Acrylic Pouring For Beginners: Ultimate Guide

Today we will discuss how to do acrylic pouring for beginners step by step.

It is suitable for newbie acrylic artist as not many supplies are actually needed to get started. Also, you do not need to be very patient.

You can get it done in 30 mins or less, instead of working on something for daysss….

Although, acrylic pouring for beginners might seem a bit complicated. It is not as hard as it actually looks. This guide will be the proof for you!

Supplies to get you Started:

Paint: The key is consistency of paint. It should be fluid acrylic. Best brands are: Arteza Acrylic Pouring Paint, Golden Fluid Acrylics and Liquitex Soft Body Acrylics are great choices for their strong pigments and lightfastness.

Pouring Medium: Beyond water, a good pouring medium is key!
- Liquitex Professional Pouring Medium – helps to create even puddles, poured sheets and flowing applications of colour.
- If you are after a cheaper alternative, try: GAC 800 – sometimes crazing may appear and may dry not clear, so not great to use as top coat.
- Isopropyl alcohol – for creating circular effect.

Painting Surface:
- Canvas: prepare with a layer of gesso.
- Artist Panels:
- Your Area: it can get a little messy. So if you are renting or just in general find a place where you can do it all.

Other must haves: clear plastic cups, squeeze bottles and wood stirrer.
Optional items:
- Palette knife – helps to spread paint evenly on the edges
- Heat torch – to help remove bubbles and remove cells in specific areas.
- Clear top coat – seal the painting

Alright, all supplies ready? The workspace is ready? Let’s start pouring!

We will start with 4 basic techniques not to overwhelm you.

1. Straight /Puddle pour:

It simply means that you are adding individual colour to each surface and as you go, you will be building up layers.

You can manipulate the paint by creating “puddles” when the surface is tilted at different angles.

Also, you can use different supplies to get different effects.

2. Dirty Pour:

It is a very fun acrylic pouring technique for beginners. All you need to do is to place all of your paints in 1 cup prior to being poured across the surface.

Make sure the paint is not too thin, because the paint will mix inside the cup providing muddy results. For the wash pours it won’t work well because the colors are quite thin.

3. Flip Cup Pour:

This is another acrylic pouring technique for beginners. In order to do it you will need to place your canvas on top of your vessel once it’s filled with color. Then flip the entire thing upside down and slowly lift the cup. Allow the colors to spread all over the surface.

4. Funnel Pour:

Another fun and beginner friendly technique you can try.

Block the pouring end of the funnel whilst you are filling it up with paint. Position the funnel once it is finished over the canvas and let the paint move around as you move the canvas.

At the end you will have a professional looking piece that you can hang at home!

If you want to advance your acrylic pouring skills then do not forget to check out “Fluid Art Mastery: Abstract Flow Art Secrets Revealed“.

It covers range of topics such as;

How to set up your paint pouring studio on a budget.
Complete supplies list
Share all the techniques like; dirty pour flip cup, puddle pours, pre-lift slide technique, open cylinder, ribbon pour, swipe technique and more

Also, if you are not into courses, this ebook: “Fluid Art Recipes and Art Journal: Over 100 Paint Pouring Mixtures” will show you exactly how to create different effects and results.

Cool Acrylic Pouring Examples you must see!

Now it is time to get ideas from other artists to keep you very inspired and motivated to try it yourself!