The Four Different Types of Paints for Portrait Painting and the Pros and Cons of Each

I have been drawing and painting portraits for years and have used and became familiar with many different art media to make these portraits. You can view some of my portraits on my site. I have used both drawing tools and paints. This blog post will focus on the different types of paints I have used the most. I will write about the different drawing tools in another post.

These are the paints I have used to develop as an artist before starting my art business. You can read about some lessons I learned from starting an art business in another post I wrote.

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting An Art Business

Acrylic paint

Acrylic paint is a type of paint that is made of pigment mixed with acrylic polymer emulsion.

Pros

The main pro of acrylic paint is that it dries fast which allows the artist to paint in layers quickly since it does not take weeks for a layer to dry. You can paint a layer and wait for less than hour, even as little as 30 minutes, for a layer to dry, depending on how much water you used to thin out the acrylic paint.

Also to thin out acrylic paint you just need water. This is a huge benefit since water is easily accessible and other types of thinners for other types of paint are dangerous to breathe in.

Another benefit of this paint is how easy it is to clean up. All you need is soap and water to clean it off your skin and surfaces. You can even let the paint fully dry on certain surfaces and then just pull it off.

Cons

The biggest pro of this paint is also its biggest con which is that it dries fast. It is not as workable as other paints because of its fast drying time. To keep it workable longer you would have to spray it with water from time to time while working which adds an extra step to your painting process.

The second con is that even though it is easy to washes off of skin and surfaces easily it does stain clothing and should be washed out immediately if it gets on your clothes.

Watercolor paint

Watercolor paint are pigments that are water-soluble and, during the painting process, are diluted with water.

Pros

The first pro of watercolor paints is how versatile it is. Watercolor paintings can be made to look like an oil painting or look like, what it is, a watercolor painting. Watercolor paints can be used for several different styles of painting.

The second pro is that watercolor paints are non-toxic. This type of paint is diluted by water instead of a thinner that is dangerous to breathe in.

Con

The con about watercolor paints is that there is less room for mistakes because it is less forgiving than other paints. Other paints allow for mistakes to be painted over after a layer dries. This is possible in a few cases with watercolor but if you keep painting over a watercolor painting the colors can become muddy and the watercolor paper the painting is on can become damaged.

Oil paint

Oil paint is a paint that is thinned out with turpentine or linseed oil. This paint is very slow drying, as it takes week for an oil painting to dry, and it is advised that more experienced artists instead of beginner artists use this type of paint.

Pros

The first pro of oil paint is how slow it dries. It takes around a week or even two for the outer part of a layer to become touch dry. This gives an artist more time to work on a layer while the paint is still wet.

The second pro is that oil paints are great at making realistic flesh tones. This why it is often used by artists who paint portraits.

Cons

The first major con about oil paints is that when turpentine is used to thin it out it becomes harmful to breathe in since turpentine releases toxic fumes. It is recommended that, while using oil paints, to work in a highly ventilated area.

The second con is the smell. When turpentine is used with oil paints it releases an unpleasant odor.

Water-based Oil Paints

Water-based oil paints are my favorite type of paint to use when it comes to traditional art. This is a type of oil paint can be thinned out and cleaned with water, yes - you read that correctly.

Pros

The first pro is that this type of oil paint can be thinned out with just water. You don't need to breathe in harmful fumes from turpentine because you will not be using it.

The second pro is that, just like regular oil paints, it has a slow drying time which gives an artist more time to work on a layer while it is wet.

Cons

To be honest, maybe it is because I am biased, I can't think of any cons. It has the benefits of regular oil paint with using any toxic materials.

Conclusion

It is important to understand that, unless you are talking about how toxic a painting medium might be, no type of paint is better than the other. What it comes down to is which one an artist is most comfortable and experienced in using. Many artists tend to try out the different paints to figure out which is easiest and most enjoyable for them to use.