Trying Acrylic Gouache for the first time! Comparisons & swatching

[@shannabug31]

When I use the Holbein acryligouache I find that my Caran D'Ache pencils perform better on top than the prismacolor. Also..I use a ceramic pallet to mix light washes and it works beautifully 😃

[@addiehuguenet4027]

Absolutely agree! I think there is something about normal gouache that almost has a tooth that is more amenable to all coloured pencils. Also I love the fact that with Acryla the colour you mix is the colour when it is dried.

[@KatieMoody]

Thanks so much Shanna, good to know!! I'm going to try making some washes with these and experiment some more for sure 🥰

[@Anonymoi]

The first acrylic gouache I tried was Holbein, a mixing set, which I supplemented with a few other colors. It’s wonderful high quality paint, but then I decided to try Turner, which several other commenters reference, and that became my favorite. In the U.S. you can get it at Jerry’s Artarama and they have quite frequent sales with very low pricing, so I wait for those. One thing to note is that true acrylic gouaches like Holbein and Turner (but I don’t put Liquitex in this category) are packed with pigment and have a relatively small amount of acrylic binder. So, they do remain workable longer than most acrylic paints, at least in my experience. Even when totally dry, you can usually disturb them with water and scrubbing and they appear to “reactivate” a bit, although I think if you could see what was really going on you would probably see that the acrylic binder had broken down and it’s not truly being reconstituted into paint like you had before. But even that will mix with another color on top of it. There’s just something about Turner… I can’t really explain. Maybe it’s actually just that I have so many colors, and it’s less expensive so it seems less precious. But, the color is creamy and oh-so-pigment-packed and you can add a lot of water and it doesn’t get streaky. That last thing is even more true of Holbein, in my experience, but Holbein is so much more expensive. Many of the Turner colors come in 40 ml, and some are even 100 ml and 250 ml.

[@KatieMoody]

Thank you for sharing and commenting! It seems Turner is really popular so hopefully I'll get some one day and be able to compare! Very interesting learning about all the differences you've found between them, so helpful! I think a supply being less expensive so we're less precious is a huge plus point 😊

[@ChantelleArts]

I can't believe you've never tried acrylic gouache, I thought that would be perfect for you! love that you're thoroughly testing them too, I always do that with a new medium and feel like I'm being a bit extra 😂

[@KatieMoody]

I was wary of getting addicted to more art supplies 🤣 Thanks Chantelle, I think it's so important to get used to a medium in this way! If we're extra, we'll be extra together 🤣

[@tasticola]

Ahh, Acrylic Gouache, my fave! Love the Holbein, but you must try the Turner, and the Turner Japanesque range of colours. Absolutely stunning. Contrary to its western sounding name, Turner are also made in Japan. Very small tubes though. I've bought mine through Jackson's. The bottles of Liquitex acrylic gouache are quite handy too (didn't find at Jackson's though) Happy painting! Please let us know if you try the yummy Turner Japanesque colours Katie x Nell.

[@riverAmazonNZ]

Liquitex gouache is really just matte acrylic paint though.

[@Anonymoi]

@@riverAmazonNZ I agree with that. I didn’t think there was a difference until I tried other acrylic gouaches and realized that there is, in terms of ratio of pigment to binder, and dispersal agents. True acrylic gouache truly is sort of a hybrid product and behaves mostly like regular gouache.

[@tasticola]

Yes, that's right Acrylic Gouache is very much just matte Acrylic. No matter the brand. That's kind of the point...

[@Anonymoi]

@@tasticola It is, but there are differences among brands so that some perform more like regular gouache than do others, and some paints marketed as matte acrylics are noticeably different than from acrylic gouaches. I have found it’s odd that Liquitex makes a big deal about how you don’t need to add water to their gouache, when adding water is a normal and desirable aspect of gouache application.

[@riverAmazonNZ]

@@tasticola no there’s a slight difference. Acrylic gouache has a higher pigment load and buttery texture.

[@potiersenserieserialpotter481]

I just love the way you are testing different products and i love your landscape it is so beautiful. The colours are so perfect just wow. Thank you for sharing i appreciate a lot

[@KatieMoody]

Aah thank you so much for your lovely comment! 🥰

[@tabbi888]

I think the reason why it took all the colour out was maybe because orange is an inherently transparent colour and the colour under was green. With colour theory a red leaning orange would grey out a green, so due to transparency the two were optically mixing resulting in a more grey tone. I don't know definitely but this would be my guess. The only way to experience this less would to be to avoid complementary colours and go for a more opaque style pencil would probably help also.

[@ArtistRebeccaLS]

Hi again 😊 I thought I would add a bit about the acrylic gouache thing. I’m new to them too and recently purchased a yellow ochre acrylic gouache by Turner and was totally shocked by its pigment load. The amount of paint you squeezed out would be way too much with the Turner ones if you wanted to lightly tone your sketchbook page for like a background. I used a pea sized amount and had to add it to a second page due to the intensity 😄 I always find that adding water to anything gouache to start with and mixing it into a consistency before applying it to my sketchbook seems to help with its flow, I use Holbein gouache and it’s very thick and goes a long way if you use the consistency method to start with, or at least it does for me, but I still get through gouache way too quickly.

[@KatieMoody]

Thank you so much! So many comments are mentioning Turner, I wish I'd picked some up in Japan! They sound wonderful and the intensity of colour sounds really impressive! I think I was using this more like acrylic paint, so I definitely need to experiment more with it and use more water so play with. I like the idea of creating washes with it too, it'd definitely last longer if I watered it down!

[@jessicastrideart]

I’ve been using acrylic gouache for a few months and I love it especially as it dries matte and not shiny. I found it really interesting that it dries so much slower than the traditional acrylics, I didn’t know that!😊 x

[@KatieMoody]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting, Jessica! I'm keen to try more layering on top and making use of the matte base! It was much slower, as you can tell in the video I wasn't expecting that at all 😅

[@eviedivadoodles]

Ooooh, I loved hearing your thoughts on these Katie! My Jackson’s order arrives tomorrow with a small selection of the Holbein’s so I’ll definitely be thinking of your testing when I try them out for the first time. 😍

[@KatieMoody]

Thanks so much, Eve! Ooooh yay that is exciting! Can't wait to hear what you think!

[@BookishMandy]

I have yet to foray into acrylic gouache, but this video makes me want to. I wrote down the colors you bought because I just love your selection! I’m making a trip to a city that has a good art store in a few weeks and I’m going to have to grab some to try!

[@KatieMoody]

Thanks so much, Mandy! I’m so pleased with the colours I picked, they really do have such a big collection of shades! A trip to the art store is always a good idea 😄 You’ll have to let me know what you think if you get some!

[@maryannprzybycien2013]

I use Turner acrylic gouache (less expensive here in America than Holbein) and haven't had any problems using colored pencils or other media on top. I love to use it as a background and then paint on top of it with traditional gouache. ❤

[@KatieMoody]

Thank you so much for sharing! There are a few comments that recommend Turner, so I'll keep that in mind for sure! 🥰

[@jlm517rocks]

so fun these experiments & rehearsals...ty!!

[@KatieMoody]

Thanks so much, Judy! 💛

[@debbiepacko6832]

wonderful! thank you Katie!

[@KatieMoody]

Thanks so much, Debbie! 🥰

[@miiaproductions]

So fun seeing you play around with this medium 😄💜 Been really curious about it since I recently been getting into gouache, and I have been wondering how they compare. The pastel set looks so cute, I love the colors. I love painting with acrylic, but I don’t love the shine some colors have, so this might be a good option for that. I love that gouache dries matte, but I don’t always want paint that can be reactivated. Would definitely be a fun medium to try in the future 😄

[@KatieMoody]

Aah thank you so much 🥰 Definitely a good option for a matte based paint and I'm looking forward to experimenting more with layering on top!

[@marielouiseweeksb33attitud33]

Love theses colours that you have. I’ve never been a fan of acrylics but really love my Acryla Goache set. I don’t have the pastels. So pretty. Might be worth using a wet palette for tgese

[@KatieMoody]

Thank you so much! I really like the idea of a wet palette, I'll have to do some research! 😄

[@ArtistRebeccaLS]

VoiceOver Katie …….. “I’m new to acrylic gouache and learning….. it’s just I put it on the internet”🤣 I completely relate 😄 Really great video Katie 🌸👍

[@KatieMoody]

Why do we do it to ourselves? 🤣 Thanks so much for watching 🥰

[@albarodriguezcollantes5615]

Wonderful video 😍 Lovely scene 💜

[@KatieMoody]

Thank you so much 🥰

[@Julie-vy3oz]

Thanks for sharing and talking us through your experience. I went through a phase with these and still have a few tubes. I think I didn’t like the consistency; I find it more “sticky” and prefer Liquitex soft body kind of consistency. And yes the small tube prices, even of Turner, are a bit daunting (caveat: sometimes Jerry’s Artarama has Turner Acryl Gouache at great sale prices). I don’t think I’ll replace this supply, however. Your painting was lovely!

[@KatieMoody]

Ooh that's interesting to hear, Julie! I bought a couple of Liquitex ones so I'm looking forward to seeing the difference! Thank you so much for watching and commenting 🥰

[@Annecad]

❤

[@KatieMoody]

Thanks so much for watching 🥰

[@VisualMind]

All gouache dries less vibrant and with less contrast. I think you were using it like acrylic paint and that's why your result looks more muted! Also technically you're not "reactivating" the paint when it's still wet. It's still active 😅 In my opinion acrylic gouache looks exactly like traditional gouache in the end result. Being waterproof is the main difference and the consistency is incredibly easy to work with compared to acrylic paint. It's thin and watery but not streaky. It flows nicely and is opaque. The only downside is price. Can't reuse it once it's dry & it's expensive to get in most of the world...

[@KatieMoody]

Yes it's definitely a learning curve for me as this was the first time I've tried it! But I'm looking forward to using it more and trying it with a more 'gouache' like approach - it seems very versatile 😊