The 5 Key Differences Between Acrylics and Oil Paints

Choosing between acrylic paint and oil paint can feel like a big decision in your artistic journey. Whether you’re just starting out or you're a seasoned professional, understanding the key differences between acrylic vs oil is crucial for creating work that reflects your vision. Let’s dive into the characteristics of both and explore how to choose between oil and acrylic paint so you can make the best choice for your art technique practices.

1. Drying Time for Oil Paint and Acrylic Paint

One of the biggest differences between acrylic paint and oil paint is how quickly they dry. Acrylic drying time is fast—sometimes within minutes! This makes it a perfect medium if you like to work quickly or if you enjoy building up layers without waiting long between applications. It’s ideal for artists who love instant results and fast-paced creative sessions.

On the other hand, oil paint drying time is a slow and steady player. It can take days, sometimes even weeks, to fully dry, depending on the thickness of the paint. This extended drying time allows for greater flexibility in blending and reworking areas of your painting over time. If you enjoy savoring every stroke and taking your time with complex details, oil paints might be your medium of choice.

Whether you prefer the rapid-drying nature of acrylics or the patient pace of oils, it’s important to match the drying time to your creative process. For beginners, acrylics can provide the satisfaction of quick progression, while oil paints might offer a rewarding experience for more intricate work.

2. Blending Oils and Acrylics

When it comes to painting, why limit yourself to just one medium? Combining oil paint and acrylic paint in a single piece can open up new possibilities for texture, color, and depth. Many contemporary artists are finding innovative ways to use both mediums in harmony, bringing out the strengths of each to create truly dynamic works of art. Here at Milan Art Institute, we encourage experimentation, and combining oils and acrylics is an exciting way to push the boundaries of your creativity!

The Golden Rule: Acrylics First, Oils Last

When combining acrylic and oil paints, the most important rule to remember is to apply acrylics first and oils last. Why? It all comes down to how the two mediums dry and interact with the surface.

Acrylics are water-based and dry quickly, forming a stable, flexible layer that can support the slower-drying oils placed on top. Oil paints take longer to dry and need a more flexible surface underneath to prevent cracking.

Applying oil paint over dried acrylic layers gives you the freedom to build on top of the bold, fast-drying acrylic base with the smooth, rich textures of oil paint. However, if you reverse the process—applying acrylic over oils—you risk the acrylic paint cracking as the oil paint underneath continues to dry and shift. So, remember to use acrylic under and oil over for a lasting and stable piece.

Why Combine Oils and Acrylics?

There are plenty of reasons to explore the combination of acrylic paint and oil paint in your work:

• Acrylics as a Base Layer: Acrylic paint’s quick drying time allows you to establish a solid foundation with your acrylic brushes for your painting in no time. You can lay down broad shapes, bold colors, or even abstract backgrounds with acrylics and be ready to start adding details with oil paints almost immediately. This can save you significant time compared to working with oils alone, where each layer might require days to dry.
• Oil Paint for Depth and Detail: Once your acrylic base is dry, oil paint can be added to refine and enhance the details. Oils are perfect for achieving those subtle transitions and adding depth to areas like shadows, highlights, and fine details. The slow-drying nature of oils gives you more time to blend with your oil brushes, mix, and adjust as needed—ideal for realistic touches or delicate color shifts.
• Textures and Effects: The crisp, defined lines and flat layers of acrylic combined with the luscious, thick textures of oil paint create an eye-catching contrast. You can experiment with creating smooth, flat acrylic backgrounds and layering oil paint for texture and dimension in your focal points. This dynamic interaction between the two mediums can bring a piece to life in a whole new way.

Getting Creative with Techniques

There are endless possibilities when it comes to mixing acrylics and oils in one artwork. Here are a few approaches that can elevate your work:

• Acrylic for Underpainting: Use acrylics for underpainting to quickly block out the main shapes and tones of your composition. This allows you to focus on the big picture before refining details with oils. Many artists enjoy using acrylics for their initial layer because they dry so fast, giving you a sturdy surface to build on.
• Acrylic Glazes and Oil Detailing: You can use acrylics to create transparent glazes or bold, solid blocks of color as a background or underlayer. Once dry, you can add oil paint on top for delicate blending, smooth transitions, and fine details. This technique works beautifully for landscapes or portraits where you need both soft, atmospheric backgrounds and precise, realistic elements.
• Acrylic Texture, Oil Highlights: Acrylics are also great for building up texture with gels or pastes, giving your canvas dimension right from the start. After laying down your textured acrylic base, you can then apply oil paint to highlight the raised surfaces, adding depth and richness to the piece.

3. Color Choices for Acrylics & Oils

Both acrylic paint and oil paint offer an expansive color palette, allowing artists to achieve a broad range of hues, from warm and vibrant tones to cool, calming shades. However, the way these colors behave during the painting process—and over time—differs significantly between the two mediums.

With acrylic paint, you can create both warm and cool tones, just like oils, but one thing to keep in mind is how these colors change as they dry. Acrylic paints are known to darken slightly as the water content evaporates. This drying process can cause the initially bright, vibrant colors you apply to appear a bit more muted once the paint is fully dry.

This shift isn’t drastic, but if you’re not expecting it, it can come as a surprise. One way to counteract this is to mix your colors a bit lighter than you intend them to appear, allowing for the darkening effect. Experienced acrylic artists often adjust their palette with this in mind, and over time, you’ll develop an instinct for how your colors will evolve as they dry.

Despite this darkening, acrylic paints offer excellent color stability. They are highly pigmented, providing rich, saturated colors that dry quickly, making them perfect for layering and creating bold, dynamic artwork. The fast-drying nature of acrylics also allows you to build up color intensity quickly, which can be a huge advantage when working on large or multi-layered projects.

Acrylic paints tend to be more stable when it comes to color preservation in terms of longevity. They are synthetic and don’t oxidize in the same way oils do, meaning they don’t yellow or fade drastically over time. This makes them a great choice for artists who want their colors to stay as vibrant as the day they were painted without worrying about future discoloration.

Because of this, many contemporary artists who work with bright, bold color schemes prefer acrylics. The assurance that their hues will remain true for decades to come is a major draw, especially for pieces meant to last in public installations or high-exposure environments.

Oil paints, on the other hand, are celebrated for their ability to maintain color vibrancy throughout the drying process. What you see when you apply oil paint to the canvas is often what you get once it dries, making oils an ideal choice for artists who want precise control over their final colors.

This consistency is one reason many traditional painters favor oils, especially for realism or works that rely on subtle variations in hue. Because oil paints dry slowly, you have more time to manipulate and blend colors directly on the canvas. The richness of oils, combined with the extended working time, allows you to mix colors to perfection and create intricate, gradual shifts in temperature—something that’s harder to achieve with fast-drying acrylics.

However, while oils maintain their brilliance as they dry, there is a catch: long-term aging. Oil paints, particularly those mixed with linseed oil, are prone to yellowing over time due to oxidation. This means that whites and light colors, in particular, can take on a yellowish tint after years of exposure to air and light. While this process is slow and can be mitigated by using alternative oils like walnut oil or poppyseed oil, it’s still something to consider if your work relies heavily on crisp, cool tones or bright highlights.

4. Warm and Cool Colors in Both Mediums

Whether you’re working with acrylic or oil, both mediums offer the ability to explore warm and cool color palettes. Warm tones like reds, yellows, and oranges can evoke energy, passion, and warmth in your work, while cool tones like blues, greens, and purples create a sense of calm, depth, or distance.

The choice between oils and acrylics often comes down to how you want these colors to behave on the canvas and over time. Oil paint allows for more subtle blending of warm and cool tones, especially if you’re working on a piece that requires a lot of tonal transitions or shadow work. In contrast, acrylic paint allows for the bold contrasts of warm and cool colors through quick-drying layers, which can result in a striking graphic effect.

Check out this tutorial for more directions on how to mix your oil paints and work with warm and cool properties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npg42RKkEmU

5. Texture Options for Oils and Acrylics

Oil paint is known for its luxurious, buttery texture, making it the go-to medium for creating thick, expressive brushstrokes. If you love impasto techniques—where paint stands out from the canvas in thick, textured waves—oil paints are perfect for you. Use a pallet knife to explore new ways to apply the paint. The slow drying time means you can continue to manipulate and build up texture over days or even weeks.

Acrylic paint can also achieve textured effects, but you’ll need to work faster. However, the versatility of acrylics really shines when you start adding texture mediums like gels or pastes. These can mimic the thickness of oil paint and allow you to create multi-dimensional layers.

Both mediums offer endless possibilities for texture, whether you want smooth, blended surfaces or dramatic, raised textures.

6. Mediums You Can Use with Oils and Acrylics

Using mediums expands the creative possibilities of both oil and acrylic paints. Here’s a quick guide to some of the most popular mediums for each:

Oil Paint Mediums:

• Turpentine and mineral spirits are commonly used to thin oil paints and speed up drying time.
• Linseed oil is a classic, adding fluidity and a glossy finish to your paint (though it can contribute to yellowing over time).
• Walnut oil and poppyseed oil are great alternatives if you want to reduce yellowing and maintain color clarity.

Concerned about using toxic products? Try using a natural, orange-based turpentine and working in a well-ventilated space

Acrylic Paint Mediums:

• Water can thin acrylics easily, but you can also use slow-drying mediums to give yourself more time to blend.
• Gel mediums can add thickness to acrylic paint, allowing you to build texture similar to oils.
• Flow enhancers help smooth out the paint for more even applications without affecting the drying time too much.

Experimenting with these mediums can dramatically change how you approach painting, and it’s a fun way to extend each medium's potential. 

7. Which Paint Do Professional Artists Use?

Professional artists use both acrylic paint and oil paint depending on their style and the demands of their projects. Many artists who work in realism or portraiture prefer oil paints for their blending capabilities and depth of color. The slow drying time allows for fine-tuned control, making it easier to work on details.

However, many modern and contemporary artists lean toward acrylic paint for its versatility and quick-drying nature. Acrylics are especially popular in large-scale works and mixed-media projects where speed is essential.

At the end of the day, the best medium is the one that best serves your creative vision. Both acrylic and oil have their merits, and many professional artists even use them together!

8. What Paint Is Best for Beginner Artists?

If you’re new to painting, acrylic paint is often the best place to start. It’s affordable, easy to use, and dries quickly, which makes it ideal for experimenting and learning the basics of color mixing, layering, and texture. Mistakes can be corrected quickly, and you won’t need to deal with the complications of solvents.

That said, if you’re willing to invest a bit more time into learning a medium, oil paint can offer a deeply rewarding experience. It’s more forgiving in terms of drying time, and the ability to blend and rework areas for longer periods makes it great for developing detailed work.

Starting with a high-quality product can make a significant difference in the final outcome. In fact, Milan Art Store released our own Milan Art Professional Acrylic Paint Colors.

This acrylic set is for artists who take their process seriously. If you’re tired of wasting time scouring the paint label to find out whether the color is transparent or opaque, this acrylic paint will be your best friend.

We’ve made it easy to see at a glance both the color and the opacity. This means you can spend more time in the flow of painting and less time trying to plan your palette.

Milan Art Professional Acrylic Paint Colors include eighteen individual colors in 60 ml tubes, plus one 150 ml heavy body tube of Titanium White.

Our label was designed by artists for artists. It uses the highest-quality pigments and materials (made in the USA) with a buttery smooth texture and vibrant color.

When choosing oil paints, quality is key for achieving vibrant, long-lasting colors. At Milan Art Store, we offer a curated selection of premium oil paints designed for both beginners and professional artists.

Our collection features richly pigmented colors that blend effortlessly and provide excellent coverage. They include our own designed hand-picked paint line along with radiant tones created by Gamblin.

Whether you’re building up layers or creating fine details, these paints will give your artwork the depth and luminosity it deserves. Explore the full range at the Milan Art Store to find individual tubes or our curated kits.

Ready to Master Acrylic or Oil Painting?

No matter where you are on your artistic journey, mastering the medium you love is essential to growing as an artist. At Milan Art Institute, we offer programs that will help you elevate your skills and bring your creative vision to life!

Want to dive deep into oil painting? Check out our “Oil Painting Simplified Course”, where you’ll learn how to master the blending and layering techniques of oils with ease.

Excited to explore acrylics? Our “Acrylic Painting Made Easy Course” is designed to teach you all the fundamentals, from quick-drying techniques to creating rich, layered textures.

No matter which medium calls to you, our Mastery Program will guide you through a complete, step-by-step approach to creating professional-level art. Unlock your creative potential today!