Beginner's Guide: 10 Art Mediums — Where Do I Start?
Dreaming of getting creative — but not sure where to begin? You're not alone! In this in-depth guide, we walk you through 10 of the most popular art mediums, what you need to get started, and where to find quality supplies. Föndurlist is with you every step of the way 🎨
📋 Table of Contents
🎨 1. Watercolour — Soft and Vibrant
Watercolour is one of the oldest and most beautiful art forms in existence. It's perfect for beginners because it's so easy to get started with — and the medium is wonderfully forgiving.
✅ What you need to get started:
- 🎨 Watercolour set — 12–24 colours is plenty to begin with. White Nights pans are an excellent choice
- 🖌️ Brushes — 2–3 watercolour brushes (round + flat). See our watercolour brushes
- 📄 Watercolour paper — at least 300 g/m². Baohong is a fantastic choice
- 🥤 Water jars — two if possible: one for rinsing, one for mixing
- 🧽 A cloth or sponge — to control moisture on your brush
💡 Tips for beginners:
- Start with the wet-on-wet technique — wet the paper first, then paint
- Learn to mix colours on your palette, not on the paper
- Work from light colours to dark — watercolours are transparent!
- Avoid going over the same area too many times — colours will turn muddy
- Pay close attention to water ratio — too much water = washed-out colours, too little = harsh edges
🖼️ 2. Acrylic Painting — Versatile and Vibrant
Acrylic painting is probably the best medium for beginners. It dries quickly, is easy to work with, and mistakes can simply be painted over.
✅ What you need to get started:
- 🎨 Acrylic paints — start with 6–12 primary colours. Amsterdam or Liquitex Basics are great starter options
- 🖌️ Brushes — flat, round, and fine detail. Mont Marte brushes are a solid choice
- 🖼️ Canvas or board — painting canvas or painting boards
- 🎨 Palette — a plastic palette or disposable paper palette
- 💧 Water and a cloth — for cleaning brushes and thinning paint
💡 Tips for beginners:
- Acrylics dry fast — mist your palette with water regularly to keep paint workable
- Start with dark colours and add lighter ones on top — acrylics are opaque
- Try the pouring technique — simple and great fun! See our pouring supplies
- Clean your brushes immediately — dried acrylic in a brush is very difficult to remove
- Mediums like gesso, gel, and painting mediums greatly expand your possibilities
🖌️ 3. Oil Painting — Classic and Timeless
Oil painting is the classic art form — used by masters like Rembrandt and Monet. It offers incredible depth and blendability, but requires more patience than acrylics.
✅ What you need to get started:
- 🎨 Oil paints — 6–8 primary colours + white and black. Masterclass oil paints are an excellent choice
- 🖌️ Brushes — stiff flat brushes and fan brushes
- 🗡️ Palette knife — for mixing and applying paint
- 🧴 Mediums and solvents — Gamblin mediums (odourless!) or other oil painting additives
- 🖼️ Canvas — painting canvas primed with gesso
💡 Tips for beginners:
- The golden rule: fat over lean — start with thin layers (more solvent), build up to thicker layers (more oil) as you go
- Oil paints dry slowly (days to weeks) — this is a feature, not a bug!
- Use odourless solvents — much more pleasant to work with indoors