What You Need to Know About Color Theory for Painting

Directly Above Shot Of Brushes Splashing Various Paints On White Paper
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Mixing Primary Colors


What About Black and White?


Different Blues, Reds, and Yellows


Which Specific Primary Colors You Should Use

It's not a question of there being a right or wrong primary to use, but rather that each blue, red, and yellow is different and produces a different result when mixed. Each pair of primaries will produce something different, sometimes only subtly different.

Get Started with the Color Theory Triangle

Print out Color Mixing Triangle Worksheet and paint it in. It's color mixing at its most basic, the first step on a journey with color.

  • 01 of 08

    Warm and Cool Colors

    Paint Pallete Colours
    Carolyn Hebbard / Getty Images

    Every color has a certain bias towards what's called warm and cool. It's not something that's overwhelming; it's subtle. But it's an important element in color mixing as it influences the results.

    As a group, reds, and yellows are considered warm colors and blue a cool color. But if you compare different reds (or yellows or blues), you'll see that there are warm and cool versions of each of these colors (relative to each other only). For example, cadmium red is definitely warmer than alizarin crimson (though alizarin crimson will always be warmer than, say, a blue).

    Importance Of Warm and Cool Colors

    It's important to recognize that individual colors have a bias towards cool or warm for color mixing. If you mix two warms together, you'll get a warm secondary color and, conversely, if you mix two cools together you'll get a cool secondary.

    For example, mixing cadmium yellow and cadmium red light creates a warm orange. If you mix lemon yellow with alizarin crimson, you get a cooler, more gray orange. Mixing secondary colors is not only about the proportions in which you mix two primary colors, but also knowing what different reds, yellows, and blues produce.

  • 02 of 08

    Secondary Colors

    Watercolour mixing with red, blue and yellow
    Guido Mieth / Getty Images

    Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors together: red and yellow to get orange, yellow and blue to get green, or red and blue to get purple. The secondary color you get depends on the proportions in which you mix the two primaries. If you mix three primary colors together, you get a tertiary color. Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors together. Red and yellow make orange; red and blue make purple; yellow and blue make green.

    What Colors My Primaries Will Produce

    Red and yellow always make some kind of orange, yellow and blue a green, and blue and red a purple. The actual color you get depends on which primary you're using (for example whether it's Prussian blue or ultramarine you're mixing with cadmium red) and the proportions in which you mix the two primaries. Paint a color chart where you record which two colors you mixed and the (approximate) proportions of each. This will provide you with a ready reference until you get to the stage when you instinctively know what you'll get.

    Using Primary Colors

    The proportions in which you mix the two primaries are important. If you add more of one than the other, the secondary color will reflect this. For example, if you add more red than yellow, you end up with a strong, reddish orange; if you add more yellow than red, you produce a yellowish orange. Experiment with all the colors you have - and keep a record of what you've done.

  • 03 of 08

    Mixing vs Buying Ready-Made Colors

    Woman selecting tubes of paint in art shop, profile
    Michael Blann / Getty Images

    Color mixing gives you a range of colors with a minimum number of tubes of paint (very useful when painting outside your studio). If you're using a lot of a certain color, you'll probably decide it's easier to buy it in a tube rather than mix it up again and again.

    But you'll find that there'll always be an instance when the color you want simply doesn't come ready-made, such as a particular green in a landscape. Your knowledge of color mixing will enable you to adapt a ready-made green to the shade you require.

    The advantage of buying a premixed color is that you are assured of getting the identical hue each time. And some single-pigment secondary colors, such as cadmium orange, have an intensity that's hard to match from mixed colors.

  • 04 of 08

    Tertiary Colors

    Watercolor mixing with red, blue and yellow.
    Guido Mieth / Getty Images

    Browns and grays contain all three primary colors. They're created by mixing either all three primary colors or a primary and secondary color (secondary colors being made from two primaries). By varying the proportions of the colors you're mixing, you create the different tertiary colors.

    Easiest Way to Mix a Brown

    Mix a primary color with its complementary color. So add orange to blue, purple to yellow, or green to red. Each of these makes a different brown, so once again make up a color chart to give you a quick reference to refer to.

    Easiest Way to Mix a Gray

    Mix some orange (or yellow and red) with a blue then add some white. You'll always want more blue than orange but experiment with the amount of white you use. You can also mix blue with an earth color, such as raw umber or burnt sienna. With watercolor you don't have white paint; to lighten a gray you add more water instead of white, but remember the gray will be lighter when it dries.

    Why Your Tertiary Colors Keep Turning Out Muddy

    If you mix too many colors together, you'll get mud. If your gray or brown isn't coming out the way you want it to, rather start again than add more color in the hope it'll work.

    Continue to 5 of 8 below.
  • 05 of 08

    Complementary Colors

    Brushes and oil paint forming a messy colour wheel
    Dimitri Otis / Getty Images


    Secondary Colors


    Complementary Colors and Color Theory

    When placed next to each other, complementary colors make each other appear brighter, more intense. The shadow of an object will also contain its complementary color, for example, the shadow of a green apple will contain some red.

    How To Remember This



    Mixing Complementary Colors


  • 06 of 08

    Color Theory Lesson: Using Black and White

    Directly Above Shot Of Palette On Bed
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    Don't Add White to Lighten a Color

    Adding white to a color produces a tint of that color, makes a transparent color (such as ultramarine) opaque and cools the color. This is most noticeable with red, which changes from a warm red into a cool pink when you use titanium white. You can add white to lighten a color, but because this removes the vibrancy of color you'll end up with a washed-out picture if you use white to lighten all your colors. Rather develop your color mixing skills to produce hues of varying intensity. For example, to lighten a red, add some yellow instead than white (or try zinc white). Watercolor paints are, of course, transparent, so to lighten you simply add more water to paint to let the white of the paper shine through.

    Don't Add Black to Darken a Color


  • 07 of 08

    Color Theory Lesson: Avoiding Black for Shadows

    Rouen Cathedral in the Evening, by Monet Claude, 19th Century, 1894, oil on canvas, cm 100 x 65
    Mondadori via Getty Images / Getty Images

    Think about how much is truly black in nature. Shadows are not simply black nor a darker version of the color of the object. They contain the complementary color of the object.

    Take, for example, the shadow on a yellow object. If you mix black and yellow, you get an unattractive olive green. Instead of using this for the shadow, use a deep purple. Purple being the complementary color of yellow, both will look more vibrant. If you can't figure out what colors are in the shadows, simplify what you're looking at by placing your hand or a piece of white paper next to the bit you're having trouble with, then look again.

    Painters Using Black

    At various times in their careers, the Impressionists didn't use black at all (find out what they used instead). Take Monet's paintings of Rouen Cathedral in the morning full sunlight, in dull weather, and in blue and gold to see what a genius can do with shadows (he did 20 paintings of the cathedral at different times of the day). It's not true to say the Impressionists never ever used black, but they certainly popularized the idea.

    If you can't see yourself working without black, then consider mixing up a chromatic black rather than using a straight-from-the-tube black. It also has the advantage not 'killing' a color it's mixed with to the same extent.

  • 08 of 08

    How to Test if a Paint Color is Opaque or Transparent

    How to Test if a Paint Color is Opaque or Transparent
    How to Test if a Paint Color is Opaque or Transparent. Image: © Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc.

    Different pigments have different covering properties. Some are extremely transparent, barely showing on top of another color. Others are extremely opaque, hiding what's beneath. Considering this, and not just what the color is, can enhance a subject. For example, using a transparent blue in a sky gives a greater feeling of airiness than an opaque blue will. Compiling a chart of the colors you regularly use, such as the one above, shows at a glance how transparent or opaque a color is.

    You Will Need

    • All the colors you usually paint with.
    • Medium-size brush.
    • Cloth to wipe the brush on.
    • Jar of clean water.
    • Pen to record the color names.
    • Piece of white paper. If you've got about a dozen colors, you want a sheet about A5 size.
    • Ruler (optional, straight lines aren't essential).
    • Hairdryer (optional, for acrylics or watercolors).

    How to Make a Chart

    • Sort out your colors in an order that makes sense to you, such as the color spectrum (rainbow).
    • Mix up a little of each color. Paint a vertical stripe of each. Wait for them to dry.
    • Paint horizontal stripes for all the colors, in the same order.
    • If you're using a ruler, wipe the edge after each stripe so you don't contaminate the next one.
    • Record the names of the colors next to each stripe.

    Check the Results

    • Opaque pigments are dense and tend to block out other colors. This makes them ideal for subjects that are solid and heavy, such as tree trunks.
    • Transparent pigments are light and airy, barely showing on top of other colors. This makes them ideal for atmospheric subjects such as a misty morning or diaphanous fabrics.
    • Semi-transparent are somewhere between the two.
    • With time, you won't have to refer to the chart, but will instinctively know the properties of a particular color. Until then, stick the chart up on the wall where you can see it while you're painting.