Blick Student, Studio, & Artists' Acrylics: What's the Difference?

Blick brand artists' acrylic colors can be found in studios and classrooms everywhere, and it’s not unusual to find artists hanging onto Blick Acrylics from every stage of their career, from student to professional. So, why do some artists hang onto the Blick colors they used in early training, long into their career? And what factors determine what’s a Student, Studio, or Artists' Acrylic?

Focused on the Experience

Blickrylic Student Acrylics are designed around the needs of teachers who strive to provide a great early painting experience for children. They need to be easy and fun to use, safe for anyone, and priced to fit an educator’s budget. The Blickrylic assortment is focused on the art-making experience and safety first, which means using carefully selected, lightfast pigments and reliable binders that are safe for all ages. Blickrylics are formulated to a consistency concentrated enough for dilution with water or mediums, but convenient for classrooms to use straight from the container, with plenty of body so students can enjoy vibrant color, great workability, and excellent appearance in finished art.

Performance and Permanence Priced for Volume Users

Blick Studio Acrylics are designed for artists-in-training and those launching art careers. Deadlines and show schedules mean total immersion and high productivity, with an expectation of lasting results. Formulated for budget-conscious, high-volume users with a priority on lightfastness and durability, higher concentrations of top-grade pigments and strong, stable vehicles in Blick Studio bring challenging, skilled artwork to its best advantage, while ensuring that finished art meets professional standards.

Uncompromising Quality for Demanding Artists

Blick Artists' Acrylic Colors are made for professionals ready to work to the highest standards of the craft, and for anyone who wants paints with the very best pigment concentration and working properties. Blick Artists' Acrylics are made to our specifications working closely with some of the world’s best manufacturers, with the goal to create paints as good as any trusted, well-known brand. We evaluate them extensively, both on the easel and using benchmark tests for properties like tint strength, covering power, film strength, and more, just like the most exacting professional painters.

One consequence of our investment in every tier of Blick acrylics is that artists tend to hang onto the products they used starting out, even after they’ve graduated to the professional level. One reason may be that every artist likes saving money, but we think most of the time, it’s because an artist never forgets how it felt their first time using really good paint!

"When I was thirteen or fourteen I bought a paintbox with oil paints from money slowly saved up. The feeling I had at the time – or better – the experience of color coming slowly out of the tube – is with me to this day." -Wassily Kandinsky

Image (right): "The Blue Rider" Wassily Kandinsky, 1903