I'll let you know how it turns out!
Very nice work! You should check out mark english. He is a true master and I do see a little similarities in the work you posted here!
When painting in acrylic, keep a spray mister close by. It can really help control edges. Although I use an airbrush with just water in there. By working that way you can keep sections wet for a very long time. I really like working on gessoed illustration board much more than canvas. Canvas can call too much attention to it's texture and it's hard to get really nice smooth details with it. One thing that may REALLY help you here. Get your painting done to about 80% without adding any fine details, then finish the last 20% and details on top with oil paint. You get the best of both worlds that way. The speed of acrylic, with the lovely control of oil. Glazes and detail done in oil will wipe right off if you don't like the result!
More tips:
- The true color and depth of acrylic paint will not reveal itself until your final varnish. Use a satin for two coats and gloss for the final coat to avoid making it too shiny.
- The best blending brush for acrylic is your finger! Nothing will blur an edge like simply rubbing your finger on the semi wet paint
- If you work in layers, try an isolation coat. That is simply adding one or two coats of gloss medium (don't use matte) in between layers. If you mess up, you can just wet the area slightly and rub off the new paint
- acrylic may feel dry to the touch, but it may actually take up to a few days to truly cure. Let it cure before doing a final varnish.
- Use the palette with the sponge and pourus papter (i forget the name) to keep your paint wet on the palette for up to a week!
That's all I can think of for now. I'll add more later if I think of anything else! : )
-Lee