Create Acrylic Gel Skins with High Flow Drawings

[@vwood2]

Fantastic demo - and a great painting as well! Thanks

[@beenice9867]

Thank you for this demonstration. Do you need to varnish after the polymer medium?

[@sanctuarynaturals]

Very helpful demo. What’s the benefit of using Hi-Flow paints, as opposed to regular acrylic paint thinned with a pouring medium? Thank you!

[@GoldenPaints]

Hello Linda, you didn't specify which pouring medium, but most would not be described as having an "ink-like consistency." High Flow is very thin -- thinner than any pouring medium we've seen. Additionally, there are components to High Flow paints that prevent it from drying in tools (like pens or airbrushes) and to allow it to stain or saturate surfaces. Whether this is an advantage or not depends entirely on what you're doing, but it will be very different than regular acrylics that have been thinned down. I hope this helps.

[@vwood2]

Great - thanks very much for such a helpful and quick reply! I can't wait to try them.

[@corkyeden]

Super cool technique. Thanks for demonstration video!

[@kathyfergusonart]

Best idea I've seen in a long time!

[@GoldenPaints]

Thanks! We have a bunch more on our KZbin channel (please subscribe!) and on our website.

[@SteelPhoenyx]

I can see so many possibilities with this!,

[@DominiqueHurley]

Hi - I just gave this a try with the fluorescent pink high flow on a plastic sheet protector. Although the bottle worked great, after a second it beads and won't stay a line. Has that happened to you on different kinds of plastic? I'm wondering if it's the kind of sheet protector I used. Thanks.

[@GoldenPaints]

It is possible you could get different results from different sheet protectors or if something was on the surface of the sheet protector you used. Unfortunately, I don't have information on the specific brand Melanie used here.

[@DominiqueHurley]

Thanks. I'll keep playing. The beading actually created an interesting effect. Another happy accident in the studio.

[@tessmattos6923]

I had the same problem and I looked up sheet protectors. They come in "clear" and "non-glare" as well as mine are "diamond clear" which I am guessing has to do with how smooth the surface is. Going to try non-glare and see if those have more tooth to the surface to allow the paint to stick better

[@vwood2]

I'm interested in trying a set of the high flow paints. Could you please explain the difference between your opaque and transparent sets? I''m puzzled because they both contain transparent pigments, such as phthalo blue. Could you use the opaque set somewhat like a fluid gouache, or are the paints still somewhat transparent? Thanks! and again, an exciting product.

[@GoldenPaints]

The High Flow Colors labeled "Transparent" (in the black band at the top of the label) are convenience colors for artists using airbrush - they have a lower pigment concentration and lower price. This is a little confusing because we have more concentrated pigment with inherently transparent colors (like Green Gold, or Nickel Azo Yellow) All High Flow colors are relatively transparent, compared to OPEN, Fluid or Heavy Body paints. If you want more of a gouache-like paint in acrylic, we recommend our Matte Fluid colors.

[@vwood2]

+GoldenPaints ah, that's makes sense - very helpful. Thank you very much for the recommendation - I'll try the matt fluids.

[@gaylerichmond5387]

I was really excited to see this as I have had this idea floating in my head for months now but can't seem to find a way to bring my vision forth in the real world yet. This may be the answer but I am not sure if it would work and I hate to waste resin ... so, I was wondering if you knew if this could be done on sealed wood encased in between 2 layers of resin. I have not used resin yet (my order just came in) but I have worked with fluid acrylics for many years.

[@GoldenPaints]

Hello Gayle, not exactly sure about how you're using resin (I assume a two-part mixture) with our paints, but our product support team has a lot of experience with those materials. Send your question to [e-mail]

[@ashleyrobertson5502]

Did Melanie use Polymer Medium Matte or Gloss? Is there a trick for unclogging a needle nose applicator that is an incredibly small gauge and did not come with its own top? After the polymer medium has dried, it is still sticky, and sticks to other acrylic skins or paper. I've been using wax paper to separate completed pieces. Is there a top coat I can put on it to make it less sticky?

[@SculptedPaint]

You can use a matte medium to make things unsticky. May a safety pin will unclog tips?

[@tjrobby6145]

Can I used regular acrylic paint and get the same results or do I need to use the High Flow Acrylics? Thanks

[@GoldenPaints]

+Tj Robby - this technique will work with almost any combination of acrylics, but to get the fine detail Melanie is demonstrating, you need a fine applicator and a very low viscosity paint, like High Flow, that will go through the applicator without clogging.

[@craftycrafter1960]

is plolymer medium the same as gel medium?

[@GoldenPaints]

Hello CC - yes... they are the same with the exception of the viscosity. In fact, our Clear Tar Gel, Clear Leveling Gel and Gloss Medium (used to be called Polymer Medium) are very similar chemically, have the same amount of water and use the same acrylic polymer, but have different amounts of thickening agent. Gloss (Polymer) Medium has the least, Clear Tar Gel the most, and Clear Leveling Gel is somewhere between the two.

[@myfredandabby123]

Can you change out the color in the needle nose bottles or do you have to keep the first color you use? Thanks.

[@GoldenPaints]

You can clean the bottles out and re-use them - however, it will be more of a challenge to go from a dark color too a light color, you just have to be very thorough in cleaning them.

[@tbea272]

Would like to try this. Is the drawing the artist used available- Understand if it is a personal image. Thanks

[@GoldenPaints]

Yes, that is Melanie's drawing. I do not know if she has made it available to the public.

[@sallysims5090]

Can you give guidelines on what type of plastic this technique works on? I tried it on one type of plastic and it didn't release from it when dry. Thank you.

[@GoldenPaints]

Hello Sally! The most common type of plastic that works for making skins is HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) and that is often used to make plastic sheeting found in hardware stores, and it's the type of plastic used to make the folding tables you find at most warehouse clubs or big box retailers - for my work, make skins directly on the table top, but whatever you use, the skin will take on the texture of the plastic (I like the soft pebbly texture of the table top). We've also had success with palette wrapping film, but you need to test the specific brand to make sure. Kitchen food wrap (looks a lot like palette wrap) does NOT work, and acrylics will bond lot of hard clear plastics, like plexiglass - so they won't work. When in doubt, test a piece. Also, give the acrylics lots of time to not only dry (to the touch) but to "cure" - dry completely though and really knit together so it is strong enough to peel up in tact and release from the plastic.

[@sallysims5090]

@@GoldenPaints Thanks for the extra information. I'm currently experimenting with interference paint skins.

[@lushvalley]

Which polymer did you use for this application? Also, can you use this with fluid acrylics?

[@GoldenPaints]

Melanie used Polymer Medium, which is basically a fluid, gloss, acrylic medium. You could also do this technique using Soft or Regular Gel (Gloss) and achieve similar results with slightly different textures. You can also use Fluid color instead of High Flow, but you would need a different applicator and you would get less detail with more texture. You could even brush out Heavy Body color (rather than drawing with High Flow or Fluid). This video really shows a starting point for many possible techniques.

[@vwood2]

Sorry about a second question, but if you are doing a painting, will the retarder allow you can to set out a few colours on a plate, or should you use a stay-wet palette with these, like you would with the more viscous acrylics? Thanks

[@GoldenPaints]

Retarder will slow down paints drying on your palette, but also (and more importantly) on your painting they will give you time to blend. A stay wet palette only effects the paint while they are on the palette. The reason High Flow colors contain some retarder is to prevent them from drying in the tips of pens and airbrushes. Because they are so thin, they would dry too quickly without it.

[@marybirder5663]

Although this is a year old tutorial, I felt the need to jump in with a little fact about using a retarder. A retarder is an additive and not a medium. Additives, like retarders, lack the polymer structure that many mediums contain.. A retarder will allow more *open* time for acrylic paints, thereby increasing their drying time, but may also dilute the color pigment and reduce the ability to stick to a canvas or other substrate over time. Hoping this may help some people.

[@brucegrahamart]

Is the polymer medium suitable as a finish coat ?

[@GoldenPaints]

Yes, although it is not a replacement for a Top Coat with UVLS or a removable Varnish with UVLS. If you are interested in protecting your painting, you may want to explore the process and materials for varnish and top coats.

[@brucegrahamart]

+GoldenPaints Thanks for the reply. Happy New Year

[@theGABSTER7]

Would it be possible for you to make a video demonstrating Goldens heavy body fluorescent paint?

[@GoldenPaints]

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't know if we'll have a video-demo of those paints any time soon, but we did produce an article just about those paints and what makes them different. You can read it here: www.justpaint.org/fluorescent-colors-bottling-a-shooting-star/

[@theGABSTER7]

+GoldenPaints Thanks, it was an interesting read.

[@myfredandabby123]

I love this idea.

[@lindawilcott1689]

Love it. I will definitely do this. Thanks.

[@denisesmith2598]

Could you remove the acrylic tracing without the medium?

[@GoldenPaints]

Hello Denise, You could remove it, but not as a single piece that you can apply to another artwork as Melanie demonstrates. The purpose of the medium is to hold all that line work together and allow you to peel it from the sheet protector. You could do this with any medium, or with a different color of Heavy Body or Fluid paint.

[@SwampGas703]

i would consider this method if i didn't know how to screen print. very clever.

[@hgbarnes1584]

Awesome! Thank you.

[@dlg7555]

Lol. ‘Painting’