Smooth, Textured or Buttery? The Best Acrylic Paints for Every Painting Technique

Find Your Perfect Acrylic Paint Match

Not sure which acrylic paint suits your style? Here's your cheat sheet to choosing the right one, based on how you love to paint:

Smooth Consistency + Vibrant Colour

Try: Matisse Flow or Langridge Fluid

Matisse Flow is a premium artist-quality acrylic, ideal for everything from murals to detailed portrait work. Its smooth consistency makes it perfect for photo realism, geometric art, and watercolour-style techniques. It’s designed for artists who need intense, clean colour with an effortless flow.

Langridge Fluid acrylics are Australian-made and deliver rich, saturated colour with exceptional clarity. With a professional-grade formulation, they’re perfect for pouring, spraying, staining, and brush-free surfaces. Their intense pigment load ensures clean, vibrant colour mixing, and each bottle features a hand-painted swatch to preview the true colour.

Creamy Texture + Budget-Friendly

Try: Liquitex Basics, Atelier A2, or Amsterdam Acrylics

Liquitex Basics is ideal for creatives of all skill levels. With medium viscosity and artist-quality pigments, it's great for layering, underpainting and general painting at an affordable price. Available in a wide colour range, it's dependable and versatile.

Atelier A2 is a lightfast artist-grade paint, perfect for students and emerging artists. It’s more affordable than professional paints but packed with pigment and quality to ensure real progress in your art. A2 can also be used alongside Atelier Interactive to expand your paint’s volume without compromising quality.

Amsterdam Acrylics offer reliable, high-quality colour with a smooth consistency. They’re made from 100% acrylic emulsion and premium pigments, ideal for a variety of techniques. Whether you’re layering or blending, these paints provide consistent results and great versatility.

Buttery Feel + Bold Texture

Try: Mont Marte Dimension, Matisse Structure, or Golden Heavy Body

Mont Marte Dimension is a thick, ultra-creamy acrylic perfect for bold texture and sculptural effects. It can be applied with a brush or palette knife and dries to a radiant gloss finish. Excellent for impasto and textured techniques, it maintains strong colour even when diluted.

Matisse Structure is a richly pigmented impasto paint ideal for textured brush and knife work. With a range of 95 colours, including uniquely Australian tones, it's designed for expressive application and long-lasting results. It’s fully compatible with Matisse Mediums for extended versatility.

Golden Heavy Body acrylics offer intense pigmentation and a lush, buttery feel. They retain brush and knife marks for texture-rich work, and are free from fillers or toners, ensuring pure, consistent colour.

Matte Finish + Opaque Coverage

Try: Jo Sonja's Artists' Colours

Jo Sonja’s Artists’ Colours are known for their rich matte finish and gouache-like opacity. They offer excellent lightfastness, strength of colour, and easy layering. These paints dry quickly and are great for decorative art, paper design, and detailed work with a traditional gouache look.

Inky Flow + Fine Detail Work

Try: Atelier Free Flow or Matisse Fluid

Atelier Free Flow is the most fluid acrylic in its class, combining brilliant pigment with effortless application. It flows smoothly with minimal dilution and can be paired with thicker paints like Atelier Interactive for dynamic contrast. Perfect for glazing, fine lines, or fast coverage with strong, lightfast colour.

Matisse Fluid is a highly pigmented, smooth-flowing acrylic suited to detailed techniques, colour washes, and watercolour-style work. It mixes well with Matisse Structure and Flow formulas, and its dense yet brushable consistency provides striking results across surfaces. Great for layering or achieving luminous tints with permanence.