Broken tones in painting

Defining broken tones

Broken tones are shades of color that lie between the tone pure and gray tone.
In other words, colors altered by the addition of a small amount of black, white or a complementary color.

This technique allows you to achieve softer, more subtle shades, promoting a harmonious atmosphere in a work of art.

For example, a pure blue can be broken up by adding a little gray or orange, which changes its liveliness and creates a sense of depth.

In the world of painting, broken tones are often considered an essential tool for artists seeking to create rich, nuanced works.

In short, a broken tone results from the combination of two complementary colors in unequal proportions, with or without the addition of white.

Coloring a work of art with broken tones

The three primary colors manifest themselves in a broken tone, since this is the result of mixing complementary colors.

Through synthesis subtractiveWhen the complementary colors are mixed in equal proportions, the result is a black hue.

On the other hand, when these colors are combined in unequal proportions, the resulting color is a shade of gray, whose dominant hue corresponds to that of the majority color in the mixture.

This is why a work created in a harmony of broken tones shows a greyish trend.

The colors here seem dull, especially when contrasted with the pure, saturated colors, whether cold or warm.

How do I select complementary color pairs?

The choice of palette depends on the subject you wish to represent. Let's take a look at the available options:

Chromatic circle, complementary colors

1. The colour wheel reveals the direct complementary colors, located diametrically opposite each other: madder carmine and green, light blue and red. red yellow and dark blue, yellow-green and violet, as well as blue-green and carmine red.

2. In practice, test ranges illustrate the varying degrees of complementarity between basic colors.

3. Visit mixtures of base colors can be dosed to create complementary colors which, when mixed in unequal proportions, with or without the addition of white, produce broken tones.

Reference to the color wheel is therefore particularly useful.
For example, mixing yellow and cadmium red creates the complementary color of ultramarine blue, orange.

4. Furthermore, all earth tones are broken tones. Thus, the association of a ground with any standard color generates a new broken tone, which in turn represents a mixture of complements in varying proportions.

Two trends

The various combinations of complementary color pairs give rise to hues that can be classified into two trends, according to the predominance of one complementary color over the other.

Broken tones examples A B C D

In the broken tone obtained in (A), madder carmine plays a dominant role in the mixture.

In contrast, in the broken tone obtained in (B), emerald green occupies a more significant share of the blend.

Now based on primary colors (madder carmine, cadmium lemon yellow and Prussian blue), two types of ranges can be created: a range of broken tones with a bluish tendency when blue predominates (C), or a range of broken tones with a carmine tendency when carmine predominates (D).

Working with broken tones

Working with broken tones requires in-depth familiarity with complementary colors, as well as with the color mixtures that can play this role.

One method of developing fluency in this area is to understand each color by analyzing it from its theoretical composition based on the primary colors.

For example, yellow is clearly dominant in yellow ochre, which is essential to consider when mixing.

However, it would be simplistic to limit ourselves to consulting the chromatic circles alone.

Experimenting with mixtures on the palette enabled the artist to become accustomed to the use of the broken-toned range, distinguished by its harmony and richness of subtle nuances.

Earth-based broken tones

Examples of broken earth tones

The bluish hue of the broken tone (1) is particularly evident when lightened with white (2). Likewise, the ochre tendency of the broken tone (3) becomes evident with the addition of white (4).

The blends shown in (F) combine burnt sienna with emerald green, with the lighter tones enhanced by white. The predominance of sienna in the broken tone (5) is emphasized by the addition of white (6).

The predominance of green in the broken tone (1) is clearly discernible when lightened with white (8). Mixtures (E) and (F) can be used to develop a wide range of exceptionally harmonious and beautiful broken tones.