Startup Library: Painting With Acrylic (DVD + Streaming)

Everything you need to start painting with acrylic — tools, techniques and more.

Ready to take the exciting first steps in acrylic painting? In this comprehensive beginner’s class, esteemed artist Nina Weiss walks you through the basics, from choosing a palette and paint to fundamental techniques such as color mixing, layering and more. Practice your new skills with simple exercises and projects including a monochromatic painting and full-color still life. With Nina’s step-by-step guidance, you’ll be confidently using acrylics in no time!

NOTE: If you’d like to purchase only the DVD for this class, you may do so through this link. (Please note, any class PDF materials are not on the DVD itself. You must have streaming access to download those materials associated with the class.)

What You Need: Paint & Palette (23:26)
Meet Nina Weiss and go over the tools and supplies you’ll need to get started, including what paint and palette to buy.

What You Need: Brushes (13:34)
Take a look at the different types of brushes available as Nina explains what each one does, plus cleaning and care instructions.

What You Need: Supports (14:36)
The great thing about acrylic paint is that it will stick to almost any surface. Traditionally it’s used on canvas. Here, Nina shows you various options for supports and how to gesso a pre-stretched canvas or board.

Method: Stretching Canvas (22:41)
Nina walks you through constructing your own custom canvases, from buying supplies to finishing corners.

Method: Workspace (05:40)
Having a clean and tidy place to work is essential for any artist! Nina shows you how to organize your workspace and arrange your lighting for maximum comfort while you paint.

Exercise: Value Painting of Geometric Shapes (39:06)
Once your workspace is set up, you’re ready to start painting! First Nina helps you select the right brush to achieve the correct paint consistency and opacity. Then she demonstrates edge-to-edge painting before sharing the various composition elements.

Exercise: Value Painting of Eggs (25:56)
Continue value painting as you work on a representational painting of eggs. Nina teaches you how to use directional mark-marking, depth and contrast to make the eggs look round, and blend values to create smooth transitions.

Exercise: Monochromatic Painting of Eggs (30:04)
Throw some color in the mix as you create a monochromatic painting using the same subject of eggs. Continue to practice the fundamentals: seeing light, re-creating form, mixing, edges and transitions.

Exercise: The Color Wheel (34:16)
Now you’re ready to create a color wheel! In this lesson, Nina teaches you basic color theory, from triads to temperature, and fundamental color mixing techniques.

Exercise: Neutralization Scales (25:49)
After working with black, white and a single color, dive into the world of complementary colors: yellow/violet, blue/orange and red/green. Understand how neutralization works to open up your paint possibilities!

Exercise: Complementary Color Painting of Eggs (32:16)
Use your new understanding of color theory and color mixing to create a painting of eggs using the complementary colors violet and yellow, as well as white.

Make It: Lemon Painting (42:44)
Once you’re comfortable mixing colors, adjusting values and working with complements, apply your new skills to a lemon still life. Nina helps you work from dark-to-light and thin-to-thick, look for full-range values and use complex colors effectively.

Nina Weiss
In 1980, Nina Weiss left the cities of the East Coast for the farmlands of the American Midwest. The vast open spaces inspired her to begin her journey as a landscape painter. Today, Nina’s work is represented in private and corporate collections throughout the United States, as well as in a variety of books and films. Nina taught for more than 18 years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she’s currently teaching at Columbia College Chicago.

How will I receive my DVD class?
Your DVD will be shipped in the mail using the address you provide at checkout. Your purchase also includes access to a streaming version of the class and downloadable PDF class materials. After your purchase, you can find your streaming class and your PDF class materials by logging into your Craftsy account using the user name and password you established.

How do I access the companion materials for my DVD class?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” area, select the “Classes” content. On this page, you’ll see all classes you’ve purchased from Craftsy. Simply select the desired class from your content list, and you’ll be presented with your selected class page. From the class page you can easily view, download or print the companion class materials, which are in the “Bonus Materials” tab on the class page. You can log in any time, and download or print the companion materials as many times as you like. Companion class materials are not shipped in the mail with your DVD, and must be accessed on Craftsy.com.

How do I stream my class on Craftsy.com?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” content, select the desired class. Stream the video on-demand from the class page any time you like; your viewing access is unlimited. You can stream your class from any computer, tablet or mobile device with Internet access.

Do I have to purchase a Craftsy Membership to get my class?
No, you do not. Every DVD purchased on Craftsy.com includes both the physical DVD in the mail and unlimited on-demand streaming access at Craftsy.com. These benefits are yours with or without a Craftsy membership.

Are DVDs included in a Craftsy Membership?
No, they are not. DVDs can only be purchased on an individual basis and are not included in Craftsy memberships. For non-members, DVDs are a flexible way to purchase only the classes you love best. For members, DVDs are a great choice to build an at-home library you can keep forever and enjoy any time, with or without Internet access.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes, we do ship most physical products, including DVDs, to several International destinations. In addition to the USA and Canada, we ship to Australia, Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and most Western European countries. If you live outside these countries, you can still purchase digital items including memberships, individual streaming classes, and pattern downloads.

Do your DVDs work on international players?
Yes, our DVDs should be compatible with any DVD player in use today. All our videos have been created with all current Region Codes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8). If you have trouble viewing a DVD purchased from Craftsy.com, please contact Customer Service.

What is your return policy?
We want to be sure you’re satisfied. If you have trouble playing your DVD, if the content is not correctly presented on the DVD, or you are dissatisfied with the content of your class, we will work with you. Contact Craftsy customer service via email or phone. Upon your request, and upon your return of the DVD to us, we will refund your purchase price or send you another DVD to replace a damaged or incorrect DVD, whichever is your preference. If you do receive a full refund, your streaming video class will also be removed from your Craftsy account, so on-demand video access will no longer be available to you.