Trying to figure out which paints to start with?

You have a myriad of options out in the world, and it can get quite overwhelming. Rest assured, it is a lot easier than you imagine.

Acrylics are basically finely ground plastic particles suspended in water. If you've ever noticed a thick blob of dried up acrylic paint, it almost feels like soft plastic acrylic paints are non toxic with some exceptions, which is why it is usually and ideal medium for beginners and advanced artists alike. They are very easy to use, need only water to thin out and can be thickened quite easily with a variety of mediums. Acrylics can pretty much be used and painted on pretty much ANY surface. One thing to remember is that acrylic paints dry very fast and if you do not wash your brushes immediately after use, they will become expensive sticks.

Oil paints are usually made with high intensity pigments, which start in powdered form and the binding material is high grade refined linseed oil or safflower seed oil. Some expensive paints also contain clove oil/vegetable oil. Based on what pigments are used, oil paints can be completely non toxic to slightly toxic especially the fumes of solvents as they evaporate.

When using oil paints, we have to use either turpentine, which naturally tends to have a high amount of fumes, hence not recommended to be used without ample ventilation or a slightly safer alternative is odorless mineral spirits such as gamsol to thin the paints. Also oil paints are used with a variety of mediums for glazing, transparency and other such effects, so can be quite overwhelming and hazardous to some one new to painting. If proper care is not taken during the use, it can lead to headaches and other minor issues. That being said, there are plenty of high grade brands out there that are completely safe and non toxic to a point where you can even consume the paint (although not recommended at all!).

Quite a few professional artists actually start with a mono chrome acrylic underpainting before going over it with oils. The color of the monochrome painting varies widely from grayscale, to a burnt umber sketch or even green (verdaccio) depending on what the artist is trying to achieve in the final stages.