Mixing Color: Painting with a Limited Palette
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- Professional portrait painter Brian Neher demonstrates how to mix a variety of colors for painting portraits by using a limited palette of four colors plus white.
In addition to painting commissioned portraits, Brian has also produced a series of instructional art videos which focus on teaching the principles of painting. Each course provides the artist with valuable information through the use of visual aids, examples of past master painters as well as a painting demonstration which shows the artist how each principle is applied. The following principles are taught in this five course series which is available in either a DVD or Download format:
Drawing brianneher.com/...
Value brianneher.com/...
Color brianneher.com/...
Edges brianneher.com/...
Painting Outdoor Light brianneher.com/...
Get all of Brian's instructional courses for an incredible low price at brianneher.com/...
Brian has also partnered with Craftsy, a world leader in online education, to produce “Paint Better Portraits: Realistic Skin Tones”. To learn more about the course, visit shrsl.com/2ypbg and enroll today!
No nonsense, no background music, all straight forward. Brilliant.
This was wonderful. I love the idea of a limited palette. As you said, a bit more labor intensive, but a wonderful exercise.
Glad I found this tutorial on colour mixing so much easier to understand than some of the other colour tutorials that I’ve seen on TH-cam. Thank you Brian
I'm color challed or Color Blind. When you said you could make those colors on the pallet, then with those 5 ingredients you actually demonstrated. My Hat of to you Good Sir. Colors appear differently. Pink, Orange and Red, are the colors that Incan uss as an example so people see what I see. As a person painting for 3 to 4 years. The only thing I can do is buy the premixed colors in tubes. Now I can see that you meet the challenge and simplyblend the shade. I know it not easy and takes a real artist, as yourself. Again I salute you...
This is the mixing color tutorial I've been looking for. Thank you so much. Very informative.
+Aneta Valentina Thanks so much for the comment! It's greatly appreciated!
No music. What a blessed relief.
Thank you, Brian for posting these informative and educational tutorials. As an enthusiastic amateur, painting has been a source of pleasure over the years even if at times it’s a lonely pursuit. None of my friends paint and as a result I have not had anyone with whom to exchange ideas and criticism. It seems to me that the vast majority of so called tutorials on the web are posted by people whose egos by far outstrip their ability. You, of course are a happy exception. I know that professionals artists like you have to earn a living and are certainly not obliged to pass on their knowledge, but I find it a shame that there are not more like you who are prepared to help out the likes of me and the many others who visit you site…thanks again from all of us.
Les Pringle. (England)
Mr . Neher , it is because of what I learnt in your last video , that I just finished the best portrait ( by all accounts of people who have seen my previous work )i have ever done. Thank you . ......I am now about to watch this new presentation of yours,
Tony Hopman Thank you so much for the kind message, Tony! I'm so glad to hear that the video on mixing flesh tones was a help to you on your latest portrait and greatly appreciate all of your kind words! Take care and let me know what you think of this new video if you get a chance. Have a great day!
Thank you very much Brian for sharing your valuable knowledge. I have attached the Ads
This has by far been the most helpful and practical theory/mixing video I've found so far. The keys here are understanding 1) Basic color theory 2) Cools recede, warms advance 3) Transparent vs opaque. By choosing a small, well-thought-out set of primaries, you can cover a very broad gamut. The layout of primaries and final palate creates a natural central mixing area that can easily be cleaned and used when you need to tweak a color or make an altogether new one. I can't wait to start applying the lessons learned here!
+Sarandos Klikizos Thanks so much for the comments! They're greatly appreciated. I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the video and wish you all the best with your art. Take care and have a great day!
Thanks so much for this great video. I was relieved to see you use premixed colors. First video tutorial I've seen that doesn't put forward the idea that you should be using the primaries to get your color palette. You have helped me understand color better as I watched you match the tube colors taking consideration of the value and warmth or coolness of each color. Thanks for your time in putting together this very helpful tutorial.
+Seek Truth Thanks so much for the feedback! I'm so glad to hear that the video has been a help to you. Take care and I wish you all the best in your art!
Most useful and informative video. Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful experience and for your time. One of the best I have ever watched
Thank you Brian. Another excellent video which goes a long way to de-mystifying
the study of colour and flesh tones
Great work. Many thanks for the generosity of your tuition.
Thanks for your time, Brian...a wonderfully informative video which I would recommend to anyone n interested in learning more about colour.
+Les Pringle Thanks so much! I'm so glad to hear that you found the video to be informative and wish you all the best in your artistic studies! Take care.
So eye-opening! Thanks for posting!
Very useful. Will be referencing this in the future. Thanks for posting.
Thank you! This is sooo what I needed. Have enjoyed discovering your videos; greatly appreciated. Informative teacher...God bless.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I'm so glad to hear that the videos have been a help to you. Take care and I wish you all the best in your art!
The yellow you start out with has a blue bias so when you mix it with the red that also has a blue bias you get an orange that is more grey then the orange you are trying to match. Why? Because red yellow and a small amount of blue make a slightly muddy orange. I think only your oranges would be effected with your color palatte. The two blues go a long way in getting you close to a split primary palette.
So clever... just starting my learning journey on colour, so thank you!
i learned so much from this amazing video thank you.!
Abbie MK Thank you so much for your kind message! I'm so glad to hear that the video has been a help to you. Take care and I wish you all the best with your art!
I could watch you mix paint all day! Thanks for posting. Do you ever use browns? Raw umber, burnt umber…?
Alyson Johnson Creative Hi, Alyson. Thanks so much for the comment! I rarely use any browns or black on my palette. Occasionally, I may use Raw Umber if I'm trying to paint the illusion of a warm black, but not in the flesh tones. Other than that, I don't have any of these colors on my palette, but prefer to mix similar colors if needed. Hope this helps. Take care and have a great day!
Thank you for the video, very informative and helpful.
This is just what we all need! Thanks Gina and the originator
Brilliant, informative and impressive.
+David Wood Artist Thanks so much, David! Your comment is greatly appreciated. Take care and have a great day!
There is only 4 essential color in my palette and it is very similar to yours; translucent magenta (pr122) by schmincke’s mussini, winsor lemon (py3) by winsor&newton, pthalo blue green (pb15:3) by rembrandt (same pigment with w&n manganese blue hue but this one doesn’t contain any white i guess, it is much more darker) and titanium white bye winsor and newton
I can mix ultramarine blue (not exactly but sooo close) with adding just a little magenta into pthalo blue green
Yellow and white the most consumed paints, unlike magenta and pthalo blue green (cyan). Especially cyan pigment is so stronger and dominant compared to yellow and white thus i need it only a little drop when im mixing greens.
This is all pretty good sense when it comes to colour mixing. The limited palette problem child is of course, burnt umber. The best burnt umbers can't be created from the three primaries, leastways not in terms of undertone, (not that I've found anyway). The chalky drying of manganese in the brown tends to offset the oilyness of the rose red and ultramarine, thus evening out the overly oily passages created by using transparent colours as bulk mixers , and conversely, the oily blue and rose offset the tendency of burnt umber to 'chalk' when dry. Mixing a burnt umber and permanent rose with white does elicit some excellent flesh tints for the more smokey pink hues of the hands and face etc, and mixing the umber with the primary yellow does give some interesting olive greens also for use in flesh tones etc. I think you're correct about using the extra cold blue as mixing just ultramarine and the primary yellow can't approximate to something like a primary cyan -i tend to use a mid to dark pthalo for that - something like a W&N pthalo turquoise as it has the added advantage of being darker than a manganese blue (for very dark, cold cyan blues), but can be lightened to get closer to the mid cyan. My limited palette is therefore : cadmium yellow lemon, permanent rose, ultramarine blue, burnt umber and pthalo turquoise, plus I use a W&N flake white hue as it tends to be less oily than titanium. I need no medium with these colours as they have enough oil in them already, so that lessens the need to trade off archival paint film integrity for ease of working properties. Using a quinacridone red such as permanent rose is obviously more lightfast than using the alizarins, and I find it yeilds a cleaner , brighter pink, even though it's somewhat colder hue and strong chroma and has to be constantly tempered.
Very informative video. Amazing. I learned so much because of your video. Thank you
Very nice explained, thank you very much!
Thank you so much for the comment, Zoila! It's greatly appreciated!
Great lesson, thank you!
Thank you Brian
Thanks for your art!
Great video well done!! I needed an explanation like this. Thank you for taking the time to make this!
I'm mostly here for the heavenly sound of knife to palette.
Amazing ! thanks
Once again very interesting, thank you again
+Marsha Needham Thanks so much, Marsha! Your comments are greatly appreciated!
Thank you.
Great video
Awesome video! Thanks!
So Nostalgic
I found this a year ago?
Can I use Magenta instead of Permanent Rose? Thanks for your video. Very helpful.
Thanks so much for the comment! I haven't tried Magenta in place of Permanent Rose, but would definitely encourage you to give it a try. I think the Permanent Rose may be a brighter, more saturated color to start out with than Magenta. Because of this, you may not be able to get the same bright mixtures with Magenta as you would with Permanent Rose. I hope this helps. Thanks so much again and have a great day!
Amazing!
Thank you so much, Tarmac! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the video!
Maybe this will help...,RS 3:20,, Gold Ocher 4:53, Cad Y Pale 6:19, Cad Y 7:15, Cad O 7:55, Cad Scarlett 9:42, Cad R 10:53, Cad R Deep 12:01, Aliz. crm.13:0, Cad Gr. Pale 14:53, Sap green 17:05, Prus. Grn 19:46, Viridian 22:40. ALSO...where are the Umbers?
Thanks so much for the question! I don't have any umbers or black on my palette in this video. I occasionally use Raw Umber if needed, but not very often at all. I like to mix my own blacks using different color combinations like Alizarin Crimson and Prussian Green as an example. Thanks so much again and have a great day!
Brian I use acrylic golden, Liquitex and matisse paints. What color would be used in place of your basic yellow? Cad med yellow? You're red? I am not even sure which way to go on your red! lol Sure would appreciate it. Thanks Brian
Thanks for sharing !! This is so useful
Leonardo A. Sanchez Rodriguez I'm so glad to hear that the video was a help to you. Thanks so much for the feedback!
All the greens to the right of the cad green light looked black, so I couldn’t tell what colours you were trying to mix. Probably as I was watching via my phone (perhaps a computer screen would have worked better). Great video though.
Wow I have just taken your craftsy class that is excellent
+paramjit singh Thanks so much! I'm so glad to hear that you've taken the Craftsy class and enjoyed it. Take care and I wish you all the best in your painting!
That yellow is a very green yellow.
Where could I purchase a large palette knife the size used in your mixing of paint?
Thanks so much for the question! The large palette knife that I use for mixing is a Che Son #834 which is made by Jack Richeson, Co. You can purchase it, or other similar palette knives, from various online art stores like Art Supply Warehouse, Jerry's Artarama or Blick art materials. You may also be able to order directly from the Jack Richeson website as well at richesonart.com. I hope this helps. Thanks so much again for the question and have a great day!
Rock Hunter almost every art company have their own palette knife in this shapes and sizes. It can differ which one you can find in your country though. I use a similar but smaller size of this palette knife and it is fanart (a local company in turkey), as far as i know winsor and newton has a large range of palette knife including this one you asked. You can pretty much find those every mid or large size art supplier
Great information. I’ve been to your website and find it impossible to go to the cart to purchase the download. Frustrating.
Thanks so much for the comment! I apologize for the difficulty in purchasing the download. I've since updated my website, so it should be an easier checkout process. If you have any difficulties, just let me know and I'll be glad to help. Thanks so much again and have a great day!
Good to know. Thanks!
Yeah! 💪🏼
Great,
Hello Brian , thank you so much for the video. I have a question which is very urgent for me. I can see that in the video you demonstrate the use of comlementary colors and thats what I especially do as well in this days, lately I've started teaching painting and I am a bit confused about a issue in the color mixing theory, I know its worikng the complementary colors but I also learned abount many living artist that prefere to use limited colors of low saturated colors in order to reach any point in the color wheel (and value). this painters mix their colors with neutral grey or less chromatic colors of the same hue (also thats what they do in the academies in Florence). When I think about it more and more I think its a much more intutive and natural way of working (when I think about un-saturated for example reddish- blue I think of red whith the add of some black plus blue and not red plush green-blue). I believe in simplify the method of painting as you can so you can see even the little subtleties. I think that when I paint I mostly use the dark less chromatic colors in order to take off the value but then I am using complementary colors to bring it to the right chroma, If I would paint from imagination I would use the method of less chromatic colors but in real life I am using mostly complementary colors. What do you think about it? do you think its better to teach one of the methods? both? (also when I paint with paint which is not a liquid as color pencils the complemenaty color wont really work so it can get my students confused, ) and by the way I know that with broken colors complementaries can be intersting, but for realism I think it can confuse some people including me. Please let me know what do you think about it?
Thanks so much for the comment and questions! When it comes to graying a color down, I prefer to use compliments (colors located 180 degrees on the opposite side of the color wheel) rather than adding a universal gray to a color. The reason I like to work this way is because I can easily adjust the temperature of the gray to be either warmer or cooler. For example, when mixing equal amounts of blue and orange together, the result is more of a neutral gray. By adding a little more orange to the mixture, I can get a slightly warmer gray. In contrast, if I add a little more blue to the mixture, I'll get a slightly cooler gray. When using a universal gray (a gray straight out of the tube or one that has been mixed by using black and white), you don't have the same flexibility when it comes to controlling the temperature as you would when using compliments. One thing to keep in mind when working with color is the important role that value plays. Value (how light or dark a color appears when measured on a scale from black to white) sets the stage on which color performs. Value and color are inseparable and must work as a team in order to get the results that you're looking for. I've posted a blog about this topic at brianneher.com/thinking-inside-the-box/ which may be of interest to you. Thanks so much again for the comment and I wish you all the best with your art!
thank you so much for your answer. It helps me to understand it better.
I learn so much from you. Thank you. What kind of palette are you using? What do you do to keep a certain color that you mixed for the next day? I have signed up for you craftsy class and look forward to it.
Karlyn Holloway Thank you so much, Karlyn! I use a glass palette for mixing colors because of how easy it is to clean off any remaining paint that I'm not using. As far as storing any extra paint that's left on the palette, I'll refer you to the answer that I recently posted in the questions section of Lesson 2 in the class. Because of the length of this answer, it's probably easiest to view it there. Thanks so much again for the kind words and for being a part of the class! Take care and I wish you all the best!
Only 30 minutes?
Davvero molto interessante la costruzione dei colori, ma il problema è , che noi comuni mortali , modifichiamo il colore aggiungendo sempre quello sbagliato, buttando una notevole quantità di prodotto
Come si fa a modificare un colore per ottenere quello giusto??
Grazie comunque della bella lezione
i'm wondering if your yellow isn't transparent enough. could be the reason your greens aren't deep enough.. maybe a hansa yellow might be better.
dumontgo Thanks so much for the comment and suggestion! A Hansa Yellow might produce a slightly different result. I'll definitely give it a try to see if that makes a difference with the greens. Thanks so much again!
What do you mean when you say "value"?
Thanks so much for the question! When I talk about value, I'm simply referring to how light or dark a color is when measured on a scale from black to white (black being the darkest value and white being the lightest value). I've also produced a series of instructional art videos that addresses the topic of value which may be of interest to you at www.brianneher.com/shop/. I hope that this information will be of help to you. Take care and have a great day!
I use 35 colors.
Brian, what material is your palette?
+Christian Wagenseih Thanks so much for the question! The palette that I use is a standard piece of 1/8" glass that is placed on top of white foam board. You can get the glass cut to any size that you would like, but I prefer a larger size for having more space to mix paint. The size shown in the video is 20" x 28". I hope this helps. Thanks so much again for the question!
+Brian Neher thanks a lot Brian. what would be your answer to people who claim that painting straight out of the tube - without mixing - is no good? I sort of can't believe that. by the way I just looked up some of your portraits on google...gosh you know hot to paint! you're a master! I'd be happy if I was 1/3 as good.
👍4=15
Informative when paying court rates.
It's clear he either doesn't know how to teach or he doesn't want to tell you exactly how he creates his portraits. This is the same old thing in a very long line of supposed 'portrait artists' that speak a lot while telling you nothing.
Limited??? Haahahahahahaha
I'm sorry but this demonstration is pointless. It doesn't teach you anything.