Mix Acrylic Paint for Beginners | The Only Color Guide You'll Ever Need, by Jed Dorsey Art on YouTube. 15 min 33 s.
- Video length
- 15 min 33 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Squeeze out your yellow, red, blue, black and white in separate spots on the palette. Leave space between each blob so you can pull paint from the edges without contaminating the pile.
Mix a clean orange by combining yellow and red. Add the red in small amounts and stop as soon as the orange looks right, since red is usually the stronger pigment.
Make green from yellow and blue. Start with more yellow, then add blue bit by bit until you reach the green you want.
Make purple from red and blue. Add blue slowly to the red, because blue tends to darken and dominate the mix quickly.
Test tinting strength before trusting a 50/50 mix. Put a small dot of each paint side by side, then add the weaker colour in small amounts until the hue shifts.
Check whether your primaries are warm or cool. A warm red with a warm yellow gives a bright orange, while a cool red with a cool blue gives a cleaner purple.
Squint at your mixed colours or view them against a grayscale strip. This shows the true value of bright reds and oranges, which are darker than they look.
Add a small amount of titanium white to a dark mix to reveal its hidden hue. Stir well and add more white only if you want a lighter tint.
Tips and common mistakes
Add the darker or stronger pigment to the lighter one in small amounts, not the other way round.
Rinse your brush between colours so leftover paint does not turn your next mix muddy.
Keep a scrap of paper nearby to test each mix before you apply it to the canvas.
Write down the ratios that work so you can repeat the same colour later.
Questions
Why do my acrylic mixes turn brown or muddy?
Usually you are mixing all three primaries or using dirty brushes. Stick to two colours at a time and clean your brush between mixes.
Do I need expensive paints to mix good colours?
No. A single yellow, red and blue from the same brand will give you a consistent family of colours. Just check the tinting strength as you go.
How much white should I add to make a tint?
Start with a tiny amount on the tip of your knife and stir it in. You can always add more white, but you cannot take it out.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
