Color mixing is a fundamental skill that enables artists to create a unique and expressive palette. Whether you're an amateur painter or a professional, understanding how colors interact with each other can transform your artistic approach. In this article, we'll explore the essential principles of color mixing.
Basic definitions
Shade :
Hue refers to the pure quality of a material. colorallowing it to be classified on the light spectrum, like the redblue or green. This first characteristic plays a crucial role in identifying and distinguishing colors.
Value :
The value refers to the brightness of a color. It determines whether a color is perceived as light or dark. For example, the same shade of blue can vary in value, from a very light blue to a very dark blue.
Saturation :
Saturation, on the other hand, describes the intensity of a color. A highly saturated color will appear bright and vivid, while a less saturated color will appear dull or washed-out.
Painting with the three primaries and white
The three primaries-red, blue and yellow, plus white-form the basis of any palette. By combining them, you can create an infinite number of hues and shades that will bring your work to life.
Essential black is obtained by mixing the three primaries in the right proportions.
Primary blue is gradually incorporated into yellow to obtain a medium green, then red is added to obtain black.
The choice of the three primaries is crucial.
I recommend :
- An azo yellow, PY73 for example.
- Phthalocyanine blue, PB15.
- A dark madder red lacquer, PR83
- A tube of titanium whitePW6.
Choose pure colors and observe the pigment composition on the back of the tube, as explained in my article "Pigments for artists".
For making mixtures phthalocyanine blue, madder lake, azo yellow and white. These pigment colors, when combined with white, produce hues close to the primary colors used in graphic arts (hues favoring very uniform mixtures): cyan, magenta and yellow.
Mixed colors
- Central zone: Shades of light blue, dark blue, blue-violet, green, green-blue, green-yellow, carmine red, bright red, yellow, orange, violet and, at its center, black.
These shades come from :
1. The composition of the secondary colors (green, orange-red and dark blue), resulting from mixing the primary colors in equal parts (azo yellow, madder carmine and phthalocyanine blue).
2. The composition of tertiary colors, created by mixing a primary and a secondary color, with no combination involving more than two primary colors at once. In this way, we obtain three tertiary colors for each primary color, giving us a total of six tertiary colors: green-blue, violet, blue-violet, carmine red, orange and green-yellow.
3. The composition of black by subtractive synthesis, resulting from mixing the three primary colors (azo yellow, madder carmine and phthalocyanine blue) in equal parts.
With the exception of black, the colors in the central section each contain only two primary colors.
- Surrounding area :
Luminous flesh tone composed of azo yellow, madder carmine and white.
Dark flesh tint: mixture of the three primary colors (azo yellow, madder carmine and phthalocyanine blue) plus white.
Grays and bluish grays are also obtained from these three primary colors and white.
Browns, or earth tones, are made from the three primary colors and white.
Color mixing: secondary colors
The mixing of primary colors, two by two, gives rise to secondary colors. In the world of painting, understanding this dynamic is essential for anyone wishing to master the art of color. The primary colors - red, blue and yellow - form the basis of all other hues. By combining them, artists can create a rich and varied palette.
Mixing red and yellow, for example, produces a beautiful shade of orange. This process shows how the interaction between two primary colors can generate a new secondary color. Similarly, the combination of blue and yellow produces a vibrant green, while red and blue combine to form a deep violet.
IMPORTANT:
Although the primary colors have been chosen for their vividness, the resulting secondary colors are not as vivid, but are slightly muted.
That's why it's in the artist's interest to choosefor its basic palette, ready-made secondary colors.
In addition to the primaries, I recommend:
- An orange, PO43
- A dioxazine violet PV23
- Phthalocyanine green, PG7
- Ultramarine blue
Tertiary colors
Tertiary colors are the result of a subtle blend of primary and secondary colors.
Visit theory colors, they appear when hues such as red and orange are combined, creating shades such as red-orange.
The result is an even richer and more varied color palette than that composed solely of primary and secondary colors.
For example, yellow-green is a tertiary color resulting from the mixing of yellow (primary color) with green (secondary color). This interaction between colors produces more nuanced hues.
Complementary colors
Visit complementary colors are the opposite colors on the color wheel.
For example, phthalocyanine green and dark madder lacquer, phthalocyanine blue and orange, violet and yellow.
Blending them in the right proportions produces powerful blacks that are a welcome replacement for ready-made commercial blacks.
By shifting the proportions and adding more or less white, a whole range of coloured greys can be obtained.
Examples opposite. Pinkish gray, greenish gray, bluish gray, orangey gray, greenish gray, purplish gray.
Lightening or darkening a color
In the world of painting, knowing how to lighten or darken a color is essential to achieving the desired result.
Lightening a color involves adding a lighter mixture, often white or a pastel hue, while darkening requires incorporating darker tones such as black or complementary colors.
Darken a color
- The use of complementary colors :
The academic method of using complementary colors is undoubtedly the most effective for darkening a hue while preserving its integrity.
By adding a small amount of the complementary color to the one you wish to darken, you can achieve a subtle black.
For example, to darken a yellow, an addition of violet can create beautiful depth without dulling it. Imagine a canvas with a bright blue sky: by adding a little orange, you can achieve darker shades of blue while preserving the sky's natural brilliance.
- The use of adjacent darker colors :
For example, to darken a yellow, if you incorporate its complementary, violet, you get a greenish color, which is not what you want.
Instead, we'll incorporate a hint of red, as well as a hint of the red's complement.
What about the use of black?
One of the most common mistakes made by novice painters is the excessive use of black to darken their colors.
While this may seem like a quick and obvious solution, adding black can quickly dull the shine of your paint.
When you darken a color with black, you're not just reducing its brightness; you're also altering its tone and saturation, which can result in a dull, unbalanced palette.
Imagine a bright summer sky that you paint, and by adding a little too much black, you turn this luminous expansiveness into a dark night.
To avoid this mistake, try experimenting with complementary colors or darker shades of your original color. This will enable you to retain the richness and vibrancy while achieving the desired effect.
Lightening a color
- Using white to lighten
Adding white is undoubtedly one of the most commonly used techniques for lightening a color. oil painting. However, it's crucial to do this with care so as not to alter the original shade of color.
In fact, white can quickly dominate other shades, making the result more pastel and less vibrant.
Take the example of a deep blue: adding too much white can result in a hue that appears closer to sky blue, losing the depth and richness of the original blue.
A sensible approach is to add white gradually, in small quantities. This allows you to keep precise control over the shade, and to choose the ideal moment to stop lightening.
The best white for brightening is zinc white (PW4), which is purer than titanium white.
- Mixing adjacent colors on the color wheel
The color wheel is an invaluable tool for painters, especially when it comes to lightening colors without altering their nuance. For example, if you want to lighten a red, consider adding a small amount of pink or orange, which are chromatically close. This mixture not only lightens the color, but also maintains the integrity of the shade.
Use and abuse of white
It's tempting to add white to a color to lighten it, but this method can quickly lead to unflattering results.
Adding too much white not only alters the original hue, but also risks dulling the color, making it more pastel and less vibrant.
Imagine a deep blue sky that you want to make lighter: if you add too much white, the result is a light blue that loses all its depth. It's often more effective to explore adjacent hues on the color wheel.
For example, to lighten a green, adding a little yellow can add luminosity while preserving the richness of the shade. By keeping color chemistry in mind, we can avoid this common mistake, which frequently distorts creations. Ultimately, lightening a color is an art that requires nuance and parsimony.
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