Do you put lighter paint into the darker paint or the other way around?

Question

My Visual Arts Teacher told me how to mix paint and get the right colours, but i forgot and I desperatly need to mix paint and get it right by the begging of term 4 for a school project.

example, mix red in2 blue or blue in2 red to get purple?

Answer 1

Hi there,

While it is impossible to say without knowing what paint medium you are using, how thick/thin you are painting, or what style or type of painting you're working with, I can say that in traditional oil painting you would generally start with a neutral ground, work from background to foreground, and dark to light.

Observe this Rembrandt:

http://www.jamescgroves.com/rembrandt/rem1.htm

Look at what paint is on "top". It's the lighter colors. In traditional life painting the light areas come "forward". The darks are in the background. This applies to portraiture, still life and landscape painting.

If you're painting abstractly, anything goes.

If you're painting with watercolors or with thin transparent paint, then you may choose to do the opposite, because once dark is laid down, it's impossible to "erase". This is irrelevant in thicker oils or acrylics, where you can layer opaquely.

If one portion of your painting uses transparency (thin or "see through" paint--note that some types of paint are naturally more transparent or opaque than others), then you may wish to paint from light to dark in that area.

I wouldn't be too religious about it. Once you've gained experience, you'll find that it varies depending on the painting or the section you're working on.

EDIT:

Oops, I misunderstood your question. I thought you were referring to painting colors "over" other colors. It looks like you're actually talking about mixing one color "into" another.

Personally I don't have a rule of thumb on this. It really depends on the situation, and I do it very intuitively, rather than according to rules.

When mixing (for example, mixing two primary colors to obtain a secondary color, as in your examples), you often would mix on a pallet before applying to the canvas. In this case, it doesn't particularly matter which (dark or light) you add into the other, because you don't use the paint on your canvas until after you're satisfied with the color you've obtained on your pallet. The ratio (i.e., the amount of one color you need to add to a certain amount of another color) depends on the pigments you're using. Some colors (for example pthalo blue) are very strong and must be used in smaller quantities.

If you're mixing directly onto the canvas instead of premixing on a pallet, then it might be better to add the weaker color into the stonger color. That way, you can more easily continue to add more until it looks right.

I think usually the darker color is stronger. So in most cases you would add the lighter color into the darker color. Then you can "measure" the amount easily by adding more of the light color until it looks how you want it.

However in my experience, it hasn't made any difference; or at least there certainly hasn't been any "rule" that I would consistently follow.

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Appendix: Mixing colors directly on your canvas

In my opinion, mixing directly on your canvas (not using a pallet) is a vital skill to master. I can think of at least three reasons for this:

(1) It adds texture and variability to your strokes (i.e., you can see small streaks of quirky unmixed color along the brush strokes). It can help you avoid a flat overly illustrative or "color by numbers" look to your painting. (Painting "wet on wet" is easier if you've mastered mixing on the canvas.)

(2) The color mixes optically (i.e., the viewer perceives the slightly unmixed streaks of 2 colors as 1 color) which can give the viewer a richer more vibrant experience of color.

(3) The color can be fine tuned. When you put paint on a canvas, it ALWAYS changes appearance compared to how it looked sitting on your pallet. This can be because the color simply looks different as an opaque blob on your pallet as compared to painted transparently on your canvas, or it could be because the color looks different when it's laid down next to a different color. Whatever the reason, it pays to be good at tweaking those colors directly on the canvas without having to go back to a pallet.

In my personal experience, the toughest thing to get the hang of is knowing when to stop mixing. If you mix too much, the results tend to be muddy, or end up being homogenous and flat (just like on your pallet). Mix too little, and the hue doesn't look right.

Good luck!

Answer 2

From your description, clearly that you are doing more on a color chart or coloring related project, I assume.

There is no sequential technique like cooking in mixing color for starters. Do not mix color on your paper or canvas. Always use your pallette/container or any flat base for acrylic/oil for mixing. Whether its lighter or darker color first, with the right amount of colors ON your mixing pallette, you will never go wrong. I learnt this lessons long time ago considering both my parents are artists themselves.

For me, always, I mean ALWAYS, have a big tube of the three basic colors (red, blue and yellow) and a white along with you. I always go for yellow (or white, if I really need it) for lighter results and blue (or red depending on your color scheme) for darker tone. Red always plays the middle person here. The reason why I don't put black color in my list cos I prefer my black color to blend in with other colors. For that, I mixed all 3 basic colors to get a black. I know its tedious, but for me its worth it. But what the heck, get a black too. Its actually an ideal color for detailing esp in portrait and tree branch.

While you are at it, its quite useful for you to grab any art book (with coloring guides and techniques) from your local library for revisions.

Anyway, good luck for your project!

Answer 3

This depends upon the effect you want to achieve. If the color is to be fairly light, spread some of the lighter color. Then, add a bit of the darker color. If you don't have the shade you want, add a bit more of the darker color. Continue this procedure until you get what you desire. You might want a sky blue and begin with white to which you add cerulean blue. If you want a darker color, lay out some dark color. Then, add the lighter color a bit at a time until you get what you want.

Answer 4

You should always start with light paint, adding small amounts of dark paint. Especially if you're not trying for a "darker" look.

However - if you're trying for just an "off pigment" look to a darker color - then a touch of lighter paint is a way to do that.

But mostly you should always start with the light color - adding the dark in small amounts until you get the desired color.

Think of it like this: Dark always overrides the light. But light barely breaks the dark.

Wager Witch

Answer 5

In Oils I would mix lighter into darker to get the tone I am looking for.... when you actually paint, you paint in oil from dark to light ... Watercolor just the opposite.

Answer 6

The guys at Lowe's usually start with a white base and add drops of color. That's all I know.

Answer 7

Dark into light

Answer 8

lighter first. It's easier making it darker then it is making it lighter..

Answer 9

Jon beats any advice I could give you.

Answer 10

it depends