A buddy of mine uses water-based acrylic paints from the dollar store and his figures look amazing.

He waters his paint down so much that he often applies a half dozen layers but it comes out looking so good it looks professionally painted.

Does anyone else use water-based acrylic paints?

Most people are using acrylics. Citadel, P3, and Vallejo are mostly acrylics.Watering these dowb and going for several thin coats is commin practice as well

I started out with craft paints myself, and while they are a great way to get into the hobby - particularly when you're just starting out and learning what's what, they have 2 drawbacks that mean you don't want to continue using them once you get good - those being Lightfastness, and Color Fastness.

What Fastness means is how well the paint holds its color over time - Color Fastness refers to general storage conditions (how much the paint deteriorates just because of its chemical makeup), while Light Fastness refers to how well it holds its color when exposed to light (and yes, light can damage the color of something - if you've ever wondered why some museums put so much protection up around some of their more colorful artifacts, and nearly always in dimly lit rooms, that's why). You'll notice that most Craft Store acrylics don't advertise either of those ratings - and there's a reason for that. They're designed for quick kitsche artsy projects that are on display for a few months before being mothballed or binned - and they work for those purposes wonderfully.

You can tell what I mean if your friend has any pieces that they've painted from a few years ago (4-5). They'll likely not look as good as you remember them being - and no, that's not just nostalgia speaking. The colors will be dimmer, and have less contrast between them, meaning that it actually does look worse than the original paint job.

But, again, for learning the craft - they're a great way to get in cheap and figure out if you like it or not before dropping the big bucks on the good paints.