Acrylic vs. oil paint for photorealist paintings?

1. Which one will make the more realistic painting?


2. Which one is easier to work with and why?


3. Which one dries faster?


4. Which one is more expensive (if buying the two types from the same brand)?Acrylic vs. oil paint for photorealist paintings?
There isn't really a 'better', You'll find that both types of paint have their fans.


Two of the best known photorealist artists are Chuck Close and Richard Estes. Chuck Closes' best (in my opinion) works, large scale portraits, are executed in Acrylic, while Richard Estes incredibly realistic images are created in oils.


Your second question is also answered by 3 and 4. Acrylic is easier to work with, thanks partially to being fast drying and cheap.


One of the integral features of Oil Paint is it takes along time to dry. If you work in layers this can hugely spin out the amount of time you'll spend on a painting. Oil is also relatively unstable, always paint fat over lean. Because of it being wet so long, it's very easy to get it messy, transferring paint. That oil paints can be expensive can be hindering because you can become precious with them. You will also find that you cannot price oils by brand alone, as they will often be classified within each brand by series, as some pigments are cheaper than others. Oils also require a greater degree of knowledge, acrylics just 'work'


You will also find that with oils you have to be far more careful with what you paint on.


But I can say that both are very very different. You might find that while acrylic is easier, oils work better for you... in which case any advantage acrylic might offer are voided. You might well find, as many do, that the more organic nature of oils suits you, and maybe your subject better. The colours of oils tend to be very 'true', you'll see what I mean once you've tried both. Why don't you try buying a small starter set of both and seeing how it goes? For many people every perceived difficulty of oils is actually something they enjoy


Acrylic vs. oil paint for photorealist paintings?
I was taught at a young age to paint using craft paint. From age 8 to age 18, I took art classes from the same teacher, and she let us use her paints. She obviously bought craft paint because it's less expensive... especially when there are children in your class who don't know how to control the amount of paint they squeeze out. But I digress...





I pursued a fine-art degree in college, and bought all of the expensive oil paint and acrylic paint, and I never really loved oil paints. I find them difficult to use because they take ages to dry, and they get all over everything, if you're a slob like me. :) Answering question 3- Acrylics are water based, ie- they dry a heck of a lot faster.





Now, for question 2, I think it's a matter of opinion. I always found acrylic easier to work with because they dry faster, and you can just paint right over them. But, really, you'll have to try both if you want the feel of things.





Question 1-- I've always been better with acrylics because I was taught with acrylics. I've got some pretty kick butt realistic paintings that I did with acrylics actually. And believe it or not, (you artists will all think I'm crazy) I've got even better ones that I did with craft paints over the last year or two.





I can't answer question 4, because I'm not sure. I think oils are more expensive, but I can't quite remember. You'll have to check on an art website, or at an AC Moore or a Michaels, or whatever type of art store you have in your area. But what I can tell you is that craft paints are about $2 a bottle, and they're very thin, so they spread out easily. If you're taking a class, however, I don't recommend using craft paints, because people may mock you. But-- if you do use craft paint, buy a clear gloss because they dry very flat.





Hope I was helpful, and not too all over the place. Good luck! :)
Oil will make the more realistic because you can layer on thin layers and the colors will look more true. There was a very famous painter who painted the most realistic skin because he would paint red for the muscle and then paint very thin layers of skin colored paint on top.





I think that oil paint is easier to work with because it doesn't dry as fast and you can easily ';erase'; mistakes.





Oil dries the slowest and you can actually add more oil to it to make it dry even slower. It's very useful if you plan on working on the same painting all day long.





I'm pretty sure that oil is more expensive, but it also depends on the color. Some colors are more expensive than others.














Differences between acrylic and oil paint





The main difference between acrylics and oil paints is the inherent drying time. Oils allow for more time to blend colors and apply even glazes over underpaintings. This slow drying aspect of oil can be seen as an advantage for certain techniques, but in other regards it impedes the artist trying to work quickly. The fast evaporation of water from the acrylic paint film can be slowed with the use of acrylic retarders. Retarders are generally glycol or glycerin-based additives. In the case of acrylic paints, the addition of a retarder slows the evaporation rate of the water, and allows for more water to be added and the paint workable, until the retarder has left the film and the paint layer is dry.





Oil paints tend to require the addition of a toxic solvent, such as mineral spirits or turpentine to thin the paints and clean up tools, though relatively recently water soluble oil paints have been developed for artist use. Secondly, oil paint films become increasing yellow and brittle, and will lose their flexibility in a few decades. Thirdly, the rules of ';fat over lean'; must be employed to ensure the paint films are durable.





Oil paint is able to absorb more pigment than acrylic because linseed oil has a smaller molecule than does acrylic. Oil has a different refractive index than do acrylic dispersions. This changes how light interacts with the paint films.





Due to acrylic's more flexible nature and more consistent drying time between colors, the painter does not have to follow the ';fat over lean'; rule of oil painting, where more medium must be applied to each layer to avoid cracking. While canvas needs to be properly primed and gessoed before painting with oil, acrylic can be safely applied to raw canvas. The rapid drying of the paint tends to discourage the blending of color and use of wet-in-wet technique unique to oil painting. While acrylic retarders can slow drying time to several hours, it remains a relatively fast-drying medium, and the addition of too much acrylic retarder can prevent the paint from ever drying properly.





Although the permanency of acrylics is sometimes debated by conservators, they appear more stable than oil paints. Whereas oil paints normally turn yellow as they age/dry(oxidize)鈥攁nd require a removable protective layer of varnish鈥攁crylic paints, at least in the 50 years since their invention, have not yellowed, cracked, or altered.





Another difference between oil and acrylic paints is the versatility offered by acrylic paints - acrylic is very useful in mixed media, allowing use of pastel (oil %26amp; chalk), charcoal, pen, etc on top of the dried acrylic painted surface. Mixing other bodies into the acrylic is possible - sand, rice, even pasta may be incorporated in the artwork. Mixing artist or student quality acrylic paint with household acrylic emulsions is possible, allowing the use of pre-mixed tints straight from the tube or tin, so presenting the painter with a vast color range at his or her disposal.