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Whether a beginner or an experienced painter, acrylic paints are a fun way to express your inner artist. Acrylic paint sets come with the tools you need to create a masterpiece.

Buying Guide for Acrylic Paint Sets Our Picks for the Best Acrylic Paint Sets Final Thoughts

Rachel Shubin is a freelance journalist who is passionate about telling stories. Along with writing reviews for LifeSavvy, she writes a book column for Cape May Magazine and is a reporter for the Cape May Star & Wave Newspaper. When Rachel is not writing, she can be found advocating for mental health awareness and animal rescue, reading novels, exploring Cape May, or working on her polymer clay jewelry business, Piper + Pearl Co. Read more...

Meghan Herlihy is a full-time writer for LifeSavvy and has written across a wide variety of topics, genres, and formats, including radio talk shows, local sports journalism, and creative original fiction. She received her bachelor's degree in communications from Ithaca College and a master's in writing from Johns Hopkins University. When she's not writing, you're most likely to find her reading a book, petting every dog within eyesight, and indulging in her love of travel. Read more...

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Why buy an acrylic paint set?

Acrylic paint is versatile for artists since it can adhere to different surfaces. It is made with pigments suspended in acrylic emulation, making it water-soluble, fast-drying, and water-resistant once dry. You have all the tools necessary to unleash your creativity with an acrylic paint set.

What should you look for in an acrylic paint set?

What are some tips for painting with acrylic paint?

There are a few techniques for painting with acrylic paint to give your finished product a great look. The standard techniques include layering, glazing, sculpting, and even collaging. Acrylic paints dry quickly, so it’s easy to add multiple layers of paint on top of dried layers. A cool feature of acrylic paint is that it can be peeled off the canvas and used as a soft material for sculptures.

Get 24 bottles of fun-sized acrylic paints plus three brushes with this handy set.

Pros: If you’re looking for conveniently sized and bright colors, this acrylic paint set has a great selection of versatile options. The array of highly pigmented, classic colors can be applied on various surfaces and projects, from canvas to stone, ceramic to wood, paper to fabric, and even eggshells. If you want a more extensive kit with even more color options, a 36-pack is also available for purchase.

Cons: Some of these colors may appear more translucent due to the amount of pigment in the paint, so it may require more coats to get a darker look. They’re also on the thick side for acrylic paint, leading to goopiness or the paint getting stuck in the bottles.

Bottom Line: These classically colored acrylic paints are easy to clean up with just soap and water, making them a perfect choice for adults, teens, and kids alike.

Vibrant acrylic paints that come with paintbrushes.

Pros: This paint set is excellent for bringing all your projects to life. Each paint has a smooth consistency, making for easy mixing and application to most mediums, including canvas, wood, ceramic, paper, glass, and more. The paint consistency is perfect for blending, layering, and texture creation. The set also comes with three paintbrushes.

Cons: Because these paints come in tubes, they are not easily revived to be used again once they have dried out.

Bottom Line: These paints are a good option if you’re looking for a nontoxic formula. Plus, the colors are long-lasting and quick to dry.

A set of 20 acrylic paints in versatile tones.

Pros: This set is an excellent choice if you’re looking for special-colored acrylic paints. The paints come in vintage tones and dry in a beautiful matte finish. You can use this paint set on various surfaces, including canvas, wood, rocks, glass, fabrics, ceramic, paper, etc. The paint dries quickly, and cleaning up these paints with just soap and water is easy.

Cons: The vintage tones can appear more translucent due to the paint pigment, thus requiring additional layers for a fuller look.

Bottom Line: The soft-body acrylics blend smoothly, which gives you optimal coverage when painting.

A set of 14 iridescent glitter acrylic paints with a gel-like consistency.

Pros: This set is an excellent option if you’re looking for glittery acrylic paints. Due to their gel-like consistency, the water-based acrylics apply without leaving a glittery mess. The paint is suitable for many glass, wood, or canvas projects. The paint is nontoxic and safe for all ages.

Cons: Due to the glitter and low pigment, some colors may appear sheerer on your projects.

Bottom Line: These paints are true to color and create a smooth-body effect on your projects, especially if you want an extra sparkle to your creations.

A set of 35 acrylic paint pens with both extra-fine and medium tips.

Pros: If you’re looking to avoid paintbrushes and additional set-up or clean-up time, acrylic paint pens may be a good choice. This package includes a set of extra-fine point and medium point acrylic paint pens for detailed and broad coverages. These pens can be used on various surfaces and are nontoxic, odorless, safe, and water-based.

Cons: They tend to have a watery flow as water-based paints.

Bottom Line: Choose from standard, fluorescent neon, black, and glitter pens to let your creativity shine conveniently.

Acrylic paint sets are the perfect way to get all your supplies in one compact set and can make a  great gift option for yourself or a friend who loves art. Begin with one of the recommendations above to start on your painting journey.

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