/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

>>3161629
The best "realistic" painter with acrylic I can think of is Michael Whelan. A lot of book cover artists like him used acrylics in the 60's through the 90's, before digital, because it dried fast, and oils simply didn't let them keep their deadlines. Whelan of all of them truly mastered their use - and it's not easy, I tried.

You don't see any classical painters using them, because they didn't become commercially available until the 50's. A lot of the post-modern artists used acrylics, for their brighter colors. We don't know how acrylics will age, so high end gallery work tends to be done in oil, because we know how it ages.

Working with oils is better for realism, because the colors are more subtle, and the techniques available are more suitable for that kind of work. You can do glazes like with oils, but it's not the same. You can come back a day later and still work with oils, acrylics are dry within minutes. (It's a lot like fresco, which is painting on plaster, and once the plaster sets, you can't work it further, and plaster sets quickly). You also can't get the transparent qualities with acrylics that oils have. Acrylic's strengths are brighter colors, you can build up thicker paint and not worrying about it cracking when drying, and it's more opaque than oils. It's great for bright work with strong colors, like for advertising. Airbrushing it also makes it easier to blend.