# Masking material for acrylic



## Rivercoon (Aug 1, 2012)

Lately I have been getting into traditional acrylic painting but have not really dealt with masking.  By masking I mean being able to layout a picture with pencil on art board or canvas, masking out foreground characters or objects, painting the background, then removing the mask to uncover the pencils and paint the foreground objects.
I have heard of using latex to do this and have seen bottles of liquid masking compound in stores (only good on paper).  Just wondering what other people actually use.  If latex is it the theatrical latex sold at Halloween stores or something else and does it need to be thinned?
I have also heard of using a clear acrylic compound but the explanation I received did not make sense as it didn't sound removable or give you a hard edge to work with.


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## Zydala (Aug 1, 2012)

not sure about the latex you'd get from a halloween store, might stain the paper/canvas. Liquid masking fluid for paper might still work, or you can use rubber cement. Rubs off in about the same way, just take something else that's rubber (glove, eraser, etc) and roll it off.


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## Devout Catalyst (Aug 6, 2012)

I personally haven't tried the masking fluid but i know regular store latex would ruin your canvas. Masking fluid always seemed pricey for me
HOWEVER I HAVE MY LESS FANCY SOLUTION! 

light masking rubber cement works but bear in mind it WILL rub off your covered sketch areas. But it is effective

For hardcore masking for painting the budget way, 

This is what you need:
A the best "painters" masking tape you can find. 
A thing called liquitex "matte medium" (or something similar) found at the craft store, a Tiny bottle lasts a long time
tape off the edges of what you are masking. large areas needing covered you can cut out little shields out of cardboard or acetate.
Try cutting shapes out of your tape for tricky edges instead of bending or tearing off little bits to meet a curve.

With the matte medium, Paint over the edges of where the tape meets where you intend to paint with, this add a "seal". Use even thin layers and dry between coats. You can go as thin or as thick as you like.
This does not bother the paint. the same thing can be used to paint on top OF other paints. Matte is not shiny.

Proceed as usual. 

WHEN YOU FINISH be sure to SLOWLY peel the tape off away from the worked area at a DIAGONAL angle. Breathing warm air on it while slowly peeling it back helps. If you accidentally painted a HUGE chunk onto the tape, you may need to lightly score the paint at the seam to loosen it.

Viola, an alternative masking technique that stand up to the thickest experimental acryilc painting.


***Any pigment paint mixed with matte medium will thin but not water, holding the same opacity but thinner transparency, unlike when you add water. this is GREAT for feathering edges too!


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