Acrylic paints

Water-based acrylic paints are a beginner-friendly choice for adding colour, shading, and detail to almost any cosplay prop or costume piece.

Acrylic paints are water-based colour products that dry to a flexible, plastic-like film. Because they thin and clean up with water while still wet, they are one of the most approachable paints for new makers. Once dry they become water-resistant, which makes them reasonably durable on props that will be handled regularly. You can use acrylics on a wide range of cosplay surfaces: craft foam, thermoplastics, fabric (with a textile medium added), resin casts, and primed wood or cardboard. The key to good coverage is usually working in several thin layers rather than one thick coat. Thin layers dry faster, show brushwork less, and let you build up depth of colour gradually. Acrylics are especially useful for techniques like dry-brushing to pick out raised detail, washing darker tones into recesses to create shadow, and adding freehand designs or insignia. Mixing colours on a wet palette gives you longer working time before the paint skins over, and a sealer or varnish coat applied afterwards helps protect the finished surface from scuffs and handling. If you are painting a LARP weapon or prop, check your game's construction standards first. Paint that cracks, flakes or stiffens a striking surface can fail a safety check, and some games expect particular coatings on foam weapons. Your game's own rules and safety brief are the authority on what finishes are accepted. Acrylics are generally lower-risk than solvent-based paints, but you should still work in a well-ventilated space and avoid prolonged skin contact. Some artist-grade colours, such as cadmium pigments, carry extra warnings, so check the label of each colour you use. Acrylic craft paint is not made for skin, so never use it as face or body paint, and wear a respirator if you spray or airbrush it. Younger makers should work with an adult present and wear an apron or old clothes, since dried acrylic is very difficult to remove from fabric.