If the DIY possibilities excite you well enough to want to try your hand at decorative painting, here’s what you need to know about the different types of paints. Green concerns make water-based paints popular. Of interest to you are latex paint, aerosol acrylic paints, craft acrylic paint, ceramic paints, and fabric paints.

Latex paint
Latex paints use acrylic resins, vinyl resins, or both. You’d want to choose latex paints of acrylic resins because they provide an even and complete finish and wear longer, but you might settle for acrylic-vinyl mixes, or all-vinyl depending on your budget. Latex dries fast, wears well, and can be custom-mixed to your precise color. It’s available flat for a matte appearance or high-gloss for a more durable finish.

Craft acrylic paint
This is 100 percent acrylic-resin paint which should not be confused with the ones used for canvas painting. Sold in 2-oz, 4-oz, and 8-oz bottles, they come in various colors and in fluorescent, iridescent, and metallic versions. If a thinner consistency is needed, they can be diluted with water, latex paint conditioner, or acrylic extender.

Fabric paints
Although acrylic paints can be used to paint on fabrics, there’s a paint that’s manufactured exclusively for fabrics: fabric paint. To avoid unnecessary stiffness, remember to apply lightly. You know you’re doing it right when you can see the fabric’s texture. The painted fabric can be machine-washed or dry-cleaned once heat-set.

Ceramic paints
These are paints specially formulated for ceramic surfaces, although you can use acrylic or latex paints on a previously-primed surface. Subjecting the finished product to hardening in low temperature improves the paint’s adhesion, durability, and water resistance.

Aerosol acrylic paints
This type dries quickly and covers well. Extremely handy, they can be applied quickly, and are best-suited for painting irregular surfaces. To be on the safe side of green concerns, use only the type that’s free of fluorocarbons and methylene chloride.

Anyone can draw a funny caricature picture. It is considered as one of the more simpler kind of art compare to sketching or water-color painting. Besides, due to its simplicity, It is suitable for everyone in different ages. Drawing a funny caricature art basically does not need deep or complicated drawing skills. It isn’t bounded to too many rules and regulations of drawing. This is why caricature arts are greatly welcomed by the people around the world. Many people are willing to pay for the money to learn funny caricature drawing. However, although portraiting a simple caricature isn’t hard at all, you still need some caricature drawing skills or otherwise, your viewers will easily get bored down by your piece of art. A 3 seconds short glimpse will be enough to find out how good your caricature art is. If you are serious about improving your caricature drawing skills and producing real funny pieces of caricature of your friends or lover, you should consider learning the caricature techniques.

In order to draw a caricature, the first step is to study faces. You need to study as many faces as you possibly can. You need to study them in photographs and you need to study them in real life. You should try to visualize those features that make the face unique. In other words, since you are going to capture the essence by exaggerating certain feature, you need to understand just what the essence is. The basic rule of this stage is that you are going to maximize the features of the face that are maximized in the subject, and minimize the features of the face that are minimized in the in subject. If the subject has small eyes, for instance, and you draw the eyes very large, you may make a cartoon looking image, but you will not have captured the essence. It will also be unidentifiable.

Proper equipment is important, and the next step is to make sure you have what you need. A good place to start when learning is with pencil. Avoid #2 pencils and look for 4B or 5B pencils instead. The 5B pencil makes a thick and black line. The caricature is going to have a certain cartoony look to it, and the thick black lines will help accomplish this. Then draw the subject much as you would a regular portrait, but using bold and exaggerated lines and a minimum of shadowing.

You are going to be maximizing the dominant feature that captures the essence of the subject. You should be able to determine what that is from your study of the face. It could be a large nose, large forehead, or a big smile. It could also be a small ears or a weak chin. Your caricature drawing should reflect this dominant feature. If you are seeking more of a cartoon caricature, merely do a bit more exaggerating of that essential feature. Like any art form, caricature takes practice, and when you feel you have practiced as much as you can, the next step is to practice a little bit more.