Acrylic paint is fast-drying paint containing color suspended in an acrylic polymer mixture. Acrylic paints can be thinned with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or customized with acrylic gels, mediums, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with the other media.

Acrylics were first made commercially existing in the 1950s. These were mineral spirit-based paints called Magna obtainable by Bocour Artist Colors. Water-based acrylic paints were consequently sold as "latex" house paints, although acrylic dispersion uses no latex derived from a rubber tree. Interior "latex" house paints have a propensity to be a combination of binder (sometimes acrylic, vinyl, pva and others), filler, pigment and water. Exterior "latex" house paints may also be a "co-polymer" blend, but the very best exterior water-based paints are 100% acrylic. Soon after the water-based acrylic binders were introduced as house paints, artists (the first of whom were Mexican muralists) and companies alike began to explore the potential of the new binders. Water soluble artist quality acrylic paints became commercially existing in the early 1960s, offered by Liquitex.

Acrylic artist paints may be thinned with water and used as washes in the manner of watercolor paints, but cleanse are not re-hydratable once dry. For this reason, acrylics do not lend themselves to color lifting techniques as do gum arabic based watercolor paints.

Acrylic paints can be used in tall gloss or matte finishes. As with oils, pigment amounts and particle size can modify the paint sheen. Likewise, matting agents can be additional to dull the finish. Topcoats or varnishes may also be apply to alter sheen.

When dry, acrylic paint is usually non-removable. Water or mild solvents do not re-solubilize it, although isopropyl alcohol can lift some new paint films off. Toluene and acetone can eliminate paint films, but they do not lift paint stains very well and are not selective. The use of a solvent to eliminate paint will result in removal of all of the paint layers, acrylic gesso, etc.

Only a proper, artist-grade acrylic gesso should be used to main canvas in preparation for painting with acrylic. It is important to avoid adding non-stable or non-archival basics to the gesso upon application. Acrylic will not form a secure paint film if it has been thinned with more than 30% water content. However, the viscosity of acrylic can successfully be reduced by using suitable extenders that preserve the integrity of the paint film. There are retarders to prolong drying and workability time and a flow release to add to color blending ability.