How to Mix Shades of Green: Paint 3 Leaves | Beginner Acrylic Lesson, by Lex Hem Art on YouTube. 45 min 28 s.
- Video length
- 45 min 28 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Squeeze out cadmium yellow, cadmium red, mineral blue, turquoise, Hooker's green, dioxazine purple and titanium white. Leave a gap between each blob so you can pull and mix cleanly.
Start a base green by mixing Hooker's green with a little cadmium yellow. Keep the mix slightly duller than you want, then adjust it with small additions.
Make a warm green by adding more cadmium yellow, then a touch of cadmium red. Warm greens suit sunlit leaves and autumn tones.
Make a cool green by stirring in mineral blue or a little turquoise. Cool greens work well for shaded leaves and leaves further back.
Dull a green that looks too bright by adding a tiny amount of its complement, cadmium red or dioxazine purple. Add less than you think you need.
Mix highlights by adding titanium white to your green, and shadows by adding dioxazine purple or blue. Keep white out of the shadow mixes.
Paint your first leaf in a mid green, then paint two more leaves using a warm mix and a cool mix so each leaf looks different.
While the paint is still wet, drop darker green along the shaded side and lighter green on the raised side to build depth.
Let each layer dry before adding more, especially before white or light greens, so the colors stay clean instead of turning muddy.
Tips and common mistakes
Add dark colors to light mixes a few drops at a time, since it takes far more light paint to correct a mix that has gone too dark.
Rinse and wipe your brush between mixes so leftover paint does not dull the next green.
Keep a scrap of canvas paper nearby to test each mix before it goes on a leaf.
Canvas paper can buckle, so tape the edges down or go easy on the water.
Questions
Why does my green turn muddy?
Too much red or purple, or a dirty brush, dulls green quickly. Add complementary colors in tiny amounts and rinse your brush often.
Do I need all seven colors?
No. Yellow, blue and white will get you started, but turquoise, purple and Hooker's green widen the range of warm and cool greens you can mix.
Can I paint this on a stretched canvas?
Yes, the same mixes work on canvas or canvas board. Canvas paper is just a cheaper surface for practice.
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.
