Mixing red paint from other colors is not easy to do as red is a primary color.
What Colors Make Red and How Do You Mix Different Shades of Red?
When it comes to the world of colors, there is a lot more to them than meets the eye. In fact, there is a whole science behind the creation of colors and how the human eyes interpret them. The science of colors is often referred to as chromatics or colorimetry.
Any discussion about the mixing of colors has to consider the effects of light. Without getting too technical, we humans have three types of color receptors in our eyes. These receptors allow us to see hundreds of colors with each color coming to us as a combination of a single color or a series of colors, plus light.
In the following sections, the focus is going to fall on the color red. There will be a discussion about what colors you can mix to make the color red, as well as how you can use colors to create different shades or tints of red.
Color Types
Before addressing the magic world of mixing colors to create other colors, we want to educate you about color types. It’s possible you might remember some of this information from grade school. If not, you will hopefully find this information to be fascinating and useful. Let’s look at the three basic realms of color, which include:
- Primary colors
- Secondary colors
- Tertiary colors
Primary Colors
Thinking back to grade school, you should have learned that there are three primary colors: red , blue , and yellow . Every other color in the universe has at least one of these colors as a base color. The process by which other colors are created is called mixing.
There are no secondary or tertiary colors you can mix to create a primary color. With that said, it is possible to play with hues, tints, and shades to get back to a primary color.
For what it’s worth, you can mix all three primary colors and create a basic brown. You can also create brown by mixing any of two secondary colors and one primary color.
Secondary Colors
The secondary color realm consists of three colors: orange, green, and violet. You will note that the three primary and three secondary colors combine to make up the colors of a rainbow.
To create a secondary color, all you have to do is mix equal portions of two primary colors together as follows:
Violet = red + blue
Orange = red + yellow
Green = blue + yellow
You can create different hues of each secondary color by adding more or less of one of the applicable primary colors. Example: a light violet color would have more red and less blue.
Tertiary Colors
The third realm of colors is called tertiary colors. Tertiary colors are created by mixing a combination of primary and secondary colors. The most popular examples of tertiary colors would be yellow-green , yellow-orange , red-orange , blue-violet , red-violet , and blue-green .
As is the case with secondary colors, you can create different hues or shades of tertiary colors by mixing more or less of the applicable colors.
Neutral Colors
Based on the science of colors, there are two “colors” that scientists don’t recognize as colors. Black and white are what experts call neutral colors. The combination of black and white creates gray, which is technically considered as another neutral color.
You can create shades of gray by adding more or less of black or white.
What Colors Make Red?
First and foremost, there are no two colors you can mix to create red. The same would be true of the other primary colors because these are the three colors that serve as building blocks for all other colors.
While you cannot create red by mixing any two colors, there is an alternative process you can use to create the color red off of an alternative color wheel. The alternative process of mixing colors is called subtractive color mixing.
The color mixes listed above are based on the traditional color wheel but there are in fact several color wheels based on different color models and the subtractive mixing process is based on the subtractive color wheel.
The traditional color wheel includes the aforementioned primary colors: red, yellow, and blue, but the subtractive color wheel has its own set of primary colors, those being cyan, yellow, and magenta. Using the subtractive color wheel’s primary colors, you can create red by mixing magenta and yellow .
We can’t mention subtractive mixing without talking about additive mixing. The primaries here are red, green, and blue. The RGB model is used for displaying images in electronic systems, like TVs and computers.
What Colors Make Red?: A Quick Overview
If you mix yellow and magenta, you’ll end up with red. The hues of each color affect what shade of red you’ll end up with. If you add more magenta, you’ll get a cooler red (like ruby). whereas more yellow will give you a warmer red (like tomato)!
But getting the right shade is tricky, and it involves understanding more about how to make red from a scientific perspective. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know below.
If you want to paint a red rose. how would you go about making the color red? Let’s see what science can teach us about creating red!
What Is Red? A Scientific Explanation
In order to understand what colors make red, you first need to know what light is. (Trust us: this will make sense in a minute). Here’s how Crayola , the masters of color, explain the relationship between color and light:
When light shines on an object some colors bounce off the object and others are absorbed by it. Our eyes only see the colors that are bounced off or reflected.
The sun’s rays contain all the colors of the rainbow mixed together. This mixture is known as white light. When white light strikes a white crayon or marker barrel, it appears white to us because it absorbs no color and reflects all color equally. A black crayon or marker cap absorbs all colors equally and reflects none, so it looks black to us. While artists consider black a color, scientists do not because black is the absence of all color.
Basically, an object’s physical makeup causes light (also known as electromagnetic waves) to either be absorbed or reflected. Our eyes are able to see the light that’s reflected off the object. and we perceive that light as color.
Objects reflect light in different ways, which is why we have so many colors! Sometimes every wavelength of light bounces off of an object, which makes it appear white. Sometimes an object absorbs all wavelengths, making it appear black.
But usually, an object reflects some wavelengths while absorbing others, which is what gives us color. So for example, maybe your favorite shirt is green. That’s because your shirt reflects the green wavelength of light!
So what is a wavelength of light, exactly? Think about light as if it were water at the beach. Sometimes the waves come in high and close together. At other times, the waves come in low and far apart. If you were to measure the length of those waves, you’d start at the crest (highest point) of one wave and measure to the crest of the next. That would give you the wavelength of the water on the beach. Light works very similarly, except the waves are much smaller and closer together.
When it comes to light waves, your eyes measure wavelengths as they bounce off of objects. and then your brain translates those into color. That’s why everyone perceives color a little differently !
Of course, there are tons of colors out there. The whole range of possible color wavelengths is called the “spectrum.” Here’s what the spectrum looks like:
Each wavelength of light is measured in nanometers (nm). The longer the wavelength, the “warmer” the color appears. (Don’t worry: we’ll talk about “warm” and “cool” colors later.) But notice that we can only see a tiny portion of the entire spectrum of light–only those wavelengths between about 400 and 800 nanometers. The range that we can see unaided by technology is called the “ visible spectrum .”
Keep in mind that there are wavelengths of light that are longer than 800 nanometers and shorter than 400 nanometers. but humans aren’t able to see them! Animals, however, can: bees, snakes, and birds can all see colors outside of our visible light range.
But back to our visible light spectrum. Check out the diagram above one more time. You’ll notice that red falls at the 700 nanometers in wavelength, and is one of the longer wavelengths than we can see. The distance from crest to crest is just a little thicker than a soap bubble membrane .
So, then, what colors make red? If an object is red, that means it absorbs all wavelengths of light except those that fall around 700 nanometers in length. So fire trucks, Red Delicious apples, and even Dorothy’s ruby slippers all reflect the red wavelength!
One way to make red is by mixing magenta and yellow together.
So How Do You Make Red?
Interestingly enough, when you mix together some objects that reflect light differently, their ability to reflect light gets mixed together as well. This happens in two different ways: additive mixing and subtractive mixing.
How to Make Red: Additive Mixing
Additive mixing happens when wavelengths of light combine with one another. This is how your television works ! We already know that the red wavelength of light is 700 nm or so. But if two or more other wavelengths combine to equal 700 nm, they can appear red, too. So if an ultraviolet light wave measuring about 250 nm combines with a purple light wave (that’s 450 nm), your eye will perceive it as red!
How to Make Red: Subtractive Mixing
Subtractive mixing happens when wavelengths are removed from the visible light spectrum through the use of physical mediums, such as paints or dyes. This process is called subtractive color because the colored pigments create layers that absorb some wavelengths and reflect others.
So how do you make red? And what two colors make red? If you mix magenta and yellow, you get red. That’s because when you mix magenta and yellow, the colors cancel out all other wavelengths of light except red. Boom! Now you’ve got the color red.
That’s why your printer–which only has black, cyan, magenta, and yellow ink cartridges–can print red. even though there isn’t any red ink.
What acrylic colors make red
Acrylic colors work the same as oil in terms of color mixing.
As I’ve mentioned above, red can be made with magenta and yellow, or by mixing colors with a lot of red already within them.
Generally, red is used as a primary color to mix other colors and can’t easily be reproduced using other colors.
If you’re making acrylic paint from scratch, you’ll start by mixing a pigment with an acrylic medium.
Acrylic paint is also much less expensive than oil paint.
So, if you are thinking of experimenting with color mixing, you could start with acrylics in order to hone your craft.
How to make red paint at home
You can figure out how to make red with paint at home by mixing your own pigments with your preferred medium.
For example, with oil paint, you’ll mix it with an oil base, typically flaxseed oil.
Red ochre is a common choice of red pigment that comes from clay.
It has been used for as long as people have been painting.
Red pigments are very common in nature, so there are lots of other options as well.
Regardless of what pigment you choose, you’ll have to learn how to mix it with your medium. It can come either as a paste or a powder.
- You’ll need your medium (flaxseed oil), dust mask, red pigment, palette knife, glass surface, and pipette.
- If your pigment didn’t come as a paste, you can mix the dry pigment with a tiny amount of oil to create a paste to start with.
- Now, put on the dust mask and place a small amount of the pigment paste on the glass surface. A teaspoon is a good starting point.
- Then, start incorporating more and more of your oil medium into the pigment and mixing two using a palette knife. If you are more ambitious, you can get a glass muller, which will be more effective overall.
- In the end, you should add about twice the amount of medium as pigment and smooth out the mixture as much as possible.
- Scrape and place into a tube for safekeeping. You’ll need to seal the container in some way, just like with regular paint to keep it fresh.
You can use a few different color schemes to make red pop.
For example, a monochromatic color scheme uses varying values of a single color to create a sophisticated look.
This would mean taking different shades of red to give a variety yet give the full focus to red.
Another style is analogous color matching, which pairs the color with those close to it on the color wheel.
For red, that means orange and purple.
Finally, you can do a complementary color scheme, pairing a color with its opposite on the color wheel.
That means green for red.
However, it’s also critical to get the right shades to work for each of these.
We’ll go over a few examples to show what I mean.
For orange, almost any will work as a good complement to red.
This is because they give dimension to your red and can be considered an extension of a monochromatic scheme.
Mint or pastel green works to highlight red and provide competing attention.
With a bright red mixed with a soft green, you focus on the red more overall, allowing it to pop.
Of course, green and red and famous together at Christmas, so it’s important to change up the tones of each if you use them together to avoid this association.
Wood tones work great with red due to being a brown that is close to red in terms of analogous shades.
While not exactly a color, it can make certain tones of red pop.
A darker red, peach, or apricot colors works as another great analogous shade.
As a lighter tone to the red, the red will be the one highlighted.
Finally, although not a color, whites and creams work especially to highlight a red statement piece.
They fade into the background as red comes to the foreground.
Conclusion
Red will inevitably become a part of every painter’s life. By studying color theory and using the color wheel, you’ll gain an intuition for color mixing your reds in no time.
We hope that I’ve helped answer the question of how to mix red and use it with other colors to best bring it out in your painting. Happy painting!
By Author Jae Johns
Posted on Last updated: May 9, 2022
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