Acrylic Color Mixing Made Easy

Class Preview

Mix the colors you’re dreaming of using just a handful of paints. Plus, learn what causes muddy colors so you only create them on purpose.

Getting to Know Your Acrylic Paints

Meet artist Carol McIntyre and start developing your color mixing skills! Learn how to quickly organize your paints, then create a pigment chart — an essential tool for effectively translating what you see onto canvas. You’ll also gain familiarity with important paint properties and characteristics.

The Power of Complementary Colors

Deepen your understanding of complementary colors as you explore three attributes of color: hue, value and chroma. Discover how to create striking focal points within your work by pairing certain hues together. In addition, broaden your palette with Carol’s technique for mixing complementary colors.

Color Bias of Primaries

Continue expanding your knowledge of color by learning to see the subtle warm or cool tones in your red, yellow and blue paints. You’ll get an in-depth explanation on how primary colors are influenced by other hues. Plus, create a two-primary color chart that will greatly simplify your painting process!

Complementary Color Paintings

Apply the skills you learned in Lesson 2 to paint a simple still life using a pair of complementary colors. With Carol’s guidance, practice mixing and applying hues that vary in value and chroma. You’ll also get invaluable tips for working with white pigment and painting shadows.

Mixing Bright & Dull Secondaries

Gain confidence creating an even wider range of colors as Carol demonstrates how to mix bright and dull secondary — and tertiary — colors to achieve clean, purposeful results. Then, paint along with Carol as she uses these essential techniques to create a purple flower.

Mixing Greens

Round out your color mixing skills by exploring the color green! Carol demystifies the process of mixing natural-looking greens by showing you how to create a green chart and chromatic scale. You’ll also discover what happens when you mix greens with tertiary colors.

Creating Depth in a Painting

Pull from all the skills you’ve learned to paint a lovely pastoral landscape using a two-primary palette. In the process, you’ll create a sense of depth on a two-dimensional page using principles of line, detail, color and value.