COLOR BASICS

If you have kids who enjoy crafting, chances are you probably already own a wide range of colors, whether you and your family like to work with markers, crayons, watercolor, acrylic paints, or something else. There are so many colors out there that it’s impossible to own every single one, however, and you may want to mix and match colors to create different shades. This is where having a basic understanding of color theory will come in handy!

THE COLOR WHEEL

The color wheel has been around for centuries, but it remains the best tool for learning about colors and how they relate to one another. It can also be used as a reference when mixing colors.

At the heart of the color wheel are the three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. Primary colors cannot be created from other colors. They can, however, be mixed with each other to make any other basic color.

Mix primary colors in equal amounts to create the secondary colors: orange, green, and violet.

HOW TO MIX SECONDARY COLORS

Use the following primary color combinations to create secondary colors.

Lastly, primary colors can be mixed with secondary colors to create tertiary colors: yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, and yellow-green.

HOW TO MIX TERTIARY COLORS

Use the following primary and secondary color combinations to create tertiary colors.

COLOR TEMPERATURE

Colors are classified as either warm or cool. Warm colors look vivid and energetic and seem to advance in a piece of art, while cool colors are seen as calm and soothing and appear to recede.

TINTS, TONES, AND SHADES

You can lighten, darken, and reduce the saturation of colors by mixing them with neutrals.

To lighten a color, creating a tint, add white until you’ve reached your desired lightness. To darken a color, creating a shade, add black until you’ve reached your desired darkness.

Create a range of tones by adding in small amounts of gray (mix equal parts black and white).

Mixing Brown

There are countless shades of brown, and it is useful to know how to create some of them when drawing and painting kid-friendly subjects like trees and animals.

One way to mix brown is by combining all three of the primary colors. Another way is by mixing complementary colors (they sit directly opposite from each other on the color wheel) to create different hues of brown.

WHEN DRAWING WITH PEN OR PENCIL, LAYER THE COLORS OVER EACH OTHER TO CREATE NEW ONES. PAINT CAN BE MIXED TO CREATE A BEAUTIFUL RANGE OF COLORS.