Acrylic paints are amazingly multi-purpose, affordable and easy to find. You can pick up a starter pack of 12 paints in any art shop in the world, and every other colour can be mixed using those shades. Acrylics can be diluted with water making it fast and easy to work with, and dries completely waterproof. I use it for tinting clay, painting canvases and customising art toys.

SHADING TIPS
1) The best time to blend colours is when both paint layers are completely wet OR when one layer is completely dry.
2) If both paints are wet, load the brush lightly with one colour and work quickly to blend two shades together.
3) If the base colour is dry, dilute the top colour with water so it becomes translucent and shade with light feathery strokes allowing the second shade to show through.
4) Around 3-5 minutes after application, the paint will start to dry and feel 'tacky'. This is not a good time to work on shading as the pigment won't blend smoothly. As soon as the paint starts getting tacky, wash your brush and start working on another area.
5) So in summary, the best time to blend/shade is immediately after application (1-2 minutes), or after one colour has completely dried (10+ minutes).

It's best to block in all your colours first and then build up detail. Try to avoid painting one small area perfectly before moving onto another bit of white canvas. Painting is probably the most challenging of all "craft" projects because you need a lot of practise so don't give up! less