Hello, artenauta! We will continue to teach you how to get the most out of acrylic paint, helping your imagination fly and your creativity flow. Today we are going to teach you how to fix acrylic paint on fabric.
Although there are specific paints for fabrics on the market, today we are going to explain how to paint fabrics with acrylic paint. As we mentioned in previous posts, one of the advantages of acrylic paint is that it can be used on many different surfaces. In this case, we are going to explain the process so that, when using the fabric as a support, the paint is fixed. Let’s get started!
Materials for fixing acrylic paint on canvas
- Acrylic paint.
- Water.
- Support (wood or cardboard) to avoid that when the paint soaks into the fabric, we stain the surface on which we are painting or the other side of the object, in case we are painting a bag or a T-shirt, for example.
- Water-based sandpaper.
- Textile medium for acrylic.
- Piece of fabric to be decorated (tablecloth, bag, T-shirt, tapestry…).
- Sponge, molds, brushes or any utensil that can help you to apply the final decoration.
How to paint and fix acrylic paint on canvas
- First of all, to facilitate the adherence and fixation of the paint, we are going to lightly sand the surface (only that part that we are going to cover with paint) with a water-based sandpaper (which is quite soft) dry.
- We achieve a fairly fluid paint, to avoid unwanted build-up in certain areas. We can also achieve very interesting effects (such as blurred edges) by spraying the fabric with water before applying the paint.
- Mix the acrylic paint with the textile medium. This will make the paint more flexible (avoiding the appearance of cracks due to wear and tear), durable and resistant to wear.
- We apply the first coat of paint, taking into account the color palette we want to use for our work.
- Once the first layer is dry, we apply the decoration we have in mind. To do this, remember that the possibilities are endless, and you can help yourself with sponges, molds…
- Allow to dry completely.
Tips for preserving acrylic paint on canvas
- Avoid washing the garment in the washing machine (it is preferable to wash it by hand in cold water), but, in case you have to do it, use short programs and low temperature.
- In case you have to iron the fabric, remember to do it on the reverse side and at low power.
To continue experimenting with acrylic paint, we recommend you to read
What you should know about acrylic paint? acrylic paint in 10 tips, acrylic paint characteristics in 10 tips and many other articles we have about this material.
To learn how to draw people like a professional, in a gradual way and adapted to your pace and time availability, we recommend you to visit our Painting and Drawing Course where we teach you all the concepts, drawing techniques and materials for you to become a true artist, finding and developing your own style and getting to where you propose.
