Colour Mixing Article

Unlock the essence of colour mixing and gain the skill to command them!

Colour mixing is the backbone of painting and essential for every artist. There is no escape from this essential skill.

My first attempt at colour mixing was a disaster. I sought out a number of private art instructors, but to no avail; I was still in the dark. My mixing abilities were more instinctive than knowledge-based. Sure, I was introduced to the colour wheel and the bare basics of colour theory, such as how to mix complementary colours.

But, despite the time and work I put into those colour mixing sessions, no one ever explained why I needed to know mixing complementary colours; or how, given a minimum colour pallet or any colour, I can create any colour I choose without guessing or by sheer intuition. One colour mixing class after another failed to teach me how to mix colours properly, and it took 10 years for me to meet an instructor who filled in the gaps in my knowledge - in just two days! ​

Colour mixing seems so hard, when it is so simple...

I couldn’t believe how simple the basic understanding of the theory of colour mixing was, and how significant. It is sad that those techniques weren’t as readily available way back when I started out! And many of my peers struggled with genuine colour knowledge. The computer age is helping tremendously, but I honestly believe that an art class is still one of the best methods, and not by reason that I am teaching, rather because I see how quickly students learn to master colour. 

Later, when I was teaching art, I had a promising student who was studying interior design at one of the Gold Coast's institutions join me at one of my colour mixing workshops.

I felt she had a solid understanding of colour because she had such a large and excellent portfolio, so I told her she didn't need to go through the basic colour mixing classes.

However, it turned out that the students at this college just mocked the teacher's actions rather than comprehending the why, what, and how of colour theory and colour attributes.
That is a blunder I will never make again! 

So, before you attend a colour mixing workshop, find out if the instructor can mix any colour you specify using only the double primary colours plus white, and can demonstrate it. Research if the instructor can explain why complementary colours are so important for darkening or dulling a colour naturally.

If your “instructor” fails to demonstrate these two attributes to your satisfaction, you may find yourself in the same situation as I did. 

Colour mixing 101...

Colour mixing classes may appear theoretical at first, but once you comprehend the essence of it all, it will be simple, effortless, and fascinating. In fact, it is so simple to grasp that even children from the age of about 9 can grasp colour qualities with ease. 

Reputable teachers offering colour mixing lessons should start with the basics.  To mix colour correctly, you should have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of colour theory, and that includes a thorough understanding of the four main properties of colour:
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  • Hue: Which is a property by which hues are distinguished over a spectrum of colours that range from red, blue, green and yellow
  • Intensity: In colour theory, this is also commonly known as chroma or colour saturation, and specifies the purity of a given hue. The highest intensity is the hue itself; while hues whose intensity is reduced form different tones.
  • Value:  Which dictates relativity of darkness or lightness of a colour
  • Temperature / Leaning:  These colour properties help give “warm” or “cool”, but more so an understanding what kind of blue, red or yellow you should use to create a brighter or duller version of a colour.

Hue just means colour, value speaks of darkness and lightness and chroma about intensity and saturation. Chroma is the purity or intensity of colour. To reduce the chroma of a colour, you would have to add neutral grey which has the exact identical value as the colour you are using.

When you participate in any colour mixing workshop worth its value, you should also learn about two other elements of colour:
  • Tint: Which is what’s produced when mixing a colour with white, causing an increase in lightness of the colour; and
  • Shade: Which is the mixture of black with a colour, that results in reduction of lightness of the colour

With a firm grounding in colour mixing lessons, future artists understand that tones are produced by mixing colours with grey, or by a combination of shading and/or tinting.

Learning more about colour mixing...

For obvious reasons, this discussion on colour theory, and my rather abridged explanation of colour properties might not be enough to satisfy the artist in you.

If you are anything like me, you’ll want to explore all of this in greater detail and have it explained step by step with practical exercises.

As I am not teaching anymore, I will create at some point online information in regards to colour mixing, as it is crucial  knowledge that no one can take from you once it is yours.

Colour Related Inforgraphics

Courtesy of Designmantic