Colour theory and mixing

HUE = means colour

The Color Wheel - Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

Primary: Red, yellow, blue cannot be mixed
Secondary: Orange, green, violet Mixed from two primary colors (50/50 mix) Ex: Green - one part blue and one part yellow
Tertiary: Red-orange, red-violet, yellow-green, yellow-orange, blue-green, blue-violet one primary + one secondary color (25/75 mix sec/prim)
- - Ex: Blue-Violet – this will be 3 parts Blue and one part Red paint
  - Ex: Yellow-Green – this will be 3 parts Yellow and one part Blue paint

Complementary Colors – ANY two colors opposite each other on the color wheel
Analogous Color scheme – Any 3-5 colors side by side on the color wheel (eg: Violet, Blue-Violet, Blue, Blue-Green, Green)
Triadic colour scheme - three colours equally spaced across the colour wheel [YG,RO,B V; Y,R,B]

click image for larger version

Colour Bias

Imagine a time of poster paints and white paper.. of bright colours, chubbie crayons, green grass and blue skies. These were perfect painting days apart from one thing….brown sludge.

Lots and lots of brown.

Your teachers told you ‘mix yellow and blue to make green’, red and blue to make purple. You listened, but the problem was still there.. you created brown sludge. What were you doing wrong?

NOTHING, you were just given the wrong paints…

In basic colour theory we learn that the colour wheel can be split into warm and cool colours. This can be confusing when we start to use paint as the primary colours red, blue and yellow alone are not the whole story.

Small amounts of other colours are hidden within each pigment – this gives each colour a colour bias. This is often also referred to as a warm or cool bias... confusing right! THIS VIDEO gives a really good explanation of colour bias. or you can read more about colour bias here

colour bias

SKILL BUILDER - COLOUR MIXING

ACTIVITY

You will now paint a 12 point colour bias colour wheel to show the difference between the two sets of colours. Print out this template to work on. Remember the mixing rations -- secondary - 50/50 Tertiary 25/75

The outside circle of the template will use COOL Bias Primaries
The inside circle of the template will use WARM bias Primaries

TRY TO CREATE A SMOOTH BLEND FROM ONE COLOUR TO THE NEXT AS YOU WORK AROUND THE CIRCLE.

How do RYB, RGB and CMYK colour models relate to painting:

The Basics: When you first start painting, you're usually introduced to the RYB color model. You learn that red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors, and by mixing them, you can create a whole rainbow of other colors.
Hands-on Learning: RYB is great for understanding basic color relationships and how different colors interact. It's all about experimenting and seeing what happens when you mix different paints on your palette.
Limitations: While RYB is a good starting point, it has limitations. It can be tricky to get bright, vibrant colors, and mixing those primaries to create a true black is almost impossible. This is because the pigments in paints aren't perfectly pure.
Still Relevant: Even though it's not scientifically accurate, RYB is still very useful for painters. It helps you understand color mixing, color harmony, and how to create different moods and effects in your artwork.

RYB is like learning the basic alphabet of color for painters. It gives you the foundation to explore and experiment. CMYK is like learning a different language – it's not essential for painting itself, but it can be helpful for understanding how colors can be changed and modifed.

CMYK is commonly used in printing, but we can apply its principles to painting too! By expanding our palette with magenta and thinking of our colors in a new way, we can unlock exciting possibilities.

Cool Yellow and Cool Blue: in place of the yellow and Cyan
Adding Magenta: This gives us a wider range of colors to mix, especially vibrant pinks, purples, and reds. [magenta is close to cool red.... but different]

Why this approach?

Brighter Colors: Using cool yellow and cool blue as our base helps prevent muddy mixtures when creating greens and purples.
More Control: By understanding how a color system works, we can mix colors more intentionally and predictably.
Fresh Perspective: Thinking about color in terms of cyan, magenta, and yellow can open up new creative avenues and help you see familiar colors in a new light.

This approach doesn't mean you have to abandon traditional color mixing altogether. It's simply another tool in your artistic toolbox, offering a fresh perspective and exciting new possibilities for your paintings!

RGB is used for electronic screens and doesnt tranlate to painting...

Mixing Tints and Shades: A Building Block for Painting

Remember your value drawings? You learned how to create depth and form by using different shades of gray, from the darkest black to the lightest white. Well, mixing tints and shades in painting is a similar concept, but with color!

What are Tints and Shades?

Tints: A tint is a color made lighter by adding white. Think of it like diluting a strong color with water. The more white you add, the lighter the tint becomes.
Shades: Instead of simply adding black to make a color darker, we'll use its complementary color. This creates richer, more vibrant shades that have more life than those made with black.

Why are Tints and Shades Important in Painting?

Creating Depth and Form: Just like in value drawings, tints and shades help us create the illusion of depth and form on a flat surface. By using a variety of tints and shades of a color, we can make objects appear three-dimensional.
Expressing Mood and Atmosphere: Different tints and shades can evoke different emotions. For example, lighter tints can create a feeling of lightness and airiness, while darker shades can convey a sense of drama and mystery.
Achieving Color Harmony: By understanding how to mix tints and shades, you can create harmonious color palettes that complement each other.

How to Mix Tints and Shades

Start with a Base Color: Choose a color you want to work with.
Create Tints: Gradually add white to your base color to create lighter variations.
Create Shades: Gradually add its complementary colour to your base color to create darker variations.

Tip: When mixing tints and shades, add your color to the white or complement, rather than the other way around. This helps you maintain control over the color and avoid accidentally adding too much of the darker color.

By mastering the art of mixing tints and shades, you can take your painting skills to the next level and create stunning, realistic, and expressive artwork.

Hue: selected colour

Tint: any color (hue) plus varying amounts of white (depending on desired value)

Shade: any color (hue) plus its complement [or dark cool colour [blue/violet/green]

Click here for the Worksheet

SKILL BUILDER - TINTS AND SHADES & NUETRALS

ACTIVITY: colour mixing

download the worksheet and print to A3 size. If you don't have access to a printer the worksheet can be hand drawn on multiple pieces of paper.
read each section carefully and plan your colours

Tints and Shades. Refer to your colour wheel and secondary colour chart when selecting your hues for each box. *watch the videos for practical demonstration

Following the advice above to achieve consistent results, mix sufficient amounts of your hue [aim for 1tsp]. Paint in your middle box.
divide your "spoonful" of paint into thirds [keep middle bit pure and clean] slowly add small amounts of white to one side to create your tints, painting in each box as you go.**
on the other side add small amounts of the complementary colour to make Shades. **

** watch the videos to help you ESPECIALLY yellow - its the hard one to not get brown!

Grey -the neutrals are made by adding a small amount of a shade to a larger amount of white.

mix up a small amount of the shade as indicated in the brackets, add a small amount at a time to a thumbnail size blob of white. add until you get a pale grey

Chromatic Black - Blue Violet + yellow [refer to the secondary squares for what two primaries made your darkest blue violet and add warm yellow]

Your finished product should look like below.

scan_ogd_2024-05-16-15-14-34.pdf

COLOUR MIXING SWATCH

swatch - COLOUR MIXING.pdf

PAINTED SPHERE

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

PADLET

All evidence of skill builder sheets
Painted Sphere

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