Painting colors can be divided into following components.
Pigment : powder-like substances that are the basis of paints.
Adhesives : bonding agents that allow the pigments to bond to the paper when applied.
Solvent : gives liquidity to painting colors for easier application. For water-based paints water is the solvent, and for oil-based paints it is natural solvents or oils.
Surfactant : as the same kind as soaps, it aids solid matters such as pigments to blend well with water.
Other additives : material added to painting colors to maintain and preserve its safety and conservativeness for safer use.

For water-based colors, adding “retarder” delays evaporation of water thus extending the drying time. Acrylics and watercolors normally take around fifteen minutes to dry even on smooth surfaces such as plastic, but adding 2% of retarder delays drying by one to two hours. However, the effect of retarders weakens on absorbent surfaces such as kent or cotton paper since water and retarder perm eate through the base. Hence, amount of retarders should take into account the painting surfaces and uses, ··· In contrast, in using Acrylic colors or varnishes that contains much of resin components, the effect of retarder enhances greatly. Still, retarders must be used with care since too much of it may delay the drying time to up to two days.

Although watercolor and poster colors dissolve in water, paints that get on clothing may dye the fabric as it dries, so the paints must be washed out immediately befor completely drying.

Each poster color is made from various substances of around 17 up to 23. The reason it dries is because distilled water(or water resulting from boiling tap or purified water) evaporates and Arabic gum that work as bonding agent dries as moisture vaporizes; hence ingredient lost through drying process is merely water. Accordingly, you may pour boiling water into a glass with dried poster color, wait five minutes or until the paint becomes softer, stir the mixture with the plastic knife that comes with the paint, and the poster color will become same as when it was first opened. Some try to melt dried poster color by mixing carbonated drink or alcohol; carbonated drinks may help softening the paint in term of adding moisture but alcohol does not.

Gesso is water-based and hence dissolves in water, but when got on clothing, it dies the fabric and cannot be removed after it completely dries. Water off immediately with soap.

Alpha Dye Colors are appropriate to use on textiles. After applying the paints on textile, the effect can be more refined if ironed since it gives the effect of heat treatment. When applying, Dye colors can be used in the same manner as usual paints but on textiles.

Although acrylic colors use water as do watercolor, they are made using acrylic resin and thus do not dissolve by water once dried. Additionally, they also can be used to give three-dimensional effect, allowing it to be used as an alternative to oil paints, and can be applied to nearly any surfaces from murals and industrial bases. Acrylics give similar effect as oil colors but have the advantage of drying quickr. Poster colors are usually used in creating designs or posters. Accurate reproduction of colors for printing is of its defining property; its drawback is that it is weak in durability but have been improved greatly recently. Poster colors melt in water so they are not appropriate to use outdoor. Acrylic color should rather be used; using professional acrylic colors allows preservation over longer period of time.

Acrylic colors are made with acryl ester resin, more adhesive than vinyl paints, and can color all surfaces. They are quick to dry which makes it useful in mural or industrial paintings and also has been used widely by artists since 1960s for its transparency. Acrylic colors are also water-based, in contrast to oil colors which are oil-based, and thus are easier to use than oil paints, much durable, and dries quickly, which allows painting by applying several layers. Controlling the amount of water mixed into the paints, both watercolor and oil color techniques are possible. However it dries quicker than watercolor, which shortens the time, but makes it tricky to retouch which may require experienced skills. In order to solve such difficulties, drying rate can be decreased by adding retarder, a drying relaxant. Acrylic colors are very adhesive and can be used on any surfaces with the least absorptiveness including canvas, paper, fabric, wooden board, leather, aster paper, film, plastic and walls. You can better protect the colors by applying gesso before using acrylics on any surfaces.

It is best to mix water when diluting Gloss Varnish, because the medium itself of Gloss Varnish is acryl resin and thus is the same concept as mixing water when using acrylic colors. Brushes, after suing, harden as time elapsese so they must be washed with water immediately after working. Gloss Varnish for oil colors (oil-based) are called ‘Crystal Varnish’and should not be mixed with water. Oil-based petrol should be used to control diluteness and brushes should also be washed with petrol before using soapy water.

We recommend using Matte Varnish. Apply non-glossy varnish after the painting is completely dried. Pease use with care since applying to heavily at once or before the paint is complete dried may make the painting slightly foggy. It is most dffective to mix a little bit of water and applying thin layer of varnish twice onto completely dried surface. Also, Matte Varnishes are calssified into two categories: those for oil colors and those for acrylics. The ones used over oil colors are oil-based and the ones used over acrylics are water-based; same applies for Gloss Varnishes.

You may use Gloss Varnish, which is also categorized into those used for oil colors and those used for watercolors. Alphacolors’s Crystal Varnishes are convenient in that they can be used for both oil and watercolors. In other words, Crystal Varnishes are used both over water-based and oil-based paints and are controlled by petrol.

Crystal Varnish is a glossy oil color protectant, and can bring about similar oil color effect as previously used Tableaus. Alphacolor’s Crystal Varinish can be used over oil paint or acrylic paints. To use, wait for the painting to be completely dried and apply on the surface using a brush, controlling the thickness with petrol. Crystal Varnish dries in about one hour. You can also use to protect the colors on craftwork. The slight stickiness that is characteristic of dried acrylics can be get rid of by applying Crystal Varnish.

Gessoes are used to prepare the surface before applying acrylic or oil colors, and protect the painting from fading or discoloration that result from time. Its practicality contoinue to increase as it is widely used for craftwork or DIYs for its ability to protect colors even on surfaces such as metal, wood, and glasses. Alphacolor’s gessoes are especially high in quality that even artists who use other imported paints prefer to use Alphacolor’s gessoes.
When using gesso, mix 10~30% of water to prevent cracking over time.

They are similar in that they are both water-based. Watercolor are transparent and glossy, and are usually used in paintings. On the other hadn, poster colors are opaque and are used in design work for printing or advertising. Poster colors are not so durable, but they give opaqueness and accurate color when used thickly without using too much water.

The liquid that sit on top of the jar when poster colors are first opened are not mere water but are poster colors mediums, which help easier brushworks and preservation, so do not pour this liquid out but mix well with the pigments before using. Poster colors will not dry out as long as this liquid sits on top of the paints. To protect poster colors from drying out, first, close the lid immediately after using, second, if it is not going to be used for a long time pour a small amount of alcohol to protect the paint from drying or corroding(avoid pouring water as this may easily rot the paint), and third, for preservation over long period of time, add poster color medium to best protect.

Oriental colors and watercolor share the same pigments but differ in medium. Medium used in watercolor is Arabic gum which is high in water solubility, but oriental colors uses gelatinoids as medium. Gelatinoids are low in solubility which makes it impossible to dissolve in water once dried. Consequently, when using oriental colors, don’t bleed easily and the painting does not damage when layering the paper with water after competion. the three most characteristic properties of oriental painting colors are outstanding colors, durability that do not fade, and high saturation that is maintained even for mixed colors.