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Acrylic Painting Supplies Checklist
A starter kit for acrylic painting, from paints and brushes to surfaces and mediums.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
Tick the circles, tap any line to change it, drag the dots to reorder.
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A starter acrylic kit needs more than paint and canvas. This list covers it as Texas Art Supply groups it: paints, brushes, tools, surfaces and mediums. Canvas boards start at $0.85, so a first surface costs little. It leaves out books, paint markers and school project boards. Prices are starting prices from one retailer's listings and will vary elsewhere. Check each item off before you start painting, so you have the tools, surfaces and mediums on hand when you begin.
Why these items are on the list
- Acrylic paint set. System3 sets start around $16; the page also links individual colors and acrylic sets.
- Short handle brushes. Simply Simmons short handle brushes start at $2.61.
- Detail brushes. Free-Style detail brushes by Liquitex come in 24 versions, from $9.00.
- Painting knives. Painting knives start at $5.38 and are grouped with tools.
- Mixing palette. Paper palette pads start at $7.38; the Sta-Wet Handy Palette starts at $5.42.
- Paint tube opener. Starts at $2.09, among the cheapest tools listed.
- Brush case. Starts at $30.63 among the acrylic tools; it stores brushes.
- Canvas boards. Artists' cotton canvas boards start at $0.85, the lowest surface price listed.
- Stretched canvas. The 300 Series starts at $3.78; deep edge professional canvas from $5.89.
- Canvas pad. 300 Series canvas pads start at $25.41, a pad option instead of stretched canvas.
- Acrylic gesso. Starts at $12.95; the retailer lists acrylic gesso under acrylic mediums.
- Gloss medium. Mediums adjust paint texture, viscosity and drying time; gloss starts at $10.21.
- Gel medium. Gel mediums start at $7.88 and are sold alongside gloss medium.
- UV varnish. Varnishes are listed with mediums; Artists' Acrylic UV Varnishes start at $10.84.
Tick it off in the store aisle or while filling an online cart, and the gaps show before you reach checkout.
When to use it
Use it before a first acrylic project or class, ahead of the shopping trip.