What colors should you mix to make pink? How to get purple? Methods of mixing paints to create different shades

Two color mixing tables

The color mixing table allows you to learn how to get the right one when mixing two or more colors and shades.

This table is used in various fields art - fine art, modeling, and others. Can also be used in construction when mixing paints and plasters.

Color Mixing Chart 1

Required Color Base Color + Mixing Instructions
Pink White + add a little red
Chestnut Red + add black or brown
Royal red Red + add blue
Red Red + White to brighten, yellow to get orange-red
Orange Yellow + add red
Gold Yellow + a drop of red or brown
Yellow Yellow + white for lightening, red or brown for a dark shade
Pale green Yellow + add blue/black for depth
Grass green Yellow + add blue and green
Olive Green + add yellow
Light green Green + add white/yellow
Turquoise green Green + add blue
Bottle green Yellow + add blue
Coniferous Green + add yellow and black
Turquoise blue Blue + add a little green
White-blue White + add blue
Wedgwood blue White + add blue and a drop of black
Royal Blue
Dark blue Blue + add black and a drop of green
Grey White + Add a little black
Pearl gray White + Add black, a little blue
Medium brown Yellow + Add red and blue, white for lightening, black for dark.
Red-brown Red & yellow + Add blue and white to brighten
Golden brown Yellow + Add red, blue, white. More yellow for contrast
Mustard Yellow + Add red, black and a little green
Beige Take brown and gradually add white until a beige color is obtained. Add yellow for brightness.
Off white White + Add brown or black
Pink gray White + Drop of red or black
Gray-blue White + Add light gray plus a drop of blue
Green-gray White + Add light gray plus a drop of green
Gray coal White + add black
Lemon yellow Yellow + add white, a little green
Light brown Yellow + add white, black, brown
Fern green color White + add green, black and white
Forest green color Green + add black
Emerald green Yellow + add green and white
Light green Yellow + add white and green
Celadon White + add green and black
Avocado Yellow + add brown and black
Royal purple Red + add blue and yellow
Dark purple Red + add blue and black
Tomato red Red + add yellow and brown
Mandarin, orange Yellow + add red and brown
Reddish chestnut Red + add brown and black
Orange White + add orange and brown
Burgundy red color Red + add brown, black and yellow
Crimson Blue + add white, red and brown
Plum Red + add white, blue and black
Chestnut
Honey color White, yellow and dark brown
Dark brown Yellow + red, black and white
Copper gray Black + add white and red
Eggshell color White + yellow, a little brown
Black Black Use pitch black

Color mixing chart 2

Mixing paints
black= brown+blue+red in equal proportions
black= brown+blue.
gray and black= blue, green, red and yellow are mixed in equal proportions, and then one or the other is added by eye. it turns out we need more blue and red
black= it turns out if you mix red, blue and brown
black=red, green and blue. You can additionally add brown.
bodily= red and yellow paint.... just a little. After kneading, if it turns yellow, add a little red, if a little yellow paint turns pink. If the color turns out to be very saturated, add a piece of white mastic and mix again
dark cherry= red + brown + a little blue (cyan)
strawberry= 3 parts pink + 1 part red
Turkiz= 6 parts sky blue + 1 part yellow
silver gray= 1 hour black + 1 hour blue
dark red= 1 part red + a little black
rust color= 8 hours orange + 2 hours red + 1 hour brown
greenish= 9 hours sky blue + a little yellow
dark green= green + a little black
lavender=5 parts pink + 1 part purple
bodily= a little copper color
nautical=5h. blue+1 hour green
peach=2h. orange + 1 tsp. dark yellow
dark pink=2h. red+1 hour brown
dark blue=1h. blue+1h. Sereneviy
avocado= 4h. yellow + 1 part green + a little black
coral= 3 hours pink + 2 hours yellow
gold= 10 hours yellow + 3 hours orange + 1 hour red
plum = 1 part purple + a little red
light green= 2 hours purple + 3 hours yellow

red + yellow = orange
red + ocher + white = apricot
red + green = brown
red + blue = violet
red + blue + green = black
yellow + white + green = citric
yellow + cyan or blue = green
yellow + brown = ocher
yellow + green + white + red = tobacco
blue + green = sea ​​wave
orange + brown = terracotta
red + white = coffee with milk
brown + white + yellow = beige
light green=green+yellow, more yellow,+white= light green

lilac=blue+red+white, more red and white, +white= light lilac
lilac= red and blue, with red predominating
Pistachio paint obtained by mixing yellow paint with a small amount of blue

How to get orange color and its shades in 10 photos + table of all possible derivatives. How to get coral, peach, terracotta and red colors? The influence of white, black and brown in color composition.
Orange color is obtained by mixing red and yellow, but you can get a shade of this color (soft and quite light) by adding pink to yellow paint. Subsequently, all the main saturated shades of orange are in one way or another connected with red, yellow, pink, and white. More complex and darker tones are obtained using purple, brown and black.

How to get orange color by mixing paints: red and yellow of the desired tone?

Everyone knows that the main gradient of orange lies within red-orange and yellow-orange. Since the color is obtained from two colors, depending on the percentage of each color there is a shift in one direction or another.
Of course, all the resulting shades from the primary colors (in our case, red and yellow) will be paler. However, orange consists of 2 warm tones, the waves of which are not very different (the opposite would be blue and yellow to create green), and even in the second order it looks quite catchy.

Mixing acrylic paints for drawing:

How to get yellow-orange and red-orange?

It is believed that to get classic orange, you need to take 1 part yellow and 1 part red. However, in practice it turns out that you have to take more yellow than red. In the palette you can always choose the desired tone by adding yellow or red to the mixture.

How to get light orange color?

This tone comes in a wide range of pastel shades. They are built using white, but there is an alternative option: we mix pink and yellow, the resulting shade is a soft orange tone, belonging to the light range:

Another option would be to add yellow and white.
Usually in a palette of 12 colors there is already an orange tint, which is much brighter than the color obtained by mixing, so when constructing shades we will use what is already available.
In my palette of glossy acrylic paints there is a bright red-orange tone. To get light orange tones from it, I will need to mix red-orange, yellow and white:

How to get coral color?

Although this shade is closer to pink, its construction is completely tied to the orange color, and there are 2 scenarios for obtaining it:
1) Complex: take red-orange, pink and white in approximately equal parts (when you mix, adjust the shade by eye, the main thing is to mix the paint thoroughly).

2) Red-orange is close to scarlet, and scarlet is a shade of red. Red, when mixed with white, produces pink, and coral can be called a light shade of pink with an orange undertone.

IN in this case coral will lean closer to orange, but still remain a luxurious tropical shade.

How to get peach color?

Another light and subtle shade of the main color. Peach belongs to the soft pastel palette, standing out from it with its sophistication, it has long been loved and entrenched in our imagination. Its construction consists of 4 colors:
1) Red + yellow + pink + white
2) Orange + yellow + pink + white
3) Coral + yellow + white

How to get terracotta color?

Let's move on to dark shades of orange. One of interesting options– this is terracotta: a medium-dark, but rich complex red-orange shade is obtained by mixing violet and red-orange:

Adding a drop of white will help make the shade lighter.

How to get red color?

Red color has an orange undertone. If you take brown and mix it with red-orange, the resulting shades will be dark but rich. You can adjust the tone by adding yellow.

How to get dark orange color?

You can adjust the brightness of shades of orange using black: either to complete darkness or simply dim the brightness. This is necessary to create contrast.
If you want to tone down light shades: mix white with black to a gray mass and bring it into the working tone.

Table for obtaining orange shades when mixing colors:

Practice in color science is irreplaceable, but theory can give you an understanding of how this or that tone is built.

In the center is the main color from which the color is built. The first circle of colors is the shades with which the color is mixed in the proportion indicated below. The third circle is formed by tones that were obtained by mixing the main color and the first circle in a smaller proportion than the third. On each side of the color at the end of the beam, the same color with the addition of black (darker) and white (lighter).

How to get other colors and their shades: theory and practice. Click on the icon.

Burnt sienna, ultramarine, cadmium yellow - these words sound like mysterious spells to the uninitiated ear. In fact, these are just names of colors, although a certain magic is, of course, present in them. One has only to pick up a brush and apply a few drops to the palette, and the imagination immediately comes to life. And all that remains for the artist is to mix the paints correctly to create real miracles.

It is sometimes difficult for novice artists to navigate the choice of colors for their painting, especially if there are many colors in their watercolor set. That is why it is recommended to buy paints with a smaller variety of shades, because it is much more interesting and, most importantly, more useful to mix the paints yourself. Ready-made colors often turn out to be quite harsh, far from natural muted tones. But a palette created with your own hands will not only help you find what you need for the desired image, but will also serve as a source of imagination and useful knowledge.

All shades of colors are divided into warm and cold. These names are absolutely telling; warm colors are sunnier, more summery: orange, red, yellow. Cold, respectively winter, refreshing: blue, light blue, violet.

The colors on the palette interact with each other, forming absolutely incredible variations. However, there are general trends that are reflected in the so-called Itten circle. This is a model of combining primary and secondary colors.

The circle not only shows how secondary colors are formed from primary ones, but also visually divides them into warm and cold, respectively, some on the right, others on the left. It is important to understand that we are talking about base colors, not shades. After all, in comparison, some will turn out to be warmer, others colder.

Here is a small table on mixing primary colors.

Rules for mixing paints

To mix properly watercolor paints, you need to know some of their features and be sure to take them into account when applying them to paper. We are talking not only about the division into warm and cold tones, but also about the hiding power of some colors, i.e. ability to overlap previous layers. Different shades are obtained not only by mixing two colors, but also by varying their quantity, as well as the amount of water used. For example, mixing the classic combination of yellow and green, when adding more yellow it will gradually change to a lighter lime green, and may even return to the original element.

Colors that are close to each other when mixed will not give a pure tone, but with their help you can get very expressive shade, it will be called chromatic. If you combine colors located on opposite sides of the color wheel, you can get an achromatic, grayish tone. For example, a combination of orange with green and purple will give this effect.

Some paints give an undesirable reaction when mixed. It's not just about dirt on the drawing, it can lead to cracking of the paint layer, as well as to its darkening when drying. The combination of zinc white with cinnabar has a beautiful light pink tone, but later this combination darkens and becomes inexpressive. Therefore, it is, of course, considered optimal to achieve brightness and multi-color by mixing a minimum number of colors. Remember that some combinations give a lasting effect, while others are completely unacceptable.

How to get yellow color when mixing paints

Yellow is one of the three basic colors, so get it by mixing pure form impossible! However, you can achieve some results by playing with shades that are close to the palette. For example, to get gold, you will need regular yellow and a drop of red or brown. A good option is also to make them yellow with red and adding white.

How to get orange color when mixing paints

Much more productive is to mix yellow paint to create orange color. It is formed from a mixture of yellow and red. Adding a little brown and red can make it tangerine or gold, depending on the amount of ingredients. Bright orange comes from classic orange with brown and white.

How to get a mint color when mixing paints

How to get black by mixing paints

Each watercolor set contains black, but if for some reason you don’t have it, or you need a very dark shade, you can mix it yourself. You will need to combine red, yellow and blue in equal proportions. Great color comes from blue and brown. Also suitable for mixing are red, green, yellow, and purple. Soft black colors come from cobalt yellow, cobalt blue and madder pink.

How to get green color when mixing paints

Green comes from yellow and blue. However, in watercolors in its pure form it is rarely used. Much more popular colors are sunny green or olive green, midnight green, their combination and other options. Solar green uses ultramarine and cobalt yellow, olive is prepared from the same flowers with the addition of burnt sienna, and midnight is made from FC blue, yellow and a drop of black.

How to get turquoise color by mixing paints

Turquoise is better known by its other name, aquamarine. On the color spectrum its place is between green and blue. Therefore, they will be needed for mixing. You will need a slightly larger amount of blue cyan than green. However, this depends on the required color intensity. For a more subtle turquoise, you can add a drop of white or light gray paint. For a rich aquamarine, you will need to take a bright shade of blue, green and a little yellow.

How to get burgundy color when mixing paints

The burgundy color owes its name to the French wine of the same name. This is a solemn, deep color, you can mix it using three parts red and one blue. For a warmer shade, you can introduce a little yellow, or combine bright scarlet in half with brown. More cold tone It turns out from red, brown and black, it comes out so rich that it must be diluted with water.

How to get blue color by mixing paints

It’s very easy to get blue in watercolors; just dilute ultramarine with water, and you’re done. However, for those who are not looking for easy ways, there are always a couple interesting ways. One of them is the use of white: for 2 parts of ultramarine you will need one part of white paint. Dilute blue you need to gradually adjust the tone saturation. For a bright blue color you will need the same blue, a drop of red and white. Another shade can be obtained by adding to this mixture one part of not red, but green paint.

How to get crimson color when mixing paints

Bright and energetic crimson color has a whole range of shades. The main one can be obtained by combining red, blue and a small amount of white. To tone down a too bright color, add a little black. Instead of black, you can use brown, and instead of blue, turquoise or cyan, or purple, the results will be very extraordinary.

How to get brown color when mixing paints

You can get brown color in various ways. The simplest one is mixing red and green paints. It can also be made from purple and yellow, the more yellow, the lighter the tone. Another way is to use red, blue and yellow, but you need to mix them gradually, adding more paint to adjust the shade, otherwise a black color may form, especially if red and blue predominate. A good tint comes from mixing orange and blue.

How to get purple color by mixing paints

From school curriculum It is known that purple is obtained from red and blue colors. However, in reality this is not entirely true. It is quite difficult to obtain a high-quality bright shade, and what comes out of these two colors is more like a nondescript burgundy. So, in order for a bright, rich lilac color to come out in a company of red and blue, the latter must predominate. In this case, the shade of red should be taken as cold as possible, otherwise there is a high probability of mixing brown rather than purple. Blue also has its own requirements - it should not contain any greenish notes, take only in its pure form, for example, cobalt blue or ultramarine. To lighten the final tone, you can use a small amount of white. An important nuance is that after drying the color fades a little.

How to get blue by mixing paints

Blue is a basic color and cannot be mixed with other colors. But with the help of blue paint and auxiliary paints you can get many shades of it. For example, from bright ultramarine with white lead you can get sky blue. For a rich blue tone, take ultramarine with dark turquoise. A beautiful blue-green comes from blue with a little yellow. This shade will make it paler white. The famous Prussian blue is obtained from mixing blue and green in equal parts. If you take 2 parts blue and 1 part red, you get blue-violet. And if you take pink rather than red, you get royal blue. A complex gray-blue color, excellent for drawing shadows, can be obtained from blue and brown. A rich dark blue will come out of blue and black, combining two to one.

How to get pink color by mixing paints

Usually pink obtained from a combination of red and white, its shade will depend on the proportions. But you can also experiment with various types red The bright scarlet gives a wonderful effect, the pink color turns out to be very pure. Brick red gives a peachy tint. And bloody alizarin and white form a fuchsia color. By adding drops of purple or yellow to the mix, you can get unexpectedly interesting results. Not everyone accepts the use of white in watercolors, then you can get pink simply by diluting any red color with water. In a low concentration, this will be what you need.

How to get beige color when mixing paints

Beige or flesh color is necessary for the artist to depict people, faces, portraits, etc. Delicate beige can be obtained from white with the addition of ocher, cadmium yellow and red, sienna and sometimes ubra in minute quantities for light shading. The ratio of ocher in comparison with other components will be higher, all ingredients need to be introduced little by little, adjusting the required color intensity. Unfortunately, there is no exact recipe; each artist has his own vision of this issue.

How to get lilac color when mixing paints

The lilac color is quite close to purple, they are even called related. They are both cool shades and are quite close on the color wheel. Actually, the main recipe for lilac color is diluting purple with white or water.

How to get gray color when mixing paints

IN watercolor paintings You will never find black shadows; they are usually drawn with the same colors as the rest of the details, but with the addition of a darker element, for example, gray. This color in watercolor can be obtained by combining black with a large amount of water or white. Interesting shades are obtained from cobalt blue with the addition of burnt sienna or burnt umber.

Mixing oil paints, mixing technology

Mixing oil paints has slightly different specifics, unlike watercolors. Although the basic recipes for obtaining certain flowers are, of course, general. Basic techniques for mixing acrylic paints:

  • Combining colors on the palette, i.e. physical, to obtain a new tone or shade for the purpose of applying to a drawing. If one of the paints is lighter, then it is applied in small strokes over the dark one, provided that both paints have the same covering properties. When clear paint is mixed with opaque paint, the result is opaque paint. If two transparent paints are taken, then the result will be transparent. With this method, a decrease in the purity and intensity of tones is inevitable.
  • The method of overlaying paints, otherwise known as glazing, involves layering transparent paints on top of each other directly on the image. Of course, the previous layer must be completely dry.
  • Color joining method. If you apply brush strokes very tightly together, then visually mixing of these colors occurs, like a kind of optical illusion.

Oil Paint Mixing Chart

Mixing acrylic paints, technology

Acrylic paints are a great option for beginning artists and painting enthusiasts. They are universally suitable for paper, fabric, glass, wood, etc. Their only drawback is their rather high cost, and therefore acrylic sets usually do not have a very rich palette. But nothing prevents us from expanding it using mixing technology. You must have 7 colors: red, pink, yellow, blue, brown, white and black. And then, using a special table, you can easily mix acrylic yourself.

Acrylic paint mixing table

Mixing gouache paint colors

When choosing gouache, you should not focus on large sets; they look very impressive and presentable. But in fact, you will have to overpay for completely unnecessary colors. It is much better to focus not on the number of jars, but on their volume. After all, when the primary colors run out, you will still have to buy new paints, and the unused ones will remain as dead weight. Moreover, it is very easy to obtain new colors and shades of gouache, as simple as holding a brush in your hands. There are no special rules here, except that you will need a color combination table.

Gouache paint mixing table

Have you decided to take up painting or are you painting furniture? But don't know how to get different shades? Paint mixing charts and tips will help you do this.

Basic Concepts

Before you start studying paint mixing tables, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with some definitions that will make it easy to understand a new material. The words used in the theory and practice of mixing shades are explained below. These are not scientific encyclopedic definitions, but transcripts in a language understandable to the average beginner, without the presence of complex terminology.

Achromatic colors are all intermediate shades between black and white, that is, gray. These paints contain only a tonal component (dark - light), and there is no “color” as such. Those where it is present are called chromatic.

Primary colors are red, blue, yellow. They cannot be obtained by mixing any other colors. Those that can are composite.

Saturation is a characteristic that distinguishes it from an achromatic shade that is identical in lightness. Next, let's look at what a table for mixing paints for painting is.

Spectrum

Paint mixing tables are usually presented as a matrix of rectangles or squares or as schemes of shade combinations with numerical values ​​or percentages of each color component.

The fundamental table is the spectrum. It can be depicted as a stripe or a circle. The second option turns out to be more convenient, visual and understandable. In fact, the spectrum is a schematic image of a ray of light decomposed into color components, in other words, a rainbow.

This table contains both primary and secondary colors. The more sectors in this circle, the greater the number of intermediate shades. In the picture above there are also gradations of lightness. Each ring corresponds to a specific tone.

The shade of each sector is obtained by mixing neighboring colors along the ring.

How to mix achromatic colors

There is such a painting technique as grisaille. It involves creating a painting using gradations of exclusively achromatic colors. Sometimes brown or another shade is added. Below is a table of mixing colors for paints when working using this method.

Please note that when working with gouache, oil, or acrylic, a grayer shade is created by not only reducing the amount of black, but also adding white. In watercolors, professionals do not use this paint, but dilute it

How to mix with white and black

In order to get a darker or lighter shade of the pigment that you have in your set, you need to mix it with achromatic colors. This is how you work with gouache and mix acrylic paints. The table located further is suitable for working with any material.

There are different numbers of ready-made colors in the kits, so compare what you have with the desired shade. When you add white, you will get what are called pastel colors.

Below is shown how a gradation of several complex colors is obtained from the lightest, almost white, to very dark.

Mixing watercolor paints

The table below can be used for both painting methods: glaze or single layer. The difference is that in the first version, the final shade is obtained by visually combining different tones superimposed on one another. The second method involves mechanically creating the desired color by combining pigments on a palette.

How this is done is easy to understand using the example of the first line with purple tones from the picture above. Layer-by-layer execution is done like this:

  1. Fill all the squares with a light tone, which can be achieved by using a small amount of paint and enough water.
  2. After drying, apply the same color to the second and third elements.
  3. Repeat the steps as many times as necessary. In this version there are only three color transition cells, but there may be more.

When working in the glaze painting technique, it is worth remembering that different colors It is better to mix in no more than five layers. The previous one must be well dried.

In the event that you prepare the required color immediately on the palette, the sequence of working with the same purple gradation will be as follows:

  1. Apply color by taking a little paint on a wet brush. Apply to the first rectangle.
  2. Add pigment, fill the second element.
  3. Dip the brush further into the paint and make a third cell.

When working in one layer, you must first mix all the colors on the palette. This means that in the first method the final shade is obtained by optical mixing, and in the second - mechanical.

Gouache and oil

The techniques for working with these materials are similar, since the pigments are always presented in the form of a creamy mass. If the gouache has dried, it is first diluted with water to the desired consistency. Any set always contains white. They are usually used up faster than others, so they are sold in separate jars or tubes.

Mixing (table below), like gouache, is not a difficult task. The advantage of these techniques is that the next layer completely covers the previous one. If you make a mistake and after drying you don’t like the resulting shade, make a new one and apply it on top. The previous one will not show through if you work with thick colors, without diluting them with liquid (water for gouache, solvent for oil).

Paintings using this painting technique can even be textured, when a thick mass is applied impasto, that is, in a thick layer. Often a special tool is used for this - a palette knife, which is a metal spatula on a handle.

The proportions of mixed paints and the necessary colors to obtain the desired shade are shown in the previous table diagram. It is worth saying that it is enough to have only three primary colors in the set (red, yellow and blue), as well as black and white. From them, in different combinations, all other shades are obtained. The main thing is that the paints in the jar should be exactly the main spectral tones, that is, for example, not pink or crimson, but red.

Working with acrylic

Most often, these paints are used on wood, cardboard, glass, stone, making decorative crafts. In this case, the process is the same as when using gouache or oil. If the surface has been previously primed and the paints are suitable for it, obtaining the desired shade will not be difficult. Below are examples of mixing shades with acrylic.

For (batik) they are also used, but they are sold in jars of liquid consistency and are similar to printer ink. In this case, the colors are mixed according to the watercolor principle on a palette with the addition of water rather than white.

Once you understand how to use paint mixing charts, you can easily create an unlimited number of shades using watercolor, oil, or acrylic.

“We touched on the basic principles of drawing - what you need to do to draw approximately what you want. And they did this using the example of pencil and paper. Why? Because it is easier than learning how to paint with paints, since in the case of using paints in addition to the problem " How should I draw this? the problem “” appears - so that what comes out is very similar to what was intended. And in this article we will try to give an accurate answer to this question.

How to get the right color? There are two ways. The first is traditional, using the well-known color wheel:

So, there are primary colors:

  • yellow
  • blue
  • red .

Which when mixed give

  • orange
  • green
  • violet
  • brown .

Moreover, the shades of mixed colors depend on the proportion of primary colors. And, using the color wheel, you can get the desired color like this:

  1. Take a certain amount of the main color (for example, blue )
  2. Add some second primary color (for example, yellow )
  3. Compare the result green with what you wanted to get
  4. Add one or another primary color to correct the shade.
  5. Or simply take the desired shade of green from a tube jar.

Why does the last point arise? take the desired shade from the jar? Because getting the desired color by mixing the main ones sometimes happens difficult.

In principle, for starters, you can get the desired color using such a color wheel. However, as skill increases, the need for more precise color selection increases. Indeed, with the help of the described principles, it often turns out dirt. For example, it is very difficult to get a good violet color by mixing red And blue. Or is it difficult to get necessary shades green , orange, brown flowers. That is, the principles do not take into account any factors that affect the result when mixing colors.

We are happy to tell you that these factors really exist, and, moreover, with their help you can cope with the problem of “dirt” and still learn how to get the right colors not by intuitive mixing, but by ordinary simple sequence of actions. This sequence and the reasons for the “dirtyness” of the standard color wheel were discovered not by us, but by Michael Wilcox. Who wrote the book " . How to get the color you really need". By the way, you can download this book by Michael Wilcox from the link Blue and yellow do not make green.

Naturally, it will not be possible to present all the material in the book in one article, so we will limit ourselves to the main points, and we recommend that you get the details from this very book by Michael Wilcox, “Blue and Yellow Don’t Make Green.”

So, how can you reliably and accurately get the color you want?

To do this, it is necessary to take into account an important theoretical point. Why do we see color? Because different objects (including paint pigment) have different surface, which reflects light differently from the sun or other light source. That is, the surface of, for example, a bathtub, has such a structure that it reflects all colors and absorbs nothing. And all the colors of the rainbow, as we know, form white. Accordingly, the bathtub appears white. On the other hand, the surface of soot has such a structure that it absorbs all the light falling on it. And soot does not reflect anything. As a result, we see black soot.

What happens if you mix white and soot? It will turn out beautiful grey color. Why? Because light is reflected from pieces of white completely, as white. And then it is partially absorbed by soot particles. The more soot in the white, the darker the gray it turns out - due to the fact that more and more white light reflected by the white particles is absorbed by the soot particles.

The exact same principle works for color pigments. Thus, red paint is red because it primarily reflects red color. Blue color looks blue, since the pigment in its composition absorbs all colors except blue. It “works” exactly the same way yellow color - the pigment absorbs most colors except yellow.

Next, we move on to mixing colors. So, for example, you take blue paint and red paint. Mix them and get dirt. Why? Because the reflected color is red ABSORBED blue pigment in the same way as all the falling color. Accordingly, the red pigment absorbs all the radiation is blue - because the nature of its surface is designed so that predominantly red pigment is reflected.

But you may ask: “What nonsense, because mixing blue And yellow we still get green, and according to your theory, it should also turn out to be dirt?” Well, if truly pure colors existed in nature, then we would see the formation of dirt. But there is one thing But, which makes it possible not only to mix colors, but also to carefully and reliably select the truly desired shade of color.

So, the pigment reflects more than just light. Light of the same wavelength is reflected in greater least. Thus, the red pigment mainly reflects red color. But nevertheless, all other colors are also reflected (for example, violet or orange). Exactly the same can be said about yellow color - the pigment predominantly reflects yellow, but nevertheless in a sufficiently large quantities may be reflected orange or green. WITH blue same thing - it can carry additional “harmonics” green or purple .

So there is Not three primary colors. Eat six primary colors:

  1. Mainly reflective paint red and to a lesser but significant extent orange .
  2. Paint that mainly reflects red and to a lesser (but significant) extent violet .
  3. A pigment that primarily reflects yellow and in addition green .
  4. A pigment that primarily reflects yellow and plus an additive orange .
  5. Mainly reflective material blue and partially violet .
  6. Material that reflects predominantly blue and partially green .

Well, have you already understood the principle of color formation?

It's very simple: you take yellow from point 3 and blue from point 6, mix these colors. Blue pigment neutralizes yellow, yellow pigment absorbs blue color. What color remains? Right, green! And not just green, but beautiful, bright and juicy green.

In the same way: by mixing blue from point 5 and red from point 2, you neutralize the blue and red colors, and a rich and rich color appears violet color.

And finally: by mixing yellow 4 and red 1, you get orange due to the fact that the red pigment will absorb radiation from the yellow pigment, and yellow will absorb the reflected radiation from the red pigment.

The result was NEW color wheel of six primary colors:

The colors have arrows that indicate the path for optimal manifestation of the “mixed” color. Respectively, variety of shades is born as a result of one or another combination of these SIX primary colors. “Wrong” combinations (for example, blue 6 and red 1) produce dull shades of colors (for example, dirty purple). The combination of one “correct” color and one “wrong” color (for example, blue 6 and red 2) produces more pronounced shades (for example, a brighter purple). And finally, the combination of the “right” dyes (for example, blue 5 and red 2) produces a pure and bright color (bright and beautiful purple).

Naturally, reading the article is not enough to master getting the desired color. It is best to read the book " Blue and yellow do not give green» by Michael Wilcox plus do the practical color matching exercises described in the book. But nevertheless, the answer to our question has been received.