When you first start to paint, you just get some paints and a brush and start, many of us, when we were kids, played around with watercolours, and then slowly discovered acrylics, but many people forget and leave out gouache, a lot of people don’t actually know what it is exactly, and many have never even heard of it. One way many people will describe gouache, is that is it like a 50/50 mix between watercolours, and acrylics; but that is just the surface, there is so much about gouache paints that people don’t know about, and I’m here to tell you and help you find out what exactly gouache paints are.
Gouache is commonly described as half watercolour, and half acrylics. People call it this 50/50 mix because it is a waterbased medium, and is designed to be opaque (not transparent). With gouache, just like watercolour, can be diluted down more to create a more translucent effect, and the more you water it down, the more watercolour effect it has to it, it can also be layered over. Gouache is a popular choice when creating mixed media pieces as it blends into the paper very well, and you can draw right over it when it is dried (unlike acrylic). Like watercolour, gouache can be re-wetted after it has already dried. However, because gouache has chalk incorporated into it, it is a heavier paint (similar to acrylic) and dries matte. Overall, the properties of gouache make it a medium more comparable to watercolour, and the reason why the two are often used together in the artwork.
A very cool thing you can do when using gouache, is if you paint it on paper without first being diluted, you can come back at a later date, with a wet brush after it is dry and feather it out and blend it a little. It is also good as a base for mixed media because you can easily add other drawing mediums over it, this can be super helpful for artists, because you can block in the base main colour very quickly, without having to spend a lot of time having to draw it all in. It dries to a matte finish, so pen and ink or pastels will absorb, rather than sliding over it like how acrylics as your base colour would do.
One of the most appealing factors for people to use gouache paints, is that as long as you don’t use to much water, it doesn’t warp lighter paper the way acrylics or watercolour can.
Can you mix gouache with acrylic paint?
A common question is, can you mix gouache paints, with acrylic or watercolour paints. Many people ask this question because it’s more often than not, that they have heard that many people use acrylic paints for their blocking in stage on a painting, and then will layer it over with oil paints. Unfortunately, many people confuse this technique with actually ‘mixing’ paints together, you don’t really mix acrylics and oils together, as they are both different based media. Almost everyone is aware of that technique, but not as many people are aware of the fact that you can actually mix gouache with acrylics, the reason for this is because they are both a water-based media; unfortunately, you will not get the same quality of colour if you were to mix anything with acrylic, (you can however, use a specific acrylic additive such as modelling paste, or clear gel.) The general rule of thumb is that you can put oils on top of acrylics, but you can NOT put acrylics on top of oils. But in answer to the question, yes, you can mix gouache with acrylics, and you can also mix watercolours with them both as well, as they are both waterbased media.
The answer here is ‘Yes.’ Both are waterbased materials. You could also mix watercolours with Acrylics, or watercolours with gouache. However, you won’t get the same quality of colour if you mix anything with acrylic unless you are using a specific acrylic additive such as modelling paste or clear gel. The rule of thumb is that you can put oils on tops of acrylics, but you can NOT put acrylics on top of oil pants. So long as you follow this rule, most everything is good to experiment with.
What are the pros and cons of gouache paint compared to acrylic paint?
So now we have established that gouache is more similar to watercolours, let’s explore the comparison between them as acrylics. So maybe by this point, whether you’re just a new painter, looking for a good, easy media to use, or you’re a skilled painter, but looking for a difference and a challenge to try something new, then you might have already sided with whether you want to try gouache or not. But if you haven’t, here’s a short comparison of the pros and cons of gouache compared to acrylic.
- PRICE: Always a very important factor, especially when it comes to the iconic image of a struggling artist. Basic/Intermediate Gouache Paints for a pack of 24 is £8.24 https://amzn.to/3saOJPn
- Intermediate Acrylic paints for a set of 10 is £12.95 https://amzn.to/2NEWBJP
- Both are waterbased mediums, so can be mixed together.
- Gouache have a gum Arabic binder and so are not as sturdy as acrylics.
- Acrylics are water-impermeable once dry.
- Gouache paintings are fragile and can crack if not painted or mounted on a rigid support.
- Both paints are available in a wide range of brilliant and vivid colours.
- High quality artists gouache can be expensive and hard to find in some places.
- Gouache paints are always opaque.
- Acrylics are more versatile and can be opaque or transparent.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to which one you prefer personally. I can give you all the information you may need, but none the less, personal preference is the key to finding which one you love most, so give all and any paints a try, and see which one/ones you love most of all, and you want to use as an artist. I wish you the very best of luck!
