Basic colors and how to mix them correctly, a table for obtaining shades

Anyone familiar with fine and decorative arts knows that 2-3 colors, when mixed, result in many shades. How to mix colors correctly is revealed by the science of color. Designers create interiors full of color, and to create a multi-colored design, it is not necessary to buy a large number of paint cans. Just look at the color mixing table to create your desired shade.

Color wheel theory

Everyone at school knows a color wheel containing 3 basic colors: red, yellow, blue. Available in a wide variety and accessible to human vision, shades are obtained by mixing base colors in certain proportions. For example, the green perceived by the eyes is actually yellow-blue.

Visually pure base colors themselves cannot be achieved by mixing minor colors. Therefore, if you need to use basic paints, you will have to go to the store.

Changing the proportions by mixing only 2 colors creates many shades. When adjacent chromatic (spectral) colors in a circle merge, an impure, but chromatic, desired color is obtained.By combining opposite colors in a circle, achromatic tones are obtained (with a predominance of gray).

To implement design ideas, it is advisable to use Itten's classic 12-sector circle, which includes primary (yellow-blue-red), secondary (orange-green-purple), transitional warm and cold. Itten's circle is a tool that designers and artists use to create monochromatic (monochromatic) and complementary (contrast) color harmonies.

How to mix paint colors correctly

Modern paints and varnishes are full of various shades. However, when mixing paints, it is necessary to follow the basic rules, thanks to which the work will not be spoiled:

1. The combination of liquid paints and powder dyes is inadmissible. This can cause the composition to collapse.
2. In order to slowly achieve the desired shade of acrylic composition, it is necessary to gradually add a solvent for this type of paint. Thus, the composition will dry more slowly.
3. Use a clean brush to mix the paints.
4. White is added to lighten the acrylic tone. To make it darker - black.
5. In order for the oil mixture on the wall to form beautiful transitions of shades, it is necessary not to completely mix, no homogeneity.
6. To reduce the shine of gloss paint, it is mixed with matte paint.
7. When using oil paint, glazing is allowed: apply a dark tone, then lighten it by applying it over a light tone.
8. Mixing paints from different manufacturers is undesirable. Their chemical and physical properties may vary, therefore the coating will curl and form lumps.

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There is no difficulty in mixing colors, you can experiment endlessly. But in order to achieve a beautiful tone, it is recommended to take as few original colors as possible (ideally - up to three). Increasing the number of mixed paints makes the final color dull, dirtier, and also increases the risk of incompatibility.

When combining oil paints, chemical reactions are possible that will make the painted surface unstable, discolored, prone to darkening and cracking. First, apply the mixture to a small area of ​​the surface, check how it sits, then paint over everything else.

Features of obtaining different shades

Having figured out the rules for mixing paints, you can move on to the most interesting thing - the selection of shades.

red

The basic red is still in stock at the hardware store. It is believed to be impossible to make it a mixture of secondary colors, although a rather bearable shade emerges when combined in equal proportions of bright pink-violet (magenta) and yellow. Dark red is obtained by adding yellow to carmine.

The variations of colors based on red are multiple:

1. To make raspberry, you need to mix red and blue (1:1). White and black colors help to make the color scheme lighter or more saturated.
2. The pink is the result of the inclusion in the white red (1:2). The intensity of the color can be changed by playing with the proportions.
3. Scarlet - red plus yellow (2:1).
4. To get burgundy, just drop a few drops of deep blue into the red (or yellow with minimal black).
5. Cherry is obtained by fusion of warm red and purple colors (3:1).
6. By varying the proportions of red-violet, it will not be possible to obtain a luxurious magenta.The only option is to find bright red paint without yellowing, blue a little.
7. Adding white to brick paint produces a peach.
8. A mixture of blood and light purple - fuchsia color.
9. The pink-orange is the result of a fusion of white, scarlet and warm yellow paint.

Green

The fusion of yellow and blue (2: 1) creates a rich green, and if you take the basic colors in the opposite proportion, you get the color of grass - bluish green. There are as many shades of green as of red:

1. Adding white to greens gives a mint color.
2. Khaki is a warm green with minimal brown inclusions.
3. Light green is created by adding a yellow-white mixture to green. If you get too much yellow, you can lower it with blue. If you take a minimum of yellow-white, the shade will be called emerald.
4. To make the greens darker, add black.
5. The coniferous color stands out with a combination of green-yellow-black.

Blue

It is virtually impossible to achieve a basic blue by mixing minor colors. You can combine blue and purple, but you get a dark blue, which needs to be lightened with lime.

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What shades can be created:

1. Blue and yellow (1:1) give a rich bluish green. To lighten it, add lime.
2. Turquoise is obtained by adding a small amount of green to cyan.
3. Prussian blue is formed by mixing blue and light green (1:1).
4. Adding red to blue (1:2) gives twilight (purple-blue).
5. The combination of blue and magenta (1:1) results in an intense (royal) blue.
6. To darken the base color, include black (3:1).

Mauve

The blue-red mixture visually resembles purple, but dirty it will have to be improved with additional shades.If you take blue and red in a ratio of 2:1, you get cold, otherwise warm purple.

Gray

Standard grays are produced by variations of black and white. A green-white-red mixture is also used, but the color turns out to be yellowish-gray. If you want to get a bluish gray, you need to combine blue, orange and white. A reddish gray requires a white-yellow-purple mixture.

If white is not added to the listed combinations, the color black will appear. To create a color that resembles the sky at night, you need to pour blue and a little lime into the finished black.

yellow and orange

Yellow is basic, its creation by mixing minor colors is impossible. Something similar, but messy, comes from a fusion of green and orange. But yellow is used to create many shades:

1. White and yellow-green are combined to create lemon.
2. For sun-kissed color, drip a few drops of red-white into a warm base.
3. Mustard is made with a yellow-red-green-black mixture.
4. If the greens turn slightly yellow, the olive will come out.
5. Saturated orange is a red-yellow combination, and light orange is a pink-yellow combination.
6. To create coral, take deep orange, white, pink (1:1:1).
7. Peach color - yellow-white-orange-pink mix.
8. Ginger - orange with a slight addition of brown.
9. The gold comes out when literally a few drops of red have fallen into the yellow.

brown

Brown is interesting because it is created by different combinations:

1. The standard option is red-green (1:1).
2. The three basic colors in equal parts.
3. Grey-orange.
4. To create a reddish-brown, take purple, green, orange.
5. To make tan, yellow and purple are used.
6. Terracotta color - blue-orange mixture.
7. Ocher is a complex mixture of yellow-white-red-blue-green. Yellow should prevail.
8. The color of tobacco is a milky red-green mixture.

white

On the basis of white, many pastel shades are created. The most common in interior decoration is beige, obtained by bleaching brown. You can turn yellow to change the hue.

Color mixing table

The table will be useful for painters, interior decorators, car painters, painters. It lists the most popular shades created by mixing base and secondary colors.

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Color required	How to create it
royal blue (rich)	blue + jet black + a few drops of green
turquoise	cyan blue + a small percentage of green
light blue	blue + white
Wedgwood (purple, antique porcelain)	whiten the blue + a few drops of black
purple (lilac)	blue red
mauve	blue-red-yellow
royal purple (rich)	red a little blue and yellow
dark purple	red + negligible percentage of blue and black
plum	red + small amount of white, blue, black
crimson	blue + some white, scarlet, brown
gray	White black
carbonic	whitewashed black
ash	gray + a few drops of blue
yellowish gray	gray + ocher
pinkish gray	emphasize white + a few drops of red
greenish gray	light gray + some greenery
pearl	slightly underlined white + a small percentage of blue
brown	Red Green
deep brown	red-yellow-black
terracotta	orange-brown
chestnut	warm red + a little brown
golden brown	bleached yellow (predominant) + red + blue
the tobacco	yellow-red-green-white
mustard	yellow-red-green-black
khaki	brownish green
attorney	yellow (predominant) + dark brown
beige	white + brown + slightly yellow
lactic	light yellow + a few drops of brown
Orange	intense yellow + a small percentage of red
mandarin	warm yellow + some reddish brown
my dear	light yellow + dark brown
the copper	black (main) + red + white
ocher	yellowish brown
sunny (golden)	yellow + a few drops of brown (or red)
citric	light yellow (predominant) + green
deep green	yellow-blue
herbal	yellow (predominant) + blue + green
emerald	green (main) + light yellow
light green	green + whitewash + a little yellow
light green	yellow (main) + green + white
olive	green + a small percentage of yellow
bottle greens	yellow a little blue
needles	green (main) + yellow + black
fern	white (predominant) + green + black
forest	green + darken a little
blue sea	white (main) + green + black
pink	White Red
fishing	ocher + red + white
royal redness (intense)	red + minimum amount of blue
Orange-red	red + yellow + white minimum
tomato	warm red + slightly yellow and brown
wine	red + minimum yellow, brown, black
deep black	red-green-blue

Using the color connection table, you can create a paint suitable for the interior, with a limited set of coloring compositions, without wasting time and effort on trips to construction markets.