You can experiment with whatever reds you have available to you and add blues, yellows, or greens to see what colors you can come up with.
The Essential Guide to Mixing Shades of Red Paint
Red is one of the three primary colors on the color wheel, the others being blue and yellow. All other colors are created by mixing these three colors together in different combinations. This means that basic red cannot be mixed by using any other colors.
However, various tints, tones, and shades of red can be achieved by combining red or variations of red with different colors. Using the other primaries, secondary colors, and complementary colors can give you an endless possibility of variations of red paint.
Color theory is an important part of designing artwork, and understanding how to use a color wheel is essential for any aspiring artist. A color wheel helps us understand the relationships between different colors and can be used to create artwork that is pleasing to the eye.
A color wheel consists of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors that can be blended together to create a wide range of hues. By learning basic color theory, you can develop your skills in creating beautiful art pieces.
If you want to know more about color theory, read my post about the basics of color theory to get a better understanding of how colors are achieved.
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Why You Should Learn to Mix Paint
While there are a lot of tubes of red paint you could buy, artists’ paint is expensive. You could have 15 different reds in your art supply and still not have the right color for your painting.
I have a family of redheads and each one of them has a slightly different shade. Learning to mix your own shade of red will save you money and give you more freedom to control the colors in your work.
This article will focus on mixing different shades of red from colors you probably already have in your paint box. Start with a common red color such as Cadmium red or alizarin crimson and mix your new colors using the mixes below.
I primarily acrylic paint, but these paint mixes should work for oil paint or watercolor.
Dark Shades of Red Paint
It is tempting to just add black to the red paint to make a dark red. However, adding black paint can leave you with a dull, almost muddy red. Black can also easily overpower your red colors so if you use black, start with a very tiny amount and build up from there.
To mix a dark red without black, start with one of the basic colors of red and add a little dark blue such as ultramarine blue, mixed with a little burnt umber.
I know you are thinking “red and blue make purple” and that is true, but if you mix a small amount of blue into the red along with the burnt umber, which is a reddish-brown, you should be able to avoid getting a full-blown purple and instead you will create a dark red.
You can also achieve a dark red by mixing in a little Phthalo Green. This will give you a slightly earthier dark red.
What Does Red Mean?
Colors bring out emotions in humans even if we are not consciously aware of the colors can impact our moods in several ways. As artists, it is important to be aware of the emotions colors create and the emotions associated with each color to be able to use them in their work accordingly. Depending on the hue and our culture impacts the feelings and ideas that are associated with red. Red is linked to many emotions from love and passion to heat and fire let us look into the different feelings that the color red can evoke.
Strength and Dominance
Red is used for stop signs and traffic lights for a reason as bright colors carry with them a certain level of authority; you can use this to your advantage to convey strength in your artwork. Red can be linked to dominant and strong feelings and anger which is why there is the expression, ‘red hot anger. Another well-known phrase is ‘seeing red’ when someone is angry. To make a bull angry you taunt them with red handkerchiefs.
Heat and Warmth
Red makes you think of fire, heat, and warmth, and as per the color, theory red is the warmest color you can find. Your red hue is associated more with warmth and fire if the shade leans closer to orange. Through using these shades of red you can add passion, movement, and heat to your art piece.
Love and Passion
Love and passion tend to be the most common associations with the color red this is due to red being linked with warmth and fire translating directly to the heat of passion. Valentines’ day’s main color that it is associated with is a hot and warm red. Valentine’s day sees dozens of red roses, heart pumping blood and red décor make red an essential element of the special day which translates to us automatically think about love when we see red.
What Colors Make Red?
Red is one of the basic colors, according to the color theory foundation. We need to understand color theory a little better before continuing, it is necessary to mix different red hues that you understand the temperatures of the color wheel.
Understanding Color Theory
Most of us learn as children at school about the basics of color theory, but let’s go over it again. We need to know about the colors linked to each other before we can mix any color. The color wheel represents the primary, secondary, and tertiary shades. You can find simpler color wheels which only reflect the primary colors, but we have selected one which also shows the family of colors.
All the colors on the spectrum of visible light are reflected on the color wheel. There are 12 colors in the tertiary color wheel. You will note that the three primary color shades used in a variety of combinations create the three secondary shades.
When mixing colors, you should consider that should you combine all three primary shades you will in all likelihood create a shade of brown. Therefore, when mixing tertiary hues, you should stick to combining one primary hue within the secondary hue instead of the one you did not use. This rule will allow your mixed colors to stay bright and crisp.
On the color wheel, some colors sit directly opposite each other, for example, red and green, these colors are called complementary colors. If you use these two colors side by side will brighten each color and make them appear bolder.
There is one more important aspect to note about the color wheel, being that there is a large variety in the secondary and tertiary shades. Purples range from bright and pinkish hues to deep blueish purples; the variety is thanks to color bias. A color bias concerns which certain shades are underlain by which color, for example, the warmer and brighter purples veer towards red, and the cooler and deeper purples have more blues in the mix.
You need to have an understanding of the color bias to be able to mix different shades of red, we will look a bit deeper into the color bias.
How the Color Bias Affects Red Shades
The color bias is evident in all secondary and tertiary hues, as well as primary shades. Color temperature is the largest element of color bias, meaning that color is either cool such as aquamarine blue, or very hot like bright red. In order to form different shades of red you can adjust the temperature of your red by simply adding cooler or warmer colors. A true, bright red is very warm, but you can achieve an even hotter red when it leans more towards oranges. To achieve a fiery and hot red hue you can combine a warm red with the likes of an equally warm yellow. The warmer red tones are associated with a burning sunset or the glowing embers of a fire.
On the other hand, you can get much cooler red hues that lean much closer to purple than orange, to achieve this cooler red you simply need to add a small amount of blue. To cool any shade down you can simply add blue as it is the coolest color. We think of cozy weather and autumn leaves when we look at cooler reds such as aubergine and maroon which are not as fiery and hot. When mixing shades of red, as you can see temperature is an important consideration. To achieve the ideal emotional reaction from your art piece you need to understand the impact of temperatures.
How to Create Different Shades of Red
Now that we have explained temperatures in terms of colors, we can move on the process required to mix different reds. We will assist you to create an assortment of reds, whether you want to mix a pale red, light red, or even a crimson red. To begin with, we will look at creating warm and cool shades of red.
Using Yellow to Make Reds Warmer
Now that we have some insight into color theory we are aware that by combining all three primary colors you will get a brownish and dull tertiary shade. Following on from this, when you add yellow to a red shade to attempt to make it warmer you need to ensure you are using a yellow that does not contain any blue. If you add a yellow which contains some blue (a yellow which leans towards green) your red will turn out to be muddy in color.
Cadmium Yellow
Cadmium yellow is a yellow with undertones of red that is a very warm shade, making it a great option to assist in creating a fiery, vibrant red. Take your paints, paintbrushes, and a piece of paper and you can experiment with each combination. Draw several squares on the paper and then with your pure cadmium red fill in the first square. Add a little yellow to your cadmium red and fill the squares one by one. You will note that cadmium yellow is relatively light-yellow despite being warm this means that adding it to cadmium red lightens the red hue whilst making it warm.
Yellow Ochre
Another option to the red achieved from cadmium yellow which is light and warm is to use some yellow ochre. Yellow ochre is a much darker yellow, while at the same time still being warm. You will achieve a stunningly warm and deep red hue when you combine cadmium red and yellow ochre.
Using Blue to Make Red Color
While we selected cadmium yellow due to it lacking blue, we here need to select a blue that lacks yellow. There are two possible options Ultramarine Blue and Cerulean Blue.
Ultramarine Blue
This blue contains a little red already making ultramarine quite a warm blue. We want to ensure that no yellow is added to our cool shade of red. Ultramarine will provide a stunning deep shade of a cool red thanks to it being a dark blue hue. As per the previous exercise, you can follow the same steps to make your red cooler by drawing squares on a piece of paper and get your brushes and paints. Be careful when adding your ultramarine blue, you will only need a small amount of the blue to cool down the red, if you add too much you will turn red to purple!
Cerulean Blue
A shade that is similar to cornflower blue, cerulean blue is a beautiful hue and it is a great option to add to red to create a cool and light shade of red. When combining your cerulean blue and cadmium red you need to do so carefully (just like when you were working with the ultramarine blue) test out adding different quantities to see what color you like best.
How to Make Muted Shades of Red?
Sometimes bright red, while being warm and lovely, can be slightly too bold for your project. you may require a palette of many red hues to add variety and depth to your work. Such as if you were to paint a rose you would require more than just one shade of red. You will require the initial red shade but then in addition you would need lighter hues of red for the highlights and muted hues to create the shadows. You can use a color complement to mute it.
Red’s complement is green and while this may seem like a basic strategy you need to take into consideration that every unique hue of red has a complementary unique shade of green. Depending on how dark or light you are wanting your muted red to be will impact which green you use. The red is muted by green as combining them results in a mixture that has all three primary colors. You will end up with a red hue which is less vivid and bright and rather slightly more brownish.
Muting Red with Forest Green
For a muted red which is lighter, we recommend using a small amount of forest green as it is a stunning light hue. The red will become slightly brownish and a little less bright when you combine forest green with cadmium red.
Muting Red using Phthalo Green
Using phthalo green will provide you with a muted, darker red as phthalo green is a cool and dark green hue. The muted red you will achieve will be brownish-purple and dark, great to use to create shadows.
Creating Red Tints and Shades
Another important aspect of your color pallet aside from muted hues are shades and tints. To create your shadow hues, you can use muted shades of red or you can simply add a small portion of black to your red. Black as a color is strong so be very careful when adding it to any other color and make sure to do so in small quantities.
You have two options when it comes to making red tints, firstly you can simply lighten the red to a pinkish shade by just adding some white. Keep in mind that white will slightly dull the color so rather use the second option if you wish to maintain the vibrancy of your red shade. The other option is to combine your red with a small amount of a very light yellow, this will give you a peachy shade of red while leaving your color vibrant.
How to Darken Red – Mixing and Making Blood Red Paint
Do you have a paint job that calls for the perfect hue of red? Whether you’re trying to touch up an old piece of furniture or expressing your creative side through a painting masterpiece, getting the exact shade of red can be difficult. If your color is too light, adding some black might dull it down to the ideal tone.
But what do you do if your red is already looking dangerously vampiric, and you want to make the paint darker without black? Fear not – I’ll show you how to make even the darkest shades roar with life…
What’s Covered in the Article:
Darkening Red Paint
There are different ways to make your red paint darker – perhaps the most common is by mixing it with another paint. But the trick is to find the right color that will help achieve the desired result without muddying or making the color unsuitable for your needs.
If you are looking to darken the red before you paint, what follows are some of the more common ways it can be achieved.
1- Mix with Darker Red
If you’re looking to darken a light red paint but still maintain its hue, consider mixing it with one of the darker shades from the same brand and type.
Burgundy, crimson, or maroon can all give your desired outcome without losing the original color entirely. This slight variation may be minor in comparison to other colors however, it is an effective way to enrich your chosen shade while staying true to its origin.
Keep in mind to mix the same type – like an acrylic base paint with other acrylics, and keep adding the darker shade until you reach the desired results.
To make sure you pick the perfect shade of red, ensure that your workspace is well-lit. Dim lighting may cause darker shades to appear similar and could lead to confusion when selecting the right hue.
Also, mix smaller amounts of paint first, so you learn the formula before mixing all the paint.
2- Add a Second Coat of the Same Red
This sounds too good to be accurate, but you can make a red-painted surface look even darker simply by adding an extra coat of the same paint.
However, using a darker shade once the first layer has dried properly is better to get maximum effect.
Try layering flat or matte red paint over the glossy finish to achieve a richer, darker color. This will reduce the amount of light reflected from the surface and produce a deeper hue than before.
3- Add Colors Like Black, Blue, Green, Gray, or Brown
Black will make any other color darker because it absorbs the most amount of light. But it is so strong in darkening the red (much like blood) that you need to be careful.
If you plan to add black, start with 1 part of black for every 30 parts of red, which will ensure you do not overdo the mixture from the start.
Black does tend to make all other colors duller, so you need to be careful when adding it to red. If you do go too far, you’ll need to start over since trying to make the red lighter after adding black is quite difficult to accomplish. You may wind up with a shade of red that is unexpected and perhaps even more desirable than what you first had in mind.
Adding Blue
Turning the red into a slight shade of violet will create a deeper, richer texture. You can try using darker reds with lighter shades of blue or lighter shades of red with darker blues to get the desired result.
Start small by mixing one part, blue with red. Look at the results and then add another part of blue if desired. Try not to add too much blue because that will only turn the red into purple. Instead, keep it light when adding the blue, and if it does get too purple, try a lighter shade of blue instead.
Add Some Green
While many might think of using black to darken the red, green is a complementary color that works quite well. Adding black will undoubtedly darken the red, but often too much. Green, on the other hand, will keep the red shade vibrant while still adding darkness.
A small amount of green can go a long way toward making a reddish-brown shade that reaches the desired color level.
Start small by adding 1 part of the green to every ten parts of red. Once mixed, if it needs to be darker, then add two parts green for every ten parts red, and so forth. The darker the color, the more of an impact it will have on the red paint. That is why you should use complementary colors, as found on the color wheel.
Try Adding Grays
If blue or green is not getting the desired results, then you should move on to a neutral color, such as gray. This is because gray has enough black in it to darken the red, but not so much that it makes it dull or lifeless from the start.
Start by mixing 1 part gray for every 15 parts red. Even though the black is diluted in gray, it is still quite strong. Too much gray, and you will have muted much of the vibrancy of the red.
For a neutral look, try flat gray and mix that with the red in the recommended amounts until you get the desired result. Remember that you can use lighter shades of gray, which include more white, to avoid getting a muted result in the red.
Experiment with Brown
If you are seeking a rather muted, earthy shade of red, brown may be the answer. However, brown is a complex mix with red because it contains a wide range of colors. For example, if you use a light brown, the resulting mix with red may produce an orange color. So, it should be used with caution.
Mix brown with red in a 1:20 ratio. To achieve a vibrant scarlet tone, combine dark brown with your standard red. If you’re aiming for an iconic burgundy coloration instead, incorporate tiny amounts of black or yellow to reach the hue you desire.
How to Make the Blood-Colored Red Paint?
Want to fake a gruesome scene using paint? Need to decorate a costume for Halloween? Or just want to paint the accent wall in your room with something special? Whatever the case, creating spooky “fake blood” with paint is an easy and inexpensive way to add a realistic touch.
Here’s how it can be done with some common kitchen and art supplies…
Step 1. Mix one part of acrylic red paint with two parts of warmed-up corn syrup in a bowl. Red food coloring can also be used if you want to make the fake blood edible.
Step 2. Add a few drops of blue paint or food coloring to the bowl and mix it until you get the desired shade. To make the paint shiny, you can also add a few drops of vegetable or olive oil.
Step 3. Stir in a teaspoon or two of cocoa powder to give the paint a more realistic, darker hue. Alternatively, you can add several drops of black food coloring, black paint, or a bit of black ink for further depth. Mix well to combine all the ingredients until you get a smooth, thick consistency.
NOTE: Fake blood can cause staining on fabrics and other surfaces if not used cautiously. If you’re using blood-colored paint on furniture or drywall, make sure to test a small area first to check if it’s to your liking.
The bottom line
The color wheel isn’t just a way to show which hues complement one another – it’s an alchemist’s playground.
With some complementary colors and household items (like water, an eye dropper, and a stirring stick or a popsicle stick), you can easily make your custom tone of darker red paint.
So don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun with your art while creating a masterpiece you have in mind.
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Jack Luis is a semi-retired painter who loved painting his clients’ ideas on their walls.
He had worked as a painter for over a decade serving customers in areas such as Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Beaufort, and Georgetown, SC (South Carolina). Today in his free time, he likes to read and write about the newer techniques implemented in his profession. You may read more about him here or get in touch with him here.
