Acrylic Paints

Acrylic paints are usually quick drying paints. These can be diluted with water, but can also be water resistant. Acrylic paints can look like water colours or oil paints and hence many people get confused because of the striking similarity between the three. Its easy clean up and low odor makes it good for the artist that has a small studio with little or no ventilation. Unlike some other art materials, no other harsh solvent is needed for thinning or clean up as water is the only thing needed for both. Acrylic paints come in two different qualities which includes student grade and artist grade. Choosing the appropriate one is not easy. The best thing to do is to use less expensive student grade paints for experimentation and the more expensive artist's quality paints to produce finished works of art. Acrylic paints can be used in high gloss or matte finishes. As for oils, pigment amounts and particle size can modify the paint shine. Similarly, matting agents can be added to make the finished work look more realistic.

Watercolour Pencils

Watercolour pencils are high-quality artists' colour pencils used for drawing and colouring. They can be extraordinarily versatile and colourful, but their special ability lies in producing watercolour effects, making the art look more impressive. With a few strokes of a wet paintbrush, you can convert a drawing into a painting, with all the advantages of both techniques. Colours can be combined to form several new shades, either in sharp contrast to each other or merging indiscernibly. Whether you use them as pencils for adding detail, or as a convenient form of watercolour paints, watercolour pencils are a fascinating medium offering a lot of possibilities.

Pastels

Pastels can be used in a variety of ways. Each pastel technique can be used on their own, or combined, to produce a pastel painting. As with so many things in painting, it comes down to what you enjoy doing with your pastels. One should try each pastel technique with different pastels. There are three types of pastels, which includes hard, semi-soft, and soft -- as each gives different results. Also available are the oil pastels, which have a soft, buttery consistency and intense colors. These are slightly more difficult to blend than soft pastels, but do not require a fixative. Water-soluble pastels are similar to soft pastels, but contain a water-soluble component, such as glycol. This allows the colors to be thinned out using a water wash. The simplest way to use a pastel is to draw with the end, holding it as one would hold a pencil or pen. The resultant line has great expression, conveying a sense of the gesture you made. One can modify the thickness of the line by constantly changing the pressure applied to the pastel. The harder one presses, the more pastel you'll be putting down on the sheet. For thinner lines, press more gently or use the edge.

Gouache or Bodycolour

Gouache is a paint comprising of water suspended pigment. It is a bit similar to water colour but different in the volume of particles, which are larger in gouache. The ratio of pigment to water is also much higher and a white pigment such as chalk is included in gouache. Gouache is heavier, opaque and has greater reflective qualities. Gouache has a much thicker paint layer, and beyond the minimal amount of paint required to completely cover the paper or support, the thickness of the gouache paint layer does not affect the apparent color. Unlike transparent watercolors, gouache can be painted on a white or tinted support, with little or no difference in the finished color appearance. It is used more consistently for graphic works such as posters, illustrations, comics, and for other design work. Gouache is commonly available in standard watercolor large tube sizes (14-15ml, and occasionally 30ml) and is not available in dry pan form.

Palettes

To put it simply, an artist cannot do without a palette. A palette is the only source for an artist or a school kid to amalgamate various colours and get the desired colour of his/her choice. Palettes are available in variety of shapes today and most people prefer plastic palettes as they are easily portable.

The traditional artist's palettes are the ones used with oils and viscous or heavy-bodied acrylics, are a flattened orb with an easy-to-clean surface and hence highly preferred. Rectangular shapes are also popular. The porcelain palettes are great for mixing inks and dyes and will not stain.

Paintbrushes

A paintbrush is the most important material for any painting. No artist/painter can ever do without a paintbrush. Paintbrushes are usually made by pressing together the bristles to a handle. Paintbrushes can have many shapes. Their names and styles may change slightly from one manufacturer to the other. Generally, short handled brushes are made use for watercolor or ink painting while the long handled brushes are for oil or acrylic paint. The styles of brush tip seen most commonly are many. The round ones are the long closely arranged ones and the bristles of these brushes make them useful for detailing. The flat brushes are used for spreading paint quickly and evenly over a surface. These will have longer hairs than their bright counterpart. The bright brushes are flat brushes with short stiff bristles and can be useful for driving paint into the weave of a canvas in thinner paint applications, as well as thicker painting styles like impasto work. The filbert brushes are also flat brushes with domed ends. These allow good coverage and the ability to perform some detailed work. The fan brushes are the ones used for blending broad areas of paint. The angled brushes are versatile and can be applied in both general painting application as well as some detail work. The mop brushes are larger format brushes with rounded edge for broad soft paint application as well as for getting thinner glazes over existing drying layers of paint without damaging lower layers. The riggers are round brushes with longish hairs, traditionally used for painting the rigging in pictures of ships. They are useful for fine lines and are versatile for both oils and watercolors.

Industry Overview

The Indian art material Industry is a vastly scattered market. The industry is said to capture maximum business from the consumer market directly, which is approximately close to 70-80% of their revenue.

The Indian art material market is worth more than Rs. 500 crore and is said to be growing at a rate of 5 - 10% per annum. But there is intense competition in this industry as it is highly unorganized which proves to be its major downfall. The art material imports have risen sharply in the last few years and several Chinese and some other South Asian brands are available in the market. International brands such as Faber Castell have also ventured into the market. Maximum competition has come in the school colour range category of art material where most of the Indian manufacturers had to reduce prices to fight competition. Moreover, the value added tax has also proven to be a misery for the domestic manufacturers. The only tools in their hands are manufacturing new, innovative and attractive products in the market that compel the consumers to buy their products. Also, branded goods have a hold on top of unbranded goods, as now people prefer to buy branded products expecting satisfaction of a good quality product.

Art Material products are hence a phenomenal success in the stationery industry and more the innovation by manufacturers more will be the success for this industry.