Facts About Primary Colors

ByAgkidzone Staff

Updated: Nov 16, 2024

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If you've ever wanted to create your own custom paint colors but felt a bit overwhelmed by the process, worry no more! Almost every color imaginable can be made by carefully combining primary colors. All you need is an idea of the hue you're aiming for, and then it's time to experiment. Mixing paints is a fun activity that doesn't have to be stressful and can lead to some surprisingly delightful results.

Learn the Color Wheel

First things first: get acquainted with the color wheel. It's built from the primary colors—red, blue, and yellow—and all the shades and hues they create when combined. The color wheel is a fantastic tool for understanding how colors interact with each other. To achieve a specific color, look at the wheel to see which primary colors it falls between; this gives you an idea of which colors you need to mix.

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Gather Your Supplies

Like any other skill, color mixing becomes easier with time and practice. To start, you'll need a palette for mixing your paints and a paintbrush or palette knife to blend them. A palette knife allows for a smoother, more uniform color. If you're mixing larger quantities or planning to paint later, consider using a jar for mixing. When using a paintbrush, be sure to clean it thoroughly between mixes to prevent unintended color blending.

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Choose the Right Paint

In general, paints come in two qualities: student grade and professional grade. Student-grade paints are less expensive and are perfect for beginners who don't want to invest too much initially. Since you'll be focusing on mixing colors, it might be wise to buy larger amounts of the primary colors. Remember, the type of paint you use can affect the ratios needed for color mixing, so keep that in mind as you experiment.

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Basic Paint Mixing

Once you have your primary colors, you can easily create secondary colors. Mixing red and blue makes purple, red and yellow make orange, and blue and yellow make green. These are your secondary colors. Tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary color with a neighboring secondary color, resulting in six more complex hues: yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, and yellow-green.

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Lightening and Darkening Colors

After practicing with basic hues, you might want to adjust the shades of your colors. To lighten a color, you can add white paint; it's often more effective to add the color to the white rather than the other way around. To darken a shade, carefully mix in small amounts of black paint. Alternatively, adding a bit of yellow can lighten a shade, while adding blue can darken it slightly. Just remember, a little goes a long way!

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How to Make Brown

Creating brown paint involves mixing colors in specific ways. You can get a shade of brown by combining a tertiary color with a primary color that's not already part of the mix. The ratio of colors will change the shade of brown you produce. Adding blue and green will give you cooler, darker browns, while reds and yellows will create warmer, more russet tones.

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Making Camel or Khaki Colors

If you're aiming for neutral sandy or camel shades, start by mixing small amounts of red into yellow-orange. This will give you a deeper color, which you can lighten by gradually adding white until you reach the desired shade. To create khaki, mix blue paint into yellow-green to achieve a similar dark hue, then add white to lighten it as needed.

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How to Create Medium Shades

To make medium shades of colors, you'll need to experiment with mixing in white paint. For example, to achieve a medium blue, blend dark blue paint with white, adding the blue to the white until you get the shade you want. If you don't have white paint, you can mix a light blue with a dark blue, or add a tiny bit of black to light blue, although this may result in a less saturated color.

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Making Pastel Colors

If you're looking to mix popular pastel shades like millennial pink or teal, you'll need your desired hue and a significant amount of white paint. Start by adding small amounts of the main color into the white paint, mixing thoroughly. Be cautious—a little color can go a long way when creating pastels, so add it slowly to avoid overshooting your target shade.

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Dealing with Black Paint

When it comes to darkening colors, you might find better results by mixing in brown or the dominant primary color instead of black. Typically, adding black paint can reduce the vibrancy of colors, making them appear muddied. If you do decide to use black, remember that a little bit goes a long way, and it's best to add it gradually to maintain control over the shade.

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Final Tips and Tricks

Mixing paint colors is all about experimentation and practice. Don't be afraid to try different combinations and ratios to see what unique colors you can create. Clean your tools between mixes to keep your colors pure, and always start with small amounts of paint to avoid waste. Before you know it, you'll be mixing colors like a pro and bringing your artistic visions to life.

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