How To Make Light Brown Paint Colour Fast and Easy Using Acrylic Paint, by Coils Design on YouTube. 1 min 24 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 24 s
- Time to do it
- 5 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Squeeze a small blob of orange acrylic onto your palette. If you have no orange, mix equal parts red and yellow first.
Pick up a tiny amount of black on the tip of your brush and stir it into the orange. Black is strong, so use far less than you think.
Mix until the colour is even with no dark streaks. You now have a mid brown to build on.
Add white in small amounts and mix well after each addition. Stop when the brown is as light as you want.
Paint a test stroke on scrap paper or the edge of your canvas and let it dry. Acrylic paint shifts slightly as it dries.
Adjust the mix: add white if it is too dark, a dot of orange if it looks grey, or a touch of black if it is too pale.
Note roughly how much of each colour you used so you can mix the same light brown again later.
For a warmer flesh tone, stir in a little red or yellow at the end and test the colour again.
Tips and common mistakes
Always add dark colours to light ones in tiny amounts; it is much easier than fixing a mix that has gone too dark.
Too much black makes brown look flat and grey, so keep it to a pinhead-sized dot.
Keep acrylics workable by spritzing the palette with water, since they dry fast.
Use a clean brush or a separate corner of the palette for black so it does not contaminate your white.
Questions
What colours make light brown paint?
Orange, a very small amount of black and white. The orange gives the brown base, the black darkens and mutes it, and the white lightens it.
Can I make light brown without black?
Yes. Mix orange with white for a pale brown, or combine red, yellow and a little blue to mute the colour instead of using black.
Why did my brown turn grey?
You probably added too much black or blue. Stir in a little more orange or yellow to bring the warmth back.
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.
