Thank you!!! I just spent a small fortune on these and didn’t know ANY of this. You save me SO much time and money with these experiments. You are very much appreciated 💜
Excellent review and detail on mixing mica powders with acrylic paints! I always come to you when I need comparisons and am craving information on a specific topic. You fill a very important, specific need for the acrylic pouring community! ROCK ON, LEFTBRAINED ARTIST!
You’re absolutely right! This is why I let my acrylics dry first or use a gesso base and dust my mica powders on top of the opaques and add a top coat of resin. Amazing results.
Totally appreciate that you explain the details!!! Much as it's lovely to just watch people do art with music, I really want to know exactly what we're doing here and how I can utilize the skills. I'm left brained-right brained ... A systems analyst who does art. 😂 I'm glad there are more of us. Thank you.
This explains a lot! I never got good results mixing with paints. I have a bunch of mica powder I can now get some good results with. Thank you Mr. Left Brain!
Thank you David for all the testing you do. It certainly helps me understand what to avoid using if I want certain affects. I am learning so much from you. My sincere thank you for all your efforts. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽👏🏼👏🏼
I started using the pigments about the same time you did. I love your experiments. I used several different mediums and didn’t really like the outcomes. I settled on the POLYCRYLIC. I like a more opaque paint because I do a lot of Dutch Pours. It seems like the transparent paints get lost. It’s all so interesting. I sometimes enjoy mixing colors more than I enjoy the actual paint process. Thank you for the time you bless us with doing the teaching/experiments that you do.
You are so welcome Anna. Glad to help. Let me know if you find any juicy tricks. Or let me know when you put out a video with those juicy tricks at least. 😀😂
Another very informative video. Haven't tried the pigments yet but very helpful for when I do. I sent someone to your channel the other day about doing blooms different ingredients, she said it was very helpful. I hope she subscribed!
Great video and the one from last week! I have paints, mediums and mica pigments for years and im just now learning how to uses the poweder pigments in art. This was very helpful!
Great test! I have color-changing mica powder (chameleon powder from amazon) and I was hesitant to use it until I knew how it would work out. Thanks to you, I know!
Thank you. This is the first video with so much mica info I've seen (apart from your last vid). I spent a long time looking after unsuccessfully pouring with new box of mica. They will finally come back out of the cupboard! Thanks heaps
I painted yesterday I have everything that you could possibly have all the same brands everything except the torch I did three paintings two got scraped off one survived … I had no idea how difficult this type of Painting is y’all make it look so easy and this is probably the hardest type of painting I’ve ever encountered it’s almost like I feel like I lost the recipe on what to put in my cup… Just a day of frustration In the life of pouring
Another amazingly useful video. You've taught me so much of the past months so that now I can understand what a thing is doing and why. Thanks so much.
THIS is such a helpful video. 👌. I would have been disappointed if I had added my new mica powder to paints expecting a lot of shimmer, not understanding how it works. Thank you!
That's pretty much what I did the first time with the whites. I was so surprised but I guess I shouldn't have been. Mica wants light and opaque paints block most of the light.
Your experiments are always timely and well appreciated. Thank you. Have you ever done a comparison on the best/easiest way to finish a painting? I am so stuck trying to decide what to use as the finish top coat.
By the way, these are the exact mica powders I just bought too! They are fantastic and it only takes a very little bit to color resin. Now that I know how to mix with acrylic paints, I can do that too! Thanks!
There is a tendency, before you become familiar with paints, to be a bit heavy handed and to misunderstand quantities needed for tweaking your colours. I used to work in a paint and decorating shop where I got to mix paints. We would load up a 5 litre can and add the pigments - and the quantities were miniscule - and the colours were often strange, like "why am I adding olive green to produce this clover pink?" strange. It often just didn't make sense, but the scientists at Dulux knew what they were doing and the paints were fine.
I just love your videos! I learn so much. Have you ever thought about doing anything with epoxy resin? I would love that too, as I do both acrylic and resin projects. I know you would do a great job with that too!
Micas look very different over a black background... especially if the are in a transparent medium...and they actually shine much more...I think your viewers might like to see the difference
Thanks, David. Another great and informative lesson ! I am just working up the nerve to try using the pigments. I have a quick question: I hope this doesn't sound too weird, but how do you think it would work if you used some Golden fluid acrylics (the transparent ones) with your PM, and then mixed in your pigments ? Have a great weekend !
You can use the pigment by itself. I assume you are talking about the Sheleeart bloom technique? House paint can be used as the base. I use the cheap Walmart satin colorplace white but there are lots that work. You can use this paint in any technique though not just the blooms.
So you are saying that mica powders with water (or Josanya) don't have a density, ie" opaque, transparent, etc. Only the paint you mix with the pigments determines the density??
Water has a density for sure. Denisy is actual compaing other meterials to the same volume of water. All mediums you add it to can affect density but if all your mixed paints are using the exact same mix for your pouring medium then only the things that are different, eg. pigments, really affect relative density. Does that make sense heather? Denisty and opacity are two completely different things. Density is weight ratio and opacity is how light passes through the mix.
If you could help. My results are not the best, my colors crack or separate or whatever. I'm mixing very well I haven't tried cutting my mix down I don't know what's going on but I just can't seem to get them right, like the colors separating from the mix. And I know their water soluble but it's almost looking like when they dry they separate slightly.
Can you send me a picture and let me know what paints and mediums you are mixing together? You can do so on the contact form on my website leftbrainedartist.com (don't want to put the email here as the spam bots would pick it up)
My heat gun is not working the way I would expect it to… So I’m thinking I’m going to have to get a torch… I am petrified of the torch I’m afraid to fill it up I’m afraid to use it but I have to get one and hope that are use it properly and it’s safe… Which one would you suggest for a beginner who is scared…?? I’m also having problems still getting sales and leasing but within the last week I have not been doing any painting at all which is unusual because I paint every day… I have some sort of virus and I have been in bed for about six days now… The doctor says it’s nothing serious it just Hass to work itself out but in that time. I am No afraid that I have forgotten the recipe on how to make cells and how to do the lacing … And again because I am a cook I don’t write anything down everything is in my head with baking you write things down you refer back to it and so on and so forth i used to be a baker but it became too time consuming in the way of writing it down measuring so on and so forth … But right now I think if I get a torch it will help it can hurt it can burn the house down but I guess I’m willing to take that chance my premiums are all paid up… LOL
For cells, you definitely should not need a torch. Something else is wrong if you are not getting them. 1 part craft paint (Folkart, Craftsmart) etc, 1 part glue mixture (70% glue and 30% water). Then water to consistency where when you drizzle you get a small mound then it disappears. Regular paint is 1 part paint and two parts glue mixture and water to consistency. 1 tiny drop of silicone per 2 ounces of paint.
Hello. I really liked your video, but I have a question for you regarding staining with pigments. I really prefer the look of stain much more than paint. I found the most beautiful pigments, but I'm not sure what I can mix them with to achieve a vibrant stain. Can you help with that? Also, do I need a topcoat to seal in the color? Thank you
You don't need a top coat to seal anything. It is already done with the medium/acrylic paint. However I like to add some UV protection and dust protection so I always varnish. Not sure what you mean by a vibrant stain? More watercolor type effect? if so you'd just use only pigment and less than normal so it very transparent.
I really want to try this with water buy I'm after a more translucent effect so I can see the objects inside the water. Is this possible? Or does it make the water look gritty
Sorry if I didn't understand this the first time. So when I use my Mica powder, it's best to use it with just liquitex or with a transparent paint and not an opaque, Do I have that right?
Not letting light through. Reflected light is the color you see so blue opaque paint is reflecting the blue light and absorbing all the rest of the colors.
Thank you David for all your testing videos I have learnt a lot from you. I seem to have encountered a problem with gold and some coloured metallic paints. They look lovely and shiney when dry but as soon as I varnish the painting they loose all of their metallic shine. I varnished them with slightly watered down Triple Thick Varnish which gives a lovely gloss finish but loose all the gold and almost all of the metalic shine. Have you ever done any tests with metalic paints and varnish.
The problem isn't that you loose the shimmer, the problem is you add "shine" to the rest of the painting so it doesn't stand out as much. Using a matte or satin varnish instead will allow you to protect your painting but allow the metallic colors to still show differently.
That is a tricky one. Could it be the lighting? Does the mica shine by itself when you looking at in in the container? Maybe with a light on it? Otherwise maybe add more mica?
@@LeftBrainedArtist the mica shines alot on it's own (the best is from Angelwings Ent.).. but it dulls right down when mixed with the clear base paint.. would it work better with the glue/water mix or the floetrol? Thanks for all the info you put out.. it really helps us newbies
I haven't tried that but I would assume it is the same with the added step of putting in a small amount of water/alcohol to break it down first then to mix with the medium.
@@LeftBrainedArtist thanks. I have found out that mica powders unless marketed for archival could be dyed which makes them not suitable and also alcohol ink is not archival in case anyone reads this thread. Thanks so much
What is your favorite pigment color to use in your acrylic pours?
Mica Powder 36 Color Set - amzn.to/3sEodif
Teals and greens. They go with so much.
Thank you!!! I just spent a small fortune on these and didn’t know ANY of this. You save me SO much time and money with these experiments. You are very much appreciated 💜
Glad I could help!
This explains why my first time using mica powder resulted in me not being able to see the shimmer at all 😂 As ever, thanks so much David
Happy to help as always Mary.
I just got Arteza mica.
It's a government experiment...lol
Just starting to mess around with mica.
Too funny, I think my kitchen, dining room and patio have all turned into a giant government experiment! Hilarious 😂
Just bought my first set of mica powders and this has been amazingly helpful! Thank you thank you so much for being so "on time"!!!
Anything for you Nancy. 😉
I really need to start at YOUR beginning lessons. I think you can teach me a lot more.
You should! I also need to redo those videos soon. So many new tidbits I have learned.
Excellent review and detail on mixing mica powders with acrylic paints!
I always come to you when I need comparisons and am craving information on a specific topic.
You fill a very important, specific need for the acrylic pouring community! ROCK ON, LEFTBRAINED ARTIST!
Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing you knowledge and time. You're a great teacher.
Always a pleasure for you Novalla.
Thank you for all your great tutorials!
My pleasure Debra. Thanks for watching.
You’re absolutely right! This is why I let my acrylics dry first or use a gesso base and dust my mica powders on top of the opaques and add a top coat of resin. Amazing results.
Thanks for sharing! The sprinkling it on top is a great idea. How do you keep it even without clumping? Maybe a small sifter?
@@LeftBrainedArtist my canvas dust process is just a small brush with mica powder and I blow away the excess
Totally appreciate that you explain the details!!! Much as it's lovely to just watch people do art with music, I really want to know exactly what we're doing here and how I can utilize the skills.
I'm left brained-right brained ... A systems analyst who does art. 😂 I'm glad there are more of us. Thank you.
I totally understand. we want to know why in addition to the instructions on how so we can replicate over and over.
Excellent info as always! Thank you!
Thanks so much.
Thanks David! Xx
You are so welcome Fran. Happy pouring!
Thank you so much for explaining! 🙏
You're very welcome Inga.
This explains a lot! I never got good results mixing with paints. I have a bunch of mica powder I can now get some good results with. Thank you Mr. Left Brain!
You are so welcome! Let me know if you find any other tips and tricks.
Very interesting!!!
Note, you can also get "Mixing White" which is a semi-transparent.
It's Zinc Oxide, rather than Titanium Dioxide.
Thanks Nikola. That is a great point if you want to soften your color but not turn it opauque.
Thank you David for all the testing you do. It certainly helps me understand what to avoid using if I want certain affects. I am learning so much from you. My sincere thank you for all your efforts. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽👏🏼👏🏼
Very welcome Sunita.
Great Video .. Thank You ❣️
Eye Candy mica powder ultra are excellent mica powders 👍👍
Thanks Erin!
I started using the pigments about the same time you did. I love your experiments. I used several different mediums and didn’t really like the outcomes. I settled on the POLYCRYLIC. I like a more opaque paint because I do a lot of Dutch Pours. It seems like the transparent paints get lost. It’s all so interesting. I sometimes enjoy mixing colors more than I enjoy the actual paint process. Thank you for the time you bless us with doing the teaching/experiments that you do.
Sounds like we are kindred spirits Twila. Thanks for watching!
Great info! I also watched your mixing-mica-with-mediums video and found it helpful, since I’m about to try mica powders in my pours! Thanks!
You are so welcome Anna. Glad to help. Let me know if you find any juicy tricks. Or let me know when you put out a video with those juicy tricks at least. 😀😂
@@LeftBrainedArtist Haha will do!
I love your experiments
Thanks you ❤
Thank you! Cheers!
Another very informative video. Haven't tried the pigments yet but very helpful for when I do.
I sent someone to your channel the other day about doing blooms different ingredients, she said it was very helpful. I hope she subscribed!
Thanks for sharing Mary. These Mica's definitely add some flare to your pours.
Thank you! This video was wery helpful for me !
You're welcome Macska.
Great video and the one from last week! I have paints, mediums and mica pigments for years and im just now learning how to uses the poweder pigments in art. This was very helpful!
Wonderful! Thanks for watching. Glad to help .
I have played around with this with mica eye shadow powder, worked the same. You can try some of your wife's discarded shadows if she has any.
Ooh, so true. Thanks Barbara.
Great test! I have color-changing mica powder (chameleon powder from amazon) and I was hesitant to use it until I knew how it would work out. Thanks to you, I know!
Glad it was helpful! How did it go with the Chameleon?
Hahaha I got my answer..Thanks David..
Glad to hear it Dolores.
Excellent! Thanks
Glad you liked it Merrily. Hope it helps you in the future.
Would have loved it if you had showed the underside of the dried paint. It might have shown you if any pigment or mica had sunk and how much.
I'll put a picture up on the community board. There isn't much though. it suspends pretty well in the Liquitex Randy.
Thank you. This is the first video with so much mica info I've seen (apart from your last vid). I spent a long time looking after unsuccessfully pouring with new box of mica. They will finally come back out of the cupboard! Thanks heaps
You're very welcome M S. Glad to be of service.
Thank u so much for these videos
You are so welcome!
I painted yesterday I have everything that you could possibly have all the same brands everything except the torch I did three paintings two got scraped off one survived … I had no idea how difficult this type of Painting is y’all make it look so easy and this is probably the hardest type of painting I’ve ever encountered it’s almost like I feel like I lost the recipe on what to put in my cup… Just a day of frustration In the life of pouring
That was my video this last week. Nothing I did worked as it had in the past. I feel your pain Jean. But now it's time we move on to the next one.
This is great! Thank you! Another thing you can add to intensify the micas is a few drops of acrylic ink.
That is a great tip. I haven't worked much with inks yet.
Thank you!! This explains a lot of my problems I've been having. As always, much appreciated David.
Great to hear Doris. Mica and transparencies are a tricky subject. Still learning myself.
Another amazingly useful video. You've taught me so much of the past months so that now I can understand what a thing is doing and why. Thanks so much.
Now I need to see some of your art!
@@LeftBrainedArtist I do have pics. How can I get them to you?
THIS is such a helpful video. 👌. I would have been disappointed if I had added my new mica powder to paints expecting a lot of shimmer, not understanding how it works. Thank you!
That's pretty much what I did the first time with the whites. I was so surprised but I guess I shouldn't have been. Mica wants light and opaque paints block most of the light.
Thanks so much for going through this for us!
You are so welcome Emily.
I love your experiments. It helps a lot. Thank you.
Happy to hear that Paulina.
Your experiments are always timely and well appreciated. Thank you. Have you ever done a comparison on the best/easiest way to finish a painting? I am so stuck trying to decide what to use as the finish top coat.
I totally have. Here is one of the videos about the finish of the varnish that you use - czcams.com/video/_Sa2aJFkqhY/video.html
By the way, these are the exact mica powders I just bought too! They are fantastic and it only takes a very little bit to color resin. Now that I know how to mix with acrylic paints, I can do that too! Thanks!
Excellent Janeen. It was a educated guess on what to buy but the reviews were hard to pass up.
There is a tendency, before you become familiar with paints, to be a bit heavy handed and to misunderstand quantities needed for tweaking your colours. I used to work in a paint and decorating shop where I got to mix paints. We would load up a 5 litre can and add the pigments - and the quantities were miniscule - and the colours were often strange, like "why am I adding olive green to produce this clover pink?" strange. It often just didn't make sense, but the scientists at Dulux knew what they were doing and the paints were fine.
So true.
Helpful information. Thank you David.☮️💖🎶
Anything for you Marcey. Have a happy weekend!
This shows mixing opaque right into mica. Can you talk about layering mica transparent with semi opaque in a pour.
I'll add that to my ideas list. Thanks Arlene. I did do a painitng like you mention in this video - czcams.com/video/go76LqGOPVI/video.html
Thanks super
You're so welcome Maryse.
I just love your videos! I learn so much. Have you ever thought about doing anything with epoxy resin? I would love that too, as I do both acrylic and resin projects. I know you would do a great job with that too!
Yes, as some point. I want get a pouring community setup first before I move in to resin.
Question.... could you add a neutral mic (just for the sparkle) to your topcoat and get the best of both worlds.....full opaque coverage and sparkle.
Absolutely you could Donna.
VERY informative. I wish you had also used alcohol inks.
I don't have any currently but that is something to get in to soon too Larri.
Be great if you could do the same test in a black background
What would hope to see from that?
Micas look very different over a black background... especially if the are in a transparent medium...and they actually shine much more...I think your viewers might like to see the difference
Thanks, David. Another great and informative lesson ! I am just working up the nerve to try using the pigments. I have a quick question: I hope this doesn't sound too weird, but how do you think it would work if you used some Golden fluid acrylics (the transparent ones) with your PM, and then mixed in your pigments ? Have a great weekend !
Sure would. Just use a tiny bit. They are so pigmented that even a single drop changes the color dramatically.
Can you use the pigment by themselves and what would you put underneath as your pillow
You can use the pigment by itself. I assume you are talking about the Sheleeart bloom technique? House paint can be used as the base. I use the cheap Walmart satin colorplace white but there are lots that work. You can use this paint in any technique though not just the blooms.
So you are saying that mica powders with water (or Josanya) don't have a density, ie" opaque, transparent, etc. Only the paint you mix with the pigments determines the density??
Water has a density for sure. Denisy is actual compaing other meterials to the same volume of water. All mediums you add it to can affect density but if all your mixed paints are using the exact same mix for your pouring medium then only the things that are different, eg. pigments, really affect relative density. Does that make sense heather?
Denisty and opacity are two completely different things. Density is weight ratio and opacity is how light passes through the mix.
If you could help. My results are not the best, my colors crack or separate or whatever. I'm mixing very well I haven't tried cutting my mix down I don't know what's going on but I just can't seem to get them right, like the colors separating from the mix. And I know their water soluble but it's almost looking like when they dry they separate slightly.
Can you send me a picture and let me know what paints and mediums you are mixing together? You can do so on the contact form on my website leftbrainedartist.com (don't want to put the email here as the spam bots would pick it up)
Even if you put a gloss varnish on top, the mica power still wouldn’t shimmer like the others, would it?
Nope. Some of it is buried and so the light never gets to it. It will shimmer up quite a bit though.
My heat gun is not working the way I would expect it to… So I’m thinking I’m going to have to get a torch… I am petrified of the torch I’m afraid to fill it up I’m afraid to use it but I have to get one and hope that are use it properly and it’s safe… Which one would you suggest for a beginner who is scared…?? I’m also having problems still getting sales and leasing but within the last week I have not been doing any painting at all which is unusual because I paint every day… I have some sort of virus and I have been in bed for about six days now… The doctor says it’s nothing serious it just Hass to work itself out but in that time. I am No afraid that I have forgotten the recipe on how to make cells and how to do the lacing … And again because I am a cook I don’t write anything down everything is in my head with baking you write things down you refer back to it and so on and so forth i used to be a baker but it became too time consuming in the way of writing it down measuring so on and so forth … But right now I think if I get a torch it will help it can hurt it can burn the house down but I guess I’m willing to take that chance my premiums are all paid up… LOL
For cells, you definitely should not need a torch. Something else is wrong if you are not getting them.
1 part craft paint (Folkart, Craftsmart) etc, 1 part glue mixture (70% glue and 30% water). Then water to consistency where when you drizzle you get a small mound then it disappears.
Regular paint is 1 part paint and two parts glue mixture and water to consistency.
1 tiny drop of silicone per 2 ounces of paint.
Hello. I really liked your video, but I have a question for you regarding staining with pigments. I really prefer the look of stain much more than paint. I found the most beautiful pigments, but I'm not sure what I can mix them with to achieve a vibrant stain. Can you help with that? Also, do I need a topcoat to seal in the color? Thank you
You don't need a top coat to seal anything. It is already done with the medium/acrylic paint. However I like to add some UV protection and dust protection so I always varnish.
Not sure what you mean by a vibrant stain? More watercolor type effect? if so you'd just use only pigment and less than normal so it very transparent.
You can mix mica powder with methylated spirit to create a stain for absorbent surfaces. Looks beautiful on unfinished wood for example.
@@LeftBrainedArtist I'm not sure how I missed this before. Thank you for your thoughtful advice!
@@Jesjosif, thank you for your advice. I'm going to try this and see what happens!
I really want to try this with water buy I'm after a more translucent effect so I can see the objects inside the water. Is this possible? Or does it make the water look gritty
It would make the water look gritty as it doesn't completely dissolve.
Sorry if I didn't understand this the first time. So when I use my Mica powder, it's best to use it with just liquitex or with a transparent paint and not an opaque, Do I have that right?
Liquitex or other glossy medium is best. If you are going to add paint less is best and very very little opaque paint if any.
@@LeftBrainedArtist Thank you!!
What does it mean if something is opaque?
1 : not letting light through : not transparent. 2 : not reflecting light : dull an opaque paint.
Not letting light through. Reflected light is the color you see so blue opaque paint is reflecting the blue light and absorbing all the rest of the colors.
What about using mica powder in car paint? Will still give you that shimmer?
I would assume so but I haven't tried it out. The other problem is you want some REALLY fine powder or else your paint job will look bumpy.
Would you be able to do a demonstration with it and isn’t a mica powder very fine
Thank you David for all your testing videos I have learnt a lot from you. I seem to have encountered a problem with gold and some coloured metallic paints. They look lovely and shiney when dry but as soon as I varnish the painting they loose all of their metallic shine. I varnished them with slightly watered down Triple Thick Varnish which gives a lovely gloss finish but loose all the gold and almost all of the metalic shine. Have you ever done any tests with metalic paints and varnish.
The problem isn't that you loose the shimmer, the problem is you add "shine" to the rest of the painting so it doesn't stand out as much. Using a matte or satin varnish instead will allow you to protect your painting but allow the metallic colors to still show differently.
I bought clear base for my mica powders.. no shine.. what would you suggest?
That is a tricky one. Could it be the lighting? Does the mica shine by itself when you looking at in in the container? Maybe with a light on it? Otherwise maybe add more mica?
@@LeftBrainedArtist the mica shines alot on it's own (the best is from Angelwings Ent.).. but it dulls right down when mixed with the clear base paint.. would it work better with the glue/water mix or the floetrol? Thanks for all the info you put out.. it really helps us newbies
What about pigment paste ?
I haven't tried that but I would assume it is the same with the added step of putting in a small amount of water/alcohol to break it down first then to mix with the medium.
@@LeftBrainedArtist probably iin near future we will get to see that in your videos
@@LeftBrainedArtist pigment paste doesn't work...just saw another video
NOW you tell me! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hehe. You just learned the hands-on way Annabelle. 🙃
Can I use mica powders in oil paint? Is it archival? Are dyes used to color mica powders because dye is not archival? Any help is appreciated thanks
For oil paints I have no experience unfrotunately.
@@LeftBrainedArtist thanks. I have found out that mica powders unless marketed for archival could be dyed which makes them not suitable and also alcohol ink is not archival in case anyone reads this thread. Thanks so much
@@Beredeemed Thanks for the follow up.