Just Start with Resin Art
Resin art has a way of pulling people in. You see someone pour a shimmering river of epoxy across a wooden board, watch the colors bloom and separate into cells, and suddenly you need to try it yourself. The appeal is immediate: you mix two liquids together, add pigment, pour, and within a day you have something that looks like it belongs in a gallery. The basics are genuinely that accessible. What gives resin art its depth is the sheer variety of things you can create once you understand how the material behaves. Coasters, trays, jewellery, paintings, tabletops, even sculptures. It is a craft where chemistry meets creativity, and the learning curve is more forgiving than it first appears.
Start here
The Essential Beginner's Guide to Resin Art Techniques
Sue Findlay · 52 pages · 2019 · Easy
Themes: resin art fundamentals, surface preparation, color mixing, dealing with bubbles, texture and finishing
The best resin art book for someone who has never mixed a drop of epoxy. Sue Findlay, a practicing Australian resin artist, wrote this guide after hundreds of people asked her how to get started. It strips the process down to the essentials and walks you through every step with clarity and confidence.
Why Start Here
Resin can be intimidating. The mixing ratios, the curing times, the bubbles, the sticky mess when something goes wrong. Most online tutorials skip over the details that actually matter for a first-timer, leaving you to figure out the hard parts on your own. Findlay’s guide was written specifically to remove that fear.
The book covers how to choose the right surface, prepare your workspace, mix resin correctly, add color, deal with bubbles, create lacing and cells, add texture, and finish the back of your piece. Each topic gets straight to the point with practical advice drawn from Findlay’s own experience as a working artist. She does not pad the book with filler or theory you do not need yet.
What makes this guide stand out from the dozens of resin art books on Amazon is the author’s credibility. Findlay is not a content mill writer who researched resin for a week. She discovered resin in 2017, built a following through her YouTube tutorials and Facebook community, and wrote this book in response to direct requests from people learning from her. The advice comes from someone who has made every mistake and knows exactly which ones you are about to make.
What to Expect
At 52 pages, this is a focused, no-nonsense guide. You will not find lengthy chapters on the history of resin or advanced sculptural techniques. What you will find is everything you need to pour your first piece with confidence. The book is structured so you can read it in a single sitting and be working with resin the same day.
Findlay covers the practical details that trip up beginners: getting the ratio right, managing your workspace temperature, understanding why bubbles form and how to eliminate them, and knowing when your piece is ready. If you want a quick, trustworthy foundation before you start experimenting on your own, this is the book to grab.
Alternatives
Sara Naumann · 96 pages · 2017 · Easy
A project-driven guide to making resin jewellery that looks far more professional than you would expect from a beginner book. Sara Naumann provides over 50 step-by-step projects using minimal equipment and readily available materials.
Why Consider This One
If your interest in resin leans more toward wearable pieces than wall art, this is the book to pick up. Naumann focuses entirely on jewellery: rings, pendants, brooches, cufflinks, hairpins, and bracelets. The technique at its core is simple. You mix two-part resin, pour it into a bezel or mold, and let it cure. The creative magic comes from what you put inside.
The book explores embedding all kinds of materials in resin: dried flowers and leaves, feathers, shells, beads, charms, glitter, colored inks, and paper. You can use old book pages, maps, scrapbook paper, or photographs as backgrounds. You can paint, stencil, or layer washi tape before coating with resin. Each project builds on the last, gradually expanding your sense of what is possible.
Published by Search Press, the book benefits from high-quality photography and clear layout. Every project includes materials lists, step-by-step instructions, and finished photos so you know what you are aiming for. Naumann’s writing is warm and encouraging without being patronizing.
What to Expect
At 96 pages, this is a more substantial guide than a typical beginner handbook. The first section covers materials, tools, and basic resin techniques. The bulk of the book is project-based, organized by complexity. You start with simple pendants and work your way up to more ambitious multi-layer pieces.
The equipment requirements are modest. You need two-part resin, bezels or molds, pigments, and whatever you want to embed. Most of these materials are affordable and easy to find online. You can realistically complete your first piece of resin jewellery in an afternoon, though the curing time means you will need to wait overnight before wearing it.