Final answer:
Encaustic paint mixes pigment with a heated beeswax binder, while tempera paint combines pigment with an egg yolk binder. Oil painting uses pigment, oil, and a chemical thinner as its binder.
Step-by-step explanation:
Encaustic
Encaustic paint mixes dry pigment with a heated beeswax binder. The mixture is then brushed or spread across a support surface. Reheating allows for longer manipulation of the paint. Encaustic dates back to at least the first century C.E. and was used extensively in funerary mummy portraits from Fayum in Egypt.
The characteristics of encaustic painting include strong, resonant colors and extremely durable paintings. Because of the beeswax binder, when encaustic cools it forms a tough skin on the surface.
Tempera
Tempera paint combines pigment with an egg yolk binder, then thinned and released with water. Like encaustic, tempera has been used for thousands of years. It dries quickly to a durable matte finish. Tempera paintings are traditionally applied in successive thin layers, called glazes, painstakingly built up using networks of cross hatched lines. Because of this technique tempera paintings are known for their detail.
Oil Painting
Oil painting was one of the most significant advancements made in art during the Renaissance period. Like any paint, oil paint is a mixture of pigment (color), binder (oil), and thinner. Because oil is the base, it needs thinning with a chemical thinner. Oils were used as early as the 12th century; however, they were difficult to mix and not readily available.
The egg tempera method used in previous centuries was soon replaced by linseed or walnut oil mixed into the colored materials. Oils were more natural to use and provided more depth and realism in the paintings. Although painting was more comfortable with oils, the artists were still limited in the colors they were able to obtain. Depending on where an artist lived, and what raw materials traveled on the Silk Road, determined the color choices the artist could use.