Do you just paint right over drywall or do you have to do something to it first?

you need to put on a prep coat before texturing, this will eliminate shadowing caused by different rates of absorption between mud and paper. also, the prep coat is elastic and will bridge minor cracking in corners. after texture, spray on a good drywall primer then paint as usual. if you don't put on prep coat, you will be able to see the seams under certain lighting conditionsDo you just paint right over drywall or do you have to do something to it first?
you can texture it or paint on it but in either case use a good primer! new drywall sucks up a lot of paint too so you might need three coats depending on paint quality and colorDo you just paint right over drywall or do you have to do something to it first?
prime it first otherwise you will use to much paint and the color won'tbe right
I've always seen drywall textured before paint is applied.





If you're not going to texture, just paint, and just one coat, I'd suggest planning to do more than 2 coats.





If you want to do some kind of effect, primer would be a good idea.
If it's new drywall with no staining, you can paint it riget away, but it will absorb alot of paint, so you may want to prime or use a lesser expensive paint and plan on multiple coats.
Prime the sheetrock first. On interior walls, I like to use latex-based Kilz primer/sealer. It can be found almost anywhere. On bare sheetrock, plan on at least two coats. If you like, you can even get it tinted to match your walls. Makes for a real nice paint job.
You need to put primer on it first. You can get that at Target or a place like that or any paint or hardware store.