To start, you'll need water for activation. You'll then need a combination of stiff-bristled brushes for thick paint application and soft-bristled brushes for watercolor-like effects. You may want a variety of paint colors (7 to 12) with a palette knife and a palette for mixing and either canvas or paper. As you advance in your acrylic painting practice, you can start to experiment with medium add-ins. These mediums retain the chemical integrity of the acrylic paint while yielding different desirable effects. For example, a gel medium can be used to create thin, watery washes. Texture mediums can be used, like adding sand to your paint. You can also use modeling paste to build sculptural or impasto layers on your canvas. You can use a flow medium to alter the consistency and viscosity of the paint, which is great for pouring paint directly onto the surface. Incorporating a slow-drying medium will increase the paint's drying time.