Reddit reviews Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green: How to Mix the Color You Really Want- Every Time

Ahh, that might be it then. The primaries are rather transparent; the blue is especially so.

If you want a purplish-blue try ultramarine, it's quite nice and quite lightfast—unlike primary red (and yellow), which are fugitive.

W&N composition & permanence tables

Anything that isn't rated permanence A / ASTM Lightfastness I is probably not worth getting unless you have a specific use in mind (II is probably OK if you're mixing it with another I-rated colour). You can always mix permanent colours to get other colours/shades etc. I would for example never buy any purple pigments as they are virtually all fugitive; you're better off mixing your own out of Quinacridone violet and ultramarine, or a different red (or blue) if you want a more muted purple.

Other considerations are a bit harder to tell from a chart, and those are how opaque (or transparent) a pigment is, and how fine the particles are. Viridian looks great on the chart with a rare AA permanence rating, and the colour is gorgeous—but it is incredibly transparent, and quite gritty—not a pigment you'd ever want to use through a pen.

Transparency itself isn't necessary a bad thing, but is also something you have to be aware of when mixing colours; If you mix equal parts of a transparent colour (like viridian) with an opaque one (like most of the earth colours), the opaque colour will overwhelm the transparent one—so you'll probably need to use more of the former and less of the latter to get a balanced mix.

Anyway, don't throw away the stuff you have; you can still use it. Out of all three, the blue has good permanence and lightfastness, and the black (probably ivory or jet) and white (TiO² or zinc) are both solid as well and will see plenty of use.

For what it's worth, my mentor pointed out the two-palette system to me last fall, and it has resonated deeply with me. It not only begins with a great scientific explanation of how we perceive colour and how mixing colours works, but moves on to practical material very quickly. Not only does having a good practical understanding of how colours interact reduce wastage (from mixing “mud”) and frustration (“why can't I get the colour I want?”), and limits itself only to discussing pigments with good-to-excellent light-fastness and permanence ratings. It also goes into some discussion about mixing transparent and opaque pigments and some of the other stuff I mentioned above.

If you're interested in colour, definitely worth a look. The information you learn doesn't just apply to calligraphy, either—the same pigments are available in gouache, watercolours, oil, loose, etc.

I am going to art school and have been drawing and painting for a few years now. I offer up a few suggestions, mostly things that helped me starting out. I run the risk of sounding like a know-it-all or a snob, but I'm just hoping to offer up what little things I've learned along the way. I don't claim to be an accomplished artist, but just someone who was where you were once, and took similar advice from people who had been doing it longer than me. I hope to humbly pass on some of the things that were passed on to me.

I mostly use oils, but the startup for oils is a little more expensive. I would consider trying them out sometime, because they offer a little more freedom in what you can do with them, but you don't need them to learn to paint. You can mimic a lot of these capabilities with acrylics. With oils, you mix the paint with medium to adjust the viscosity of the paint. You can paint thick, chunky strokes, or have nice smooth flowing strokes, just by how much medium you add. Acrylic is water based, so try adding some water as you paint to adjust the viscosity, it will give you more control and more options. I'd suggest going to an auto parts store and getting a little oil squirter can, (yes, like the tin man had) and you can squirt small amounts of water on your pallet next to each puddle of paint and mix it in with your brush as you apply it. Less messy that way. (I think other people have mentioned this, they've got the right idea.)

Another thing that gives oils an advantage is working time. They take an incredibly long time to dry, which gives you lots of time to work in transitions and shadows while the paint is still wet. To achieve this with acrylics, which have a relatively fast dry time, try using some retarder in your paint. It's a clear, gel like substance that when mixed with the paint, helps keep it from drying, without changing the color or consistency. This gives you more freedom to work, and keeps you from being restricted by time (as much). You might be able to get it at a big box art store, but I recommend finding a smaller, locally owned one. People tend to know their shit in the smaller, local kinds of stores, and will be more helpful at answering questions, and have a better selection.

Another piece of advice I'd give is to learn a little bit of color theory, and practice mixing colors. My professor always said that you should never use a color straight from the tube, because chances are it wasn't really the color you need, and that if you look closer, the color you really want is a mix of a few things you have. He used to say "You think that winsor newton knew exactly what color you needed there?". It mostly just helps you look and see more specifically. 80% of painting is seeing more specifically, and getting your hand, brain, and eye to work as a unit. The book "Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green" Is one of the better books on color theory and mixing with paint. Check it out. You can practice by finding something, and trying to mix that exact color, holding them side by side to test it. You'll find often that 3, 4, maybe 5 different tube colors mix to make the one color you need. Being able to mix any color you want will open doors for you and let you have more options.

Also, try painting on large canvases/paper. Giving yourself more room to work is a big thing that helped me starting out. I was still gaining control over the paint and brush, and bigger space made it easier to hone those skills and fit more detail in. You can make your own canvases for a fraction of the store bought price, message me if you're interested in that, I could write up a quick how to.

I think you're going to notice yourself improve greatly over time, you'll gain control over your brush, the paint, and then anything's possible. I think you've already got a good eye for things, and this painting looks pretty good, damn good for a 3rd painting. My third painting was in black and white (hadn't even ventured into color yet) and it was a sloppy mess. You've got strong compositional lines here, nice color choices, and a good sense of depth. It looks like you're trying out a little bit of an impressionist style, which is good. Find awesome paintings/painters, and learn from them by imitating. Once you've imitated some of the things they do, you'll have learned a little more and will be able to find what you want to do.

Most of all, practice a lot. Hope this is encouraging, if you like it, keep at it. Also, another must read is "Art and Fear" Good luck!

I love Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green. https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Yellow-Dont-Make-Green/dp/0967962870

But the same can be said of [perspective](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(graphical). It is the most accurate way to replicate the world around us to date, but it is highly flawed. The color wheel is just a tool, it is not scientific fact. It is dangerous to call such tools science just because they happen to over lap at points. Visual language is evolving with the advent of digital coloring. Our current color theories are simply not an exact sciences. It is terrifying to find how many people believe they are.

A couple very good books on the subject:

Blue-Yellow-Dont-Make-Green

Contemporary-Color-Theory