Denim Painting 101: Paint and Supplies
UPDATED: JULY 2022
Welcome to Denim Painting 101 – Part 1! This is the first part in a series all about painting and taking care of your denim – whether it be a pocket on jeans or the back of a denim jacket. Listed below are all the supplies for painting on jeans/jackets.
Before you can even start painting, you need all the supplies! So let’s get into what I use and why some paints are better than others.
Make sure to check out the rest of my Denim Painting 101 tutorials at the bottom of this post and follow me on Instagram to see more of my painted jeans. You can also visit my Painted Jeans Collection page to shop all my available painted denim.
This post contains affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything, but I get a small percentage of purchases made through these links. This is how I am able to continue putting out free content! Thank you!
PAINT:
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This is the most important ingredient for high-quality painted jeans that will last! You don’t want to get the cheapest paint. I use acrylic and do not recommend using oil paint. Acrylic paint turns to plastic once it is dry and heat-set. See all Denim Painting 101 tutorials for more information.
Why do I need high-quality paint?
I’m so glad you asked! Cheaper, student-grade acrylic paint typically has filler ingredients to make it less expensive. This filler material may still look decent on a canvas, but can be the cause of cracking, peeling, and all that nasty stuff on fabric.
High-quality paints have the true, natural pigment (it will be labeled on the tube as something like PB29 – that’s Ultramarine Blue pigment). This pigment is mixed with a binder to create acrylic! The acrylic paint brand I use is made with 100% resin, making it extremely durable and great quality.
What about fabric paint?
Another great question! If you’ve followed me on Instagram for awhile, you may have seen a couple posts with fabric paint. I collaborated with two different companies—Arteza and Jacquard—to test out their fabric paint on my jeans.
Arteza fabric paints are ideal for puffy-paint style art and you can see the pair I painted with Arteza on my Instagram.
Jacquard has a few series of fabric paints – including textile and sneaker. I used their textile paints to create this pair of shorts. They are great quality and I would recommend them if you’re looking for fabric paint.
I prefer using acrylic because the colors are named for the pigment they contain (e.g., Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Yellow)– which is what I am familiar with as an artist. Acrylic paint comes in tubes which makes it easier to squeeze onto a palette with limited mess and it typically has a nicer, more matte finish than fabric paints.
Shop high-quality acrylic paint
Fabric Medium
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Fabric medium is a liquid that you add to acrylic paint to turn it into fabric paint! If the paint and fabric medium are both high-quality, your painted jeans will be too!
I have been painting on jeans since December 2017. The first year and a half of painting jeans, I only used acrylic paint. No sealant, no fabric medium, nothing. I decided to buy fabric medium to test it out in July 2019 and have used it for my jeans ever since!
TAPE:
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If the tape you are using isn’t sticky enough, paint could get on the jeans in places you don’t want it to be. If it’s too sticky, then it might be difficult to peel off. Artist tape is just sticky enough to stay on, but still peels off easily.
Artist tape is also ideal because it is white. Did you know that your tape color can affect the colors you paint? If you use blue painters tape, you might have a hard time gauging the colors you are using since it is not a neutral color.
White tape, while not totally neutral (neutral gray is what most artists use for their palettes to make sure they mix colors accurately), is ideal compared to colored tape.
Thanks to white artist tape that peels off nicely, I have become known for my tape peels! Yup, I was the one who started the painted jean tape peels! :)
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Brushes
Since I first started painting, I have always used Princeton Brushes. They make brushes for all types of painting, but what I love is that their brushes can be multi-purpose. The same brushes I used for my water color art classes can also be used for my painted denim.
I only use synthetic brushes because I do not want to promote or put money into brushes that animals are killed for. Sable brushes are made of cute little furry animals and I just can’t support that. Princeton synthetic brushes are such great quality, sable brushes are completely unnecessary.
My favorite lines of brushes from Princeton are the Velvetouch™ 3950 series and Select Artiste 3750 series.
Best brush for tiny details: Princeton Heritage 4050 Series Size 1 Round
Disclaimer: I am a Princeton Brush Ambassador, but I was chosen to be an ambassador because I have always used and promoted Princeton as my favorite brush brand.
Palette
Confession: I used paper plates as my paint palette for years. I knew using paper plates wasn’t sustainable, but I wasn’t sure acrylic paint would come off of a reusable palette.
I bought my large palette in 2019 and used it for a few years! The acrylic paint peels right off, which is so satisfying, and I can use it over and over again without creating waste.
In 2022, I upgraded to a glass palette with a gray background for more accurate color mixing. It’s a great palette and feels luxurious! It cleans much better than the plastic one and feels far more sturdy.
Pens
I use Papermate Profile pens and sharpie ultra fine points.
I draw out my design in pen before I start painting. I love Papermate Profile pens for drawing out the design, but they’re also great for day-to-day writing. They dry quickly so there is no smearing on the jean pocket and they don’t mix with the paints. Do make sure the pen is completely dry before you start painting.
Sharpie ultra fine points are great if the design you’re doing has smaller details that you want to include in the initial drawing. I use Sharpies less often than Papermate Profiles, but still do use them on occasion. FYI: Sharpies have a soft tip which can easily wear down if you’re painting on rough denim.
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