How to Mix Any Color from a Limited Watercolor Palette, by Jackie Hernandez on YouTube. 10 min 30 s.
- Video length
- 10 min 30 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 7
What you need
Steps
Set out a limited split primary palette with warm and cool versions of red, yellow and blue, plus a few earth colors. Fill each well with fresh paint.
Swatch every paint on watercolor paper and label it. Let the swatches dry so you can see the true hue, value and strength before mixing.
Make a color wheel chart. Mix each warm primary with its neighboring cool primary to see the clean secondary colors your palette can produce.
Make a two-color mixing grid. Put one paint across the top and another down the side, then fill the squares with different ratios of each color.
For clean, saturated mixes, use only two primaries and rinse your brush between every change. Add water slowly so you do not weaken the color too soon.
To neutralize a color, add a tiny amount of its complement or an earth color. Test it on paper after each addition so you stop before the mix turns muddy.
Repeat the chart exercise with your favorite pairs. Keep the charts nearby as a reference when you paint and note the mixes you use most.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep separate water jars for clean water and dirty brush rinsing if you can.
Do not dip a dirty brush into fresh paint; it turns bright colors muddy.
Dry swatches with a hair dryer on low so you can compare hues faster.
Questions
How many colors do I need for a split primary palette?
Six core colors are enough: a warm and cool red, yellow and blue. Add earth colors later if you want easier neutrals.
Why do my watercolor mixes look muddy?
Too many pigments or a dirty brush usually cause it. Rinse often and mix no more than two colors at a time.
What paper should I use for mixing charts?
Use the same watercolor paper you paint on so the colors look accurate. Cold press paper is a good all-round choice.
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.
