I love casein because of its versatility and want to start using it more frequently. There is an artist on RUclips, Andrew Barrowman, who uses it in a very loose, sketchy way, like watercolor or gouache, for plein air sketching on paper. One thing, which you did touch on in a response to an earlier comment, is that it is not very physically flexible, and, like oils, it just continues to get more and more brittle as it cures. The rule of thumb I always see is to paint it on a rigid surface. A lot of people use it on paper and that seems to work as long as it is applied very thinly (and it works well being thinned down as much as watercolor.) If you wanted to paint a finished work with some build-up of paint, a panel would be the best support for it.
Excellent concise video! I wish the internet existed before I spent so much time and money experimenting to learn over months what you showed here in minutes. THANK YOU!
@@finessence808 I haven't actually tried that. I don't have any specifically matte acrylics that I know of. I have some matte varnish that I put on acrylics at the end sometimes. I'll have to try that and see how they compare.
Thanks. I've been thinking of painting something... like a single subject in both casein and acrylic to compare the results side by side... could even extend that to oils, color pencils etc. What medium do you use the most?
Thanks for the great question :) First off I wouldn't recommend using casein on canvas unless it's watered down. It's not as flexible as acrylic and will likely crack if painted on as normal or thickly on a canvas as the surface moves over time. It's great on paper. I've heard of using casein as an underpainting for acrylic and even mixing them painting wet into wet - bit not sure it would work the other way around. I haven't experimented with them enough to say what the pros and cons are. I have also heard painting casein over acrylic would likely result in cracking. Maybe I'll do some tests and make a video on that :)
What I have liked about casein is 1) that it is matte, 2) that it is opaque so I don't have to do a couple of coats to get it to cover, 3) that it does not have that plasticky look when you have it thick. 4) that you are able to rehydrate it while using it to blend. What I don't like are the smaller tubes, but also sometimes it dries in the tube, so maybe it is good that you are not buying big tubes of it just to lose it.
Thanks for the video, though you mentioned oils needing solvents, you don't need solvents (not talking about water miscible oils, I mean regular oil paint). Lot's of paint in oils without solvents for health reasons, including me.
There are a lot of youtube videos on the subject that can go into more detail than I could here. You can even leave your brushes soaking in oil for weeks between cleaning them. @@RLDSTUDIO
@@RLDSTUDIO Great video. I mix both to use as a paint binder. Varying ratio . I follow value changes as a given paint dries over days. I use clear acrylic gesso.
Helpful video !Thanks , I'm thinking of painting an archery bow. Will the Casein fit for that, is it flexible or will it crack? Does it become hard like gypsum when it dries, or is it flexible like acrylic?
I think it's a little harder and more brittle than acrylic... ends up kinda chalky. I'd probably go with acrylic over casein for a bow. Either way, you should seal the paint in some way with a varnish or something. Acrylic has a stronger binder - keep in mind I'm not an expert on casein - just sharing my early experiences with it... mostly around texture and color differences.
I've only started using casein consistently this year. I like the feel of it, but I'm still getting used to it. So I'm way more comfortable with acrylic and prefer it for now, but that's probably because I've been using it for over 20 years.
That was so helpful to see how the casein looks when dry. Does it have about the same drying time as acrylic, or is it a little faster or slower? I hope you’ll share any information you have about the casein as you use it more. Thank you!
@@margarettownsend4141 Glad you found it helpful. If anything I'd say casein dries a little faster than acrylic, so pretty fast. I plan to make some more casein videos so stay tuned :)
I do some miniature model painting and I often thin down acrylics to a very thin glaze with water/medium. How does casein react to being thinned with water in terms of stability of the binder, translucency, and consistency?
Also does it have a rough texture when you're looking up close? Or is it smooth as an acrylic? On small scales like warhammer miniatures texture is very noticable.
cool thanks :) most mini painters prime their models with an acrylic-polyurethane product allowing good adhesion of acrylics to metal, polystyrene, and resin models. so i figure if casein has adhesion at least on par with acrylics it would work just fine as it is going over primer.
@@jonesjangle9252 Casein has a milk protein based binder. It's pretty stable. I know you can mix it with acrylic and paint acrylic over it - so I'm sure it will work. I do think it's creamy and settles well, but it does have more of matte / chalky finish than acrylic. I guess if you try it let me know how it goes.
Casein paint and tempera paint are 2 different things. I've only used casein on paper. Both paints are more brittle than acrylic, oil or watercolor and can crack over time on surfaces that are flexible. I think tempera is even more thin and brittle than casein and is best used on a rigid surface like wood from what I've heard, but I've never really used it. Google James Gurney, he's a great resource for info on these types of paints. Hope this helps.
@@RLDSTUDIO in German Casein Paint is called Kaseintempera, I think it is a traditional name for for casein paint. The tempera you refer to is I think also called Eggtempera.
@@wirrbel awesome - thanks for the info. Yeah I was speaking only about my limited knowledge of egg tempera. Good to know about the German name. Very interesting.
Yes - If you care about your brushes use synthetic ones with casein. Apparently casein has ammonia in it and that can be hard on natural fibers. I personally use whatever brushes I have on hand with whatever paint I’m painting with. Hopefully I’ll get better about taking care of my brushes one day.
The Richeson company is the only manufacturer of quality casein that I know of. They make a couple different brands. I just buy it online because it's hard to find in stores. According to James Gurney, gouache is a similar paint that you can substitute and try.
@@RLDSTUDIO I mainly use gouache, but the advantage of casein is that it can be used as an underlayer, gouache will reactivate, so it's very difficult to layer cleanly. For some dark underlayers, I use markers and paint over that, but casein would be ideal, as I had no idea it remained put once it dried :( It probably didn't really sell
maudale that makes total sense. Casein seals in pretty well for sure. Acrylic is fairly stable too depending on the brand. The acrylic markers I’ve used seem very soluble and I don’t like that at all. They basically reactivate with any wetness as opposed to acrylic out of the tube or casein.
I love casein because of its versatility and want to start using it more frequently. There is an artist on RUclips, Andrew Barrowman, who uses it in a very loose, sketchy way, like watercolor or gouache, for plein air sketching on paper. One thing, which you did touch on in a response to an earlier comment, is that it is not very physically flexible, and, like oils, it just continues to get more and more brittle as it cures. The rule of thumb I always see is to paint it on a rigid surface. A lot of people use it on paper and that seems to work as long as it is applied very thinly (and it works well being thinned down as much as watercolor.) If you wanted to paint a finished work with some build-up of paint, a panel would be the best support for it.
Awesome info. Thanks so much for adding this :)
Excellent concise video! I wish the internet existed before I spent so much time and money experimenting to learn over months what you showed here in minutes. THANK YOU!
I'm just getting into Casein this video is awesome, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it! Let me know how it goes with the casein.
@@RLDSTUDIO have you compared the matte finish of casein to matte acrylic?
@@finessence808 I haven't actually tried that. I don't have any specifically matte acrylics that I know of. I have some matte varnish that I put on acrylics at the end sometimes. I'll have to try that and see how they compare.
Excellent video, really helpful!
Cool, thanks!
Great demo, thanks for this one!
Thanks. I've been thinking of painting something... like a single subject in both casein and acrylic to compare the results side by side... could even extend that to oils, color pencils etc. What medium do you use the most?
Can you use both on the same canvas? Or, can you layer them on top of each other? Does one work better as the base for the other?
Thanks for the great question :) First off I wouldn't recommend using casein on canvas unless it's watered down. It's not as flexible as acrylic and will likely crack if painted on as normal or thickly on a canvas as the surface moves over time. It's great on paper. I've heard of using casein as an underpainting for acrylic and even mixing them painting wet into wet - bit not sure it would work the other way around. I haven't experimented with them enough to say what the pros and cons are. I have also heard painting casein over acrylic would likely result in cracking. Maybe I'll do some tests and make a video on that :)
Very helpful video!
What I have liked about casein is 1) that it is matte, 2) that it is opaque so I don't have to do a couple of coats to get it to cover, 3) that it does not have that plasticky look when you have it thick. 4) that you are able to rehydrate it while using it to blend. What I don't like are the smaller tubes, but also sometimes it dries in the tube, so maybe it is good that you are not buying big tubes of it just to lose it.
Helpful video!! Thanks
Thanks - glad you found it useful.
extremely helpful! Thanks
Awesome!
Thanks for the video, though you mentioned oils needing solvents, you don't need solvents (not talking about water miscible oils, I mean regular oil paint). Lot's of paint in oils without solvents for health reasons, including me.
I use solvents to thin oil paint for varnishes and to clean brushes. Do you have a method for doing those things without solvents?
There are a lot of youtube videos on the subject that can go into more detail than I could here. You can even leave your brushes soaking in oil for weeks between cleaning them. @@RLDSTUDIO
Thanks man!
Thanks! I wonder if you can paint acrylic over casein (as on a kitchen wall for instance)?
I think it might work, but I’d check out James Gurney’s blog and videos as he works in both mediums and may have covered this topic.
Hi. Thank you for this video. Can you use the paints together? E.g. if you are transitioning from one to the other and want to use up the old medium.
Yep - you can use them together… I haven’t done that very much so can’t offer specific advice, but yes it can be done.
@@RLDSTUDIO Great video. I mix both to use as a paint binder. Varying ratio . I follow value changes as a given paint dries over days. I use clear acrylic gesso.
Helpful video !Thanks , I'm thinking of painting an archery bow. Will the Casein fit for that, is it flexible or will it crack? Does it become hard like gypsum when it dries, or is it flexible like acrylic?
I think it's a little harder and more brittle than acrylic... ends up kinda chalky. I'd probably go with acrylic over casein for a bow. Either way, you should seal the paint in some way with a varnish or something. Acrylic has a stronger binder - keep in mind I'm not an expert on casein - just sharing my early experiences with it... mostly around texture and color differences.
@@RLDSTUDIO thank you so much its extremely helpful .
@@Islam4all-0 also above I meant acrylic instead of casein not acrylic on top of casein - :)
@@RLDSTUDIO No worries, thanks you for the clarification , regards
Very helpful....do you paint with casein often and which do you prefer?
I've only started using casein consistently this year. I like the feel of it, but I'm still getting used to it. So I'm way more comfortable with acrylic and prefer it for now, but that's probably because I've been using it for over 20 years.
That was so helpful to see how the casein looks when dry. Does it have about the same drying time as acrylic, or is it a little faster or slower? I hope you’ll share any information you have about the casein as you use it more. Thank you!
@@margarettownsend4141 Glad you found it helpful. If anything I'd say casein dries a little faster than acrylic, so pretty fast. I plan to make some more casein videos so stay tuned :)
I do some miniature model painting and I often thin down acrylics to a very thin glaze with water/medium.
How does casein react to being thinned with water in terms of stability of the binder, translucency, and consistency?
Also does it have a rough texture when you're looking up close? Or is it smooth as an acrylic? On small scales like warhammer miniatures texture is very noticable.
I haven’t used casein that way too much. I’d say it’s similar to watercolor when watered down, but not as vibrant.
I’d say it’s pretty smooth, not sure how it will adhere to metal though, never tried that.
cool thanks :)
most mini painters prime their models with an acrylic-polyurethane product allowing good adhesion of acrylics to metal, polystyrene, and resin models. so i figure if casein has adhesion at least on par with acrylics it would work just fine as it is going over primer.
@@jonesjangle9252 Casein has a milk protein based binder. It's pretty stable. I know you can mix it with acrylic and paint acrylic over it - so I'm sure it will work. I do think it's creamy and settles well, but it does have more of matte / chalky finish than acrylic. I guess if you try it let me know how it goes.
What is the best to paint with casein tempera on canvas or paper?
Casein paint and tempera paint are 2 different things. I've only used casein on paper. Both paints are more brittle than acrylic, oil or watercolor and can crack over time on surfaces that are flexible. I think tempera is even more thin and brittle than casein and is best used on a rigid surface like wood from what I've heard, but I've never really used it. Google James Gurney, he's a great resource for info on these types of paints. Hope this helps.
@@RLDSTUDIO in German Casein Paint is called Kaseintempera, I think it is a traditional name for for casein paint. The tempera you refer to is I think also called Eggtempera.
@@wirrbel awesome - thanks for the info. Yeah I was speaking only about my limited knowledge of egg tempera. Good to know about the German name. Very interesting.
Does it matter what kind of brush you use for casein?
Yes - If you care about your brushes use synthetic ones with casein. Apparently casein has ammonia in it and that can be hard on natural fibers. I personally use whatever brushes I have on hand with whatever paint I’m painting with. Hopefully I’ll get better about taking care of my brushes one day.
My bet is the new Golden SoFlat will be the closest match to Casein in dry finish.
Yeah. I'll have to pick some of that up and try it out.
is casein creamy like gouache?
Yes, I’d say maybe even a little more so.
Why is casein so difficult to find in art suplly stores? Noone really sells it
The Richeson company is the only manufacturer of quality casein that I know of. They make a couple different brands. I just buy it online because it's hard to find in stores. According to James Gurney, gouache is a similar paint that you can substitute and try.
Here's a couple link to what I bought on Amazon...
Casein Basic Colors: amzn.to/2PU47xY
Casein Alternate Colors: amzn.to/323QYbw
@@RLDSTUDIO I mainly use gouache, but the advantage of casein is that it can be used as an underlayer, gouache will reactivate, so it's very difficult to layer cleanly. For some dark underlayers, I use markers and paint over that, but casein would be ideal, as I had no idea it remained put once it dried :( It probably didn't really sell
maudale that makes total sense. Casein seals in pretty well for sure. Acrylic is fairly stable too depending on the brand. The acrylic markers I’ve used seem very soluble and I don’t like that at all. They basically reactivate with any wetness as opposed to acrylic out of the tube or casein.
Cheap Joes and Jerry’s Sells it. Many local art supply stores do not, or are discontinuing it because the demand is so low.