HOW TO MAKE PURPLE AND HOW TO MAKE GREEN
TWO SIMPLE COLOUR MIXING EXERCISES TO SEE HOW THEY CAN GO WRONG IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN THE RIGHT INFORMATION
There is no question that Colour Mixing can be confusing and that there is a lot of misinformation surrounding it. This means that when you try mixing colours they may not turn out as you wanted and so you lose confidence.
On this page I would like to give you two little basic examples of how to mix colours so that you can start to see how Colour Mixing works.
THESE EXERCISES ARE NOT AN EXACT SCIENCE. Accurate Colour Mixing depends on lots of factors and on proportions of each colour. The examples below are just to give you an idea of the different results that you get depending on which versions of a colour you use to start with. For these practical exercises before you start the course, I have given several different possible colours to use so that you can just use what paints you have and you don’t have to go out and buy any paints. You can do these exercises in watercolour or acrylic or whatever paint you have to hand. The mixing is not precise for this reason. On the course we are obviously much more exact but I want you just to see simple, basic differences.
THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN THE EATING as the saying goes! So give these two a try.
On the Colour Mixing Tutorials Course we really go into WHY these colours come out as they do. Once you understand colour it will all make sense and you will feel calm and confident to mix any colour you want to.
WHAT COLOURS MAKE GREEN
The question is – what green would you like to make? We can literally make hundreds and hundreds of different greens. For the purpose of this exercise, let’s just see the difference between a bright fresh green and a dull, sludgy green. On the course we are obviously much more specific.
In both cases you are going to mix together a yellow and a blue, but you are going to mix different yellows and different blues.
BRIGHT FRESH GREEN
To mix bright, fresh greens try mixing a light yellow and a little tiny bit of blue.
Possible yellows; Lemon Yellow, Bismuth Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light (not medium or dark) or Winsor Yellow.
Possible blues; Turquoise, Teal, Cerulean Blue or Cyan blue
DULL SLUDGY GREEN
To mix a dull, sludgy, brown green try mixing a medium yellow with a little tiny bit of blue.
Possible yellows; Cadmium yellow medium or Cadmium Yellow dark, Winsor Yellow deep or Indian Yellow.
Possible blues; Ultramarine Blue or Cobalt Blue
How did you get on? Can you see the difference depending on which yellow and which blue you choose.
WHAT COLOURS MAKE PURPLE
This is a perfect example of misinformation. If you ask the question, what makes the colour purple, then the answer is usually red and blue. So let’s give them a try.
BRIGHT FRESH PURPLE
To mix bright fresh purple, try mixing pink with blue. Purple can be a pinky purple or a bluey purple and this obviously depends on how much of each colour you use. Try adding a bit more pink and then a bit more blue to the colour you are mixing.
Possible pinks; Magenta, medium magenta, quinacridone magenta.
Possible blues; Ultramarine Blue or Cobalt Blue
DULL BROWN PURPLE
If you are ask anyone ‘How to make purple’ you will most often get the answer Red and Blue. So let’s try that. Mix any red with any blue.
Possible Reds; Any Cadmium Red, Winsor Red or Scarlet lake
Possible Blues; Any Blue
How did you get on? Could you see a big difference if you started with pink or you started with red?
