear full-color photographs, essential for understanding the fine points of such a visual medium. And it offers easy-to-follow projects, shown as they were created, which teach the essentials while inspiring the student to tackle increasingly complex techniques.
 
An Introduction to Acrylics is part of the DK Art School series. Each volume of the series focuses on a specific medium and subject, so you can choose precisely what you want to learn — from acrylic figure to oil portrait, and from pastel still life to watercolor landscape.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Crafts

72 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 1993

About the author

Internationally noted artist Ray Smith has exhibited in solo and group shows around the world. A lecturer at the Chelsea School of Art and at Exeter Art College, he was recently Artist-in-Residence at the University of Southampton in the UK. Smith has received many distinguished awards for his work, including an Arts Council Award, a Lindbury Trust artist's award, and the Deutscher Jugendbuch Preis. He has written several titles in The DK Art School series, and is the author of The Artist's Handbook and How to Draw and Paint What You See.

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the title and cover blurbs, I don't consider this to be a book for beginning painters (which I consider myself to be). It seems primarily geared to painters with some experience, particularly in watercolors, and are interested in achieving similar effects with acrylics. Some aspects of the book I did find useful were the structured workflow used in some examples to build a painting, and the discussion of different surfaces that can be used to paint with acrylics (basically, pretty much everything, although Smith doesn't mention canvas pads, which we used in the acrylics class I just took and are awesome). But I considered the example exercises provided to be too advanced for me, as there was little description of how to get some of the effects achieved, and there was little discussion of palette knife painting or other techniques used to achieve textured effects, which I am particularly interested in. Bottom line, this isn't a bad book but there may be better ones out there for true beginning painters.

[Heidi Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m just beginning painting (I’ve been drawing for 5 years) and am lost where mixing colors is concerned. This book helped me sort out how to get started, organize my palette, and figure out how to put paint down, what options I can choose from, how to solve problems I’m having with paint, and more. It gave me a bit more confidence. We all know that learning to paint comes with trial and error, but now I’m not so reluctant to make those mistakes.

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very helpful for the begginers in acrylic painting. Concise amd with one or two examples for each technic. A good start.

[Victoria Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

"An Introduction To Acrylics" by Ray Campbell Smith was a very informative and enjoyable read for me because it was organized in easy-to-read categories and included examples by famous artists like Andy Warhol and David Hockney. For those studying art, art history and design it's a great addition to classroom instruction too. Along with describing different ways to use acrylic paint Smith also provided photos of the wide range of brushes that can be used. One of my favorite techniques, wet-on-wet, even showed how to use acrylic paint as a watercolor. After reading it once I went back over the book and re-read certain sections realizing this wouldn't be the last time I'd read and use it.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for anyone starting to paint with acrylics or returning to this medium. It gives lots of helpful suggestions for using this fast-drying paint, how to adjust the colors, how to properly clean and protect brushes, the right brushes to use, and basics of painting and design. This slim volume is crammed full of very useful information and great photo illustrations.

[Mily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy DK books because of their excessive illustrations.
Wonderful book that details everything a person learning to use acrylics might like to know.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I'm going to paint something I tend to build up ideas and use these DK books for inspiration and technical knowhow.

[Mindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

great tips for a beginner!

[April Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read with very basic, clear introduction to painting in general. Very good primer for painting in acrylic.