Acrylic Pouring – What is Acrylic Pour Painting? (And How To Earn By Teaching It)

Introduction to Acrylic Pouring

Acrylic pouring is a relatively new form of painting that has been taking art communities by storm. It’s an exciting and easy way to develop interesting, abstract pieces of art that are sure to stun your friends and family.

In this article we will take a look at the basics of acrylic pouring, as well as how you can make money by teaching acrylic pouring online to kids.

The best thing about acrylic pour painting is that just about anyone can get into it. Whether you have an extensive artistic background or have never touched a paintbrush before, you can pick it up. The acrylic pouring process is straightforward and with a little practice you can create some jaw-dropping pieces of art that not even Kaiber AI can contend with.

So, what is acrylic pouring exactly?

If you’re not familiar with what acrylic pour paintings look like, we recommend having a quick look at the videos on this page. You’ll recognise them as soon as you see them!

Acrylic pour paintings are created through the process of pouring acrylic paints onto a canvas

The art you are able to create through the process is never anything less than stunning. Expect dreamy, swirling landscapes filled with bright colours.

Once you collect together the right materials, the actual acrylic pouring process is pretty straightforward. As a result, it’s a great way to develop professional and original abstract artwork with ease.

In fact, much of the fun of acrylic pour painting comes from the fact that you don’t know how a piece might turn out. There’s no telling for sure how the different paints will swirl together.

Types of Acrylic Pouring

There are a number of different types of acrylic pouring. If you’re a beginner, we recommend starting off with the basic pouring method – the clean pour – which we outline further below. 

Some of the different acrylic pour painting techniques include:

• Clean Pour: this is the most popular and well-known type of acrylic pouring. It involves pouring out individual colours onto the canvas and then manipulating them on the surface with a tool, such as a wooden stick.
• Dirty Pour: this technique, as you might guess from the name, is a little messier. It involves layering different coloured paints up in a single cup and allowing them to mix naturally on the canvas when poured out.
• Flip Cup: this technique involves placing a cup upside down on the canvas filled with different paint colours. Then, you can either lift the cup up or poke holes in it to let the colours spill out in interesting and unpredictable ways.
• Swipe Pour: for this method, you pour acrylic paint on one side of the canvas and then ‘swipe’ it across to the other side with a tool such as a spatula. It definitely creates a unique effect.

And these methods are really just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of different acrylic pouring techniques to try out.

What supplies do you need for Acrylic Pour Painting?

No matter which acrylic pouring technique you are performing, the materials required will mostly be the same. As you become more experienced with acrylic pour painting, you’ll probably choose to experiment with your supplies to get the perfect look. 

The core materials you will need for acrylic pouring are:

• A set of acrylic paints.
• Silicon oil.
• A painting canvas.
• A tarpaulin sheet.
• Something to mix and manipulate with – such as wooden sticks.

Here's a kit from Amazon (affiliate link):

It’s also worth investing in some additional materials to avoid too much mess. For example, making sure you have an apron to hand is always a good bet – or at least a t-shirt you aren’t particularly fond of!

If the thought of gathering all these supplies sounds like too much of a headache, there are also several online retailers who sell dedicated acrylic pouring kits. These contain everything you need to make a start on your acrylic pour painting journey.

Acrylic Painting Ideas

There are many useful guides online which outline the process of acrylic pouring step by step. Luckily, as mentioned, it’s not incredibly difficult.

While some other forms of painting can take up whole days, an acrylic pour painting can be completed in under an hour, as long as you’re organised. This is part of what makes it so alluring: you can make a stunning piece of art without giving up your whole weekend.

Depending on the type of acrylic pouring technique you decide to undertake, the painting process will differ. As a result, we will leave it you to seek out instructions on the specific type you’re interested in carrying out.

Acrylic Painting Ideas for Beginners

This video below is sure to give you some ideas. It includes 3 easy acrylic pours, so it's perfect for beginners in the acrylic painting and fluid art world:

The Process of Acrylic Pour Painting

The basic process involves mixing your paints with a pouring medium – silicon oil is the most popular choice – and pouring this onto the canvas. The pouring medium alters the consistency of the paint, ensuring it doesn’t spill off the canvas too easily.

Still, paint is still guaranteed to pour off. This is why it’s essential that you make sure you a tarpaulin sheet, or some equivalent, laid down below the canvas.

The trick is to pour the different paint colours onto the canvas in such a way that they mix and react with each other interestingly. After you’ve finished pouring all of your colours onto the canvas, you can manipulate them with an instrument such as a wooden stick or a spatula.

Finally, once you’ve poured all of your colours onto the canvas, it’s time for the final step: wait. In no time at all, your acrylic pour paint masterpiece will be ready.

Teaching Acrylic Pouring on Outschool

Once you’ve mastered the art of acrylic pouring, you can transform the skill into a form of income.

Outschool is a fantastic online learning platform for children; it’s an invaluable resource that allows them to learn new skills, including everything from spelling to maths and, well, acrylic pouring!

Earn money per class by teaching Acrylic Pouring online with Outschool

It’s the perfect place to put your acrylic pour painting skills to use and a great way to earn money online flexibly as an online teacher. It’s easy to sign up and start running your own classes and can act as an all-essential first stepping stone into the world of teaching. To see online teaching jobs that are currently looking for teachers, check below:

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