10 Hacks Every Beginner Painter Should Know

August 10, 2020 │ By : Inaas Asad

Who doesn't love hacks? The internet is full of them.

I've compiled a list of ten hacks that I use all the time while creating paintings. They should help out anyone who is looking to make their life easier.

#1 : DIY Palette

Don't want to spend money on a palette? Or are you too lazy to wash one after painting? Well I have to admit. I stopped using palettes for the sole reason of having to wash them afterwards; it's honestly so much work.

Luckily, we can easily solve this issue by making our own palette. There are tonnes of ways you can do this. One way involves covering a piece of cardboard with plastic wrap and taking out paint on top. You can later dispose off the plastic and reuse the cardboard piece. If you're too lazy to do that, you can simply fold a piece of aluminum foil and use it to mix your paints on. I do this pretty often.

An advantage of the above methods is that the neutral colors of the foil and cardboard make it easier to mix paints as opposed to the white color of regular palettes.

Other way of making your own palette is to use the plastic lid of a takeaway. This way, you're reusing plastic and being kind to the environment.

#2 : Getting the Colors Right

If you want to create a realistic painting or drawing, do not set out to make it from your imagination. It'll be really difficult to get the colors right. Also, don't just copy a photograph from your phone or computer screen. Again, you will not be able to match the colors.

A wise thing to do would be to print out the picture and use it as reference. To practice your color matching skills, I suggest you try painting over photographs and transform them into your own work. Check out Unsplash, Pexels or Pixabay to download royalty free photos.

#3 : Cleaning Paintbrushes After Making an Oil Painting

Right after you get that feeling of fulfilment after finishing that beautiful oil painting, cleaning those dirty paintbrushes are going to ruin it. Turpentine is usually used to clean paintbrushes, but it may not always be available and has an unpleasant odor. Some would prefer to use a paint thinner; however, I wouldn't want to waste it on cleaning brushes.

An alternative would be to use linseed oil. It works just as well as turpentine and doesn't have any harmful effects. If that's not available, baby oil works perfectly too. If all else fails, you can always use a tad bit of dish soap and water to penetrate the oil and remove the paint.

#4 : Getting the Bigger Picture

Making a painting from scratch can be overwhelming. You have to think of numerous factors including the composition and colors. If you're not sure about how you want the final picture to look, you can draw and color miniture thumbnails (2" by 2") of potential paintings. By making several thumbnails, you can compare them and see what composition and colors look best.

#5 : Mixing Colors

When mixing colors, do not use paintbrushes to mix paint. The paint will sink in to the roots of the bristles, and while painting, unwanted colors can seep onto the canvas or paper from those roots. Not to mention, you can loose some valuable paint.

An alternative would be to use palette knives instead.

#6 : Complementary Colors

Sometimes the color that you want to use is just too bright. You can dull the color down by adding a small amount of its complementary color. For example, adding a tad bit of blue to some really bright orange paint would result in more muted, duller orange.

#7 : Cleaning Palettes

Do you have a dirty palette caked with dried paint that just doesn't want to come off? Take it right now and fill each well with some water. Place it carefully in the freezer and wait until the water is frozen.

The paint will bind to the water while it freezes, so when you rinse it under warm water, the dried paint comes off effortlessly. If you don't want the paint to clog your drain, do that in a bucket.

#8 : Smooth Painting

If you paint with acrylics, you might find it hard to get it smoothly on the canvas. If you add water, you might add too much until it has the consistency of watercolors.

A useful tip would be to have a spray bottle filled with water next to you. Spray the canvas before painting, so the acrylic paint glides on easily.

#9 : Charcoal Drawing Transfer

If you're trying to paint a realistic picture and want to copy off a photograph, use the charcoal drawing transfer to make your life easier.

Print out the photograph on regular paper and color the back of it using a soft pastel (preferably a dark color). Then place that paper on your canvas or paper with the pastel side facing down. Trace over the photograph with a pencil, and when you're done, remove the paper to see the transferred drawing.

Now that you have the drawing, you can paint in the colors and bring it to life.

#10 : Edge Taping Hack

If you're painting in your sketchbook and want to give your picture straight edges, use can always use tape. But tape can be hard to take off the paper and may rip your painting. To resolve this issue, stick the tape to something with lots of fibres, like your pants, several times to reduce its stickiness. Then use it on paper to create sharp edges.