Hobbies
Color Mixing Theory And Tips by Mahmoud Awara
(Contd. from page 1...)
* Most color-mixing problems come from over mixing and result in muddy-looking canvas. Mix very lightly on the palette or directly on the support to prevent this, and once the color is down, leave it alone
* Add a little of the opaque color to the transparent one, rather than the other way round. The opaque color has a far greater strength or influence than a transparent color
* To lower the intensity of a color, mix it with its complement or Burnt Sienna rather than black, gray or sepia. These colors tend to deaden mixtures.
* Keep two jars of water handy when mixing watercolor. If you use one to rinse color from your brush the other will remain clear for a longer time, thus assuring clean water for mixing.
* For high-intensity mixtures avoid the third primary. The third primary is the complement of the mixture of any two other primaries and will lower the intensity of this mixture.
* Mix the colors either with a brush or palette knife, making sure you clean brush/knife between each new paint color.
* Before working with the full range of your palette, you should familiarize yourself with the possibilities of each color
* Do not become discouraged when your early attempts to mix colors correctly produce any unhappy results. The technique of color mixing is always acquired gradually.