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THE 8 BEST BLACK PAINT COLOURS: Benjamin Moore & Sherwin Williams
I’m back, and I’m back in black (ACDC reference for all you headbangers). Black is undoubtedly one of the most popular shades for front doors. However, today’s trends have us seeing black on feature walls, kitchen cabinets, and islands – even entire exteriors are painted black.
But not ALL blacks are created equal. Just like the 5 Types of White , there are also MANY types of black – 16, to be exact.
However, in the real world of useable paint colors, this doesn’t mean you must choose between 16 TYPES of black colors. Oh no, you get to choose between HUNDREDS of versions of these 16 types (insert wine HERE)
Which is why I’ve written this blog post for you. I’ve narrowed down the BEST black paint colors and their undertones. This way, you can focus on the best of the best and find the one that best suits you and your home.
BUT FIRST, let’s do a little learnin’…
THE 3 TYPES OF BLACK PAINT COLORS (TEMPERATURE)
Black can be made in several ways, the most common being the mix of red, blue, and yellow (primary colors).
Of course, it’s not you doing the mixing, and long story short, when you slightly alter the amounts of red, blue, and yellow, you shift between warm black, cool black, and true black.
1. WARM BLACK
Warm blacks have a bit of brown in them. The more brown a black has in it, the less black it will look – eventually, it will just be dark brown. Some warm blacks pick up a touch of purple/violet.
2. COOL BLACK
Cool blacks can have blue, green, or violet undertones – the most popular being blue. You can also get a subtle blend depending on the TYPE of blue, green, or violet you have. For example, blue can be blue-green or blue-violet. Green can be green-blue (cool) or green-yellow (warm). Violet can be violet-blue (cool) or violet-pink (warm). However, while violet-blue makes for a cold black, violet-pink results in a black with a brown-violet undertone (warm).
Am I talking too much? Probably (lucky you – wink wink).
3. TRUE BLACK
True black is the real deal – just good old black. However, even the most steadfast black can vary slightly depending on the paint brand (as some brands’ black has a blue undertone right off the get-go).
THE TWO TYPES OF BLACK (INTENSITY)
While there are THREE types of black paint related to temperature, there are only TWO types of black when it comes to intensity.
That’s right; I got REAL creative with that second one. Seriously though, it’s either BLACK and crazy dark, or it’s a soft black and isn’t QUITE as solid.
However, to even be CONSIDERED black in the first place, a color needs to have an LRV lower than seven. But even then, just because a color’s LRV is lower than seven doesn’t mean it’s BLACK.
To be considered ‘black,’ a color must have a low LRV and minimal color (chroma).
For example, Sherwin William’s Anchors Aweigh has an LRV of 3, but because it’s SO STUNNINGLY BLUE…it sure as heck ain’t black.
Which colors should I mix to get black
It depends from the color to be darkened: if blue or green, black can be useful; if black would make the result dirt, we may use some dark earth, as you cited, or its complementary, or another color of the same type, but darker, or the three together. Eduardo
My Oil Painting website: http://eduardofloresoilpainter.site90.net/
My Computer Art website: http://dadofl.wix.com/eduardo-flores—computer-art
My blog : http://meta-realism.blogspot.com/
“God gave the artist a window towards other worlds”
May 12, 2010 at 8:54 am #1140557
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as we paint with pigment not with colors you have to find out a way for every color to fit your needs. A good way is to take the most dark hue of your color and mix this with its complementary. Example witch is often practiced: to darken orange, take umber + ultramarine (or cobalt) blue. With this mix you can get a color near black. The result is more intensive when you glaze this colors in layers (as when you mix them directly).
May 12, 2010 at 10:29 am #1140551
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The easiest way I have found to darken colors is to first start with my palet which is usually ultamarine blue, cerelian blue, med red, lemon yellow, yellow orchre, & white. Now mix a mother color using ultermarine blue and med red, you will have a black color. Now when mixing any color you simply use this mother color to darken it. In doing this you will have a painting that is perfectly harmonized because all of your colors will contain each other.
May 12, 2010 at 11:26 am #1140539
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May 12, 2010 at 3:26 pm #1140530
Hi,:wave: whats the best way to darken a colour not using black?
I have been using a brown umber. Thanks
Just use the complement to darken so if it is red vrs green in your painting then the red field of colours will effectively reduce the green field of colours. It’s a snap and you will come to understand their subtitles the more you stay with it and understand there warm and cool features as well. Another thing is to not fill your head with over theorizing to much because that will kill anyone trying to feel their way through all of this. It’s not unlike trying to learn to ride a two wheeler when you and I were young, all the theorizing in the world cannot replace getting on the bike and wobbling your way to success. ~
An art which isn’t based on feeling isn’t an art at all. Paul Cézanne
May 12, 2010 at 5:05 pm #1140560
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thanks, i have been thinking about tryobg the complementry way. and i agree about too much theory, just kills your joy.
May 12, 2010 at 5:22 pm #1140540
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Just use the complement to darken
If you read the link I gave above, then you will learn why this is not always the best approach.
Another thing is to not fill your head with over theorizing to much
There is, however, such a thing as realising that other people do have teachable information about colour, and that its silly not to avail yourself of that information. This IS, after all, supposed to be an educational site – and the essence of education is the assimilation of new information.
“The problem with most artists,” Roual Dufy remarked, “is they see color too scientifically, in specific analysis, which is a big mistake. Color should be a product of the Imagination like everything else in art!”
And the problem with this is that its completely incorrect – the problem with most artists is that they don’t see colour scientifically enough – there ARE learnable, teachable principles about colour, and when you have some understanding of these, you are no longer floundering about, but in a better position to use colour with imagination. Telling beginners otherwise confuses matters, and does them a disservice. Dave
May 12, 2010 at 7:29 pm #1140544
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Don’t use “imagination” as an excuse for not learning solid technique. Learn the foundational skills, and combine it with your imagination. There should be a balance of both. I also tend to lean towards intuition instead of scientific analysis, that’s just my personality, however, knowing the nuts and bolts of why things work the way they do in painting will actually aid in your imaginative pursuits and make them more believable. I’m *really glad* there are scientific minded people who like the analysis and also like explaining it. Anyone who is serious about painting should take the time to study color theory, same as anyone who is serious about figurative work will study anatomy in addition to life drawing.
Lady Mars Orange Marmalade Stapleford
Moderator: OIls, Pastels, Plein Air
Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde
May 12, 2010 at 7:43 pm #1140531
Hi Dave You know Dave I respect you have an opinion on art like I and everyone else here, so I guess you’re entitled to it. I guess this is how it’s done; you pick and choose what is right for you and as they say …leave the rest. How do you darken a colour without using black? Complementary colour schemes. Many PAINTINGS have been beautifully executed by the direct use of complements therefore it’s all about diversity and where your opinions are coming from. If you mix black into all your colours then I guess the complementary advice is not something you would be concerned about and it will probably not ring as true to you who use Black into all your colours. The Imagination is the most powerful tool we artists have even Einstein the intellectual when asked what do you think is the most powerful, intellect or the imagination he said, it’s not even close….IMAGINATION. He would visualize or imagine the locomotives mass and the energy to produce motion and it hit him E=MC2. This tool Imagination will outperform any amount of theorizing but yes we need some but when do we take hold and allow ourselves to imagine the pretty features of a woman lets say and why are these imagined features of colour not merged into our painting? Because they all come from our senses and the imagination is the theater of the mind and philosophy is the microscope that we visualize thought so really It’s up to the artist and their Imaginations to visualize and take hold and the belief that what we are doing is correct for us. Nobody told Einstein how to invent, that is impossible. So it’s up to us to imagine these colours, texture and so on. No School on earth knows how to do this because it is sooooooooooooooo personal… hello originality. Too much theorizing can be a lot like a discussion about water, its surface strength… you know when a person jumps off a bridge why is it that he kills himself, it is water after all. The surface tension is like cement when you hit or let’s look at the molecular evidence in how the molecules roll over each other like that or we can use our imagination and visualize it as simply being WET. What do you think is a more powerful advantage for the artists? All artists are at different levels so all we can do is offer opinions but that’s okay because nothing about this noble activity is written in stone or how else would you have the freedom to invent. So be it black into all colours or the complementary advice from the Impressionists…it’s all good Dave.:wave: ~
An art which isn’t based on feeling isn’t an art at all. Paul Cézanne
May 12, 2010 at 7:56 pm #1140558
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I find that paynes grey and burnt umber are both excellent alternatives to black in some/many circumstances. Sometimes combinations of those two colours does the trick. But when it comes down to it, practice, experimentation and trying new things is the best way to learn. I love this website and reading and taking in new information, but it can be a little overwhelming sometimes especially since many people here have such different experience, education and ways of doing things.
May 12, 2010 at 8:47 pm #1140537
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I have to rather agree with Dave’s philosophy. My philosophy of the practical use of color is as follows: While the application of color may be limitless, the understanding of the behavior of color is quite logical, rational, and relatively easy to comprehend. Color behaves in a predictable, consistent manner, bounded by the laws of physics rather than by mysticism, intuition, or supernatural phenomena. The visible colors of the white-light spectrum have definite bounds, which can be located, measured, quantified, identified, and controlled, at the will of the knowledgeable artist. Of all the aspects of creating two-dimensional art, color is one of the most dependable. Even though we, as artists, are forced to work with the limited capabilities of pigments, the simple and understandable laws of the colors of light prevail, and they are not violated because of our use of pigments–pigments which are a bit limited in their capabilities. After all, the colors that emanate from those art pigments, are, in fact, still colors of light, in reality, and those laws of color behavior are not violated, nor do they somehow change or bend in their inflexibility, just because the medium selected (pigment) cannot totally serve the behavior of spectral color. I have found there to be basically 3 practical, and quite effective means of “darkening” a color. Much of the success depends upon the original hue of the color in question. 1)The use of a complementary color seems quite logical, and it works, up to a point. The problem is that quite often the complementary color will effectively neutralize the color in question long before causing that color to become as dark as you might like it to be. In other words, it may tend to become a “gray” before it becomes a darker version of the initial color. And, that is fine, as long as that is what you wish to have happen. 2)The use of either a tubed black or a mixed black seems to work very well for me, when the color that I wish to darken is a secondary color (a secondary color being Red, Green, or Blue). I have found that mixing black with the secondary color causes it to become increasingly darker, with each addition, until I have mixed enough black with it that it finally becomes black. It does this darkening, without an appreciable change in the hue of the initial color. For example, when I add black to a green, it becomes a darker and darker green, until it finally becomes “black,” simply because of the overwhelming amount of black paint to the mix. Personally, I make use of this effect quite routinely. 3)I have found that a primary color (Yellow, Magenta, Cyan) will most often tend to change its hue, when darkened, and it seems to be the darkening that causes it, rather than the precise black that may have been used for darkening it. In this case, I simply add black to darken, and then accomodate for the hue shift, by mixing in a color that is the complement of the color of the shift. In other words, when I mix black with yellow, it turns green, instead of merely a darker yellow, but with the further addition of a paint that has a controlled contribution of magenta to the mix (such as an Umber), it again takes on the appearance of a “dark yellow”. Anyway, that has been my experience with darkening colors.
wfmartin. My Blog “Creative Realism”.
https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com
May 12, 2010 at 10:27 pm #1140553
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Hmm.
So the question is, “what is the best way to darken a colour without using black?”.
Adding a complementary may darken a colour in a fairly direct manner for a certain distance, but then it will turn dramatically toward neutral, reducing chroma too much and becoming lighter again. David Briggs’ example uses Cadmium Red and Cobalt Green. At least in that case, you can darken the red to a certain extent successfully, but the green goes almost directly toward neutral.
In general, darkening with a complementary may produce a darker colour which is close to the same hue, but will be too grey to look like the same colour under less illumination. Adding black will initially send the colour toward neutral but will curve toward black. Not all that effective for darkening colours either. Possibly the closest you can get is, to find or mix a chromatic black that will be neutral when glazed over white, and just glaze that over the colour to be darkened.
I imagine that you will lose the least amount of chroma that way, although this is speculation. I am writing to David Briggs about it. But rather than start at a colour and wonder how to change it, I think the aim should rather be how to mix two or more colours that are different values, but are the same hue and chroma. This would give you a series of colours to model with. We are not really talking theory here, but quantifiable facts.
Just playing with paint and expecting much success is similar to just playing with numbers and expecting to become a mathematician. We need empirical knowledge otherwise we would still be painting on cave walls.
“A man’s judgment cannot be better than the information on which he has based it” (Arthur Hays Sulzberger) On imagination:
We all have different goals as artists, but I paint mostly from my imagination trying to construct realistic scenes, and knowledge of what colours will do in different circumstances is essential for what I do. [edit: This was cross posted with WFMartin’s post, which covers some of the same ideas.]
Ron
www.RonaldFrancis.com
May 13, 2010 at 5:03 am #1140561
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dave, how do you do it?
May 13, 2010 at 6:04 am #1140541
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dave, how do you do it?
Have you read the links I gave you, above? The approaches I use are in accord with, and with the understanding of, the factors presented there by David Briggs (and I don’t have time to write out what would be a lengthy re-presentation of ideas he’s already presented very well, there). The answer isn’t simply one of “mix complementaries”, or indeed “just add black” (despite Doug Nykoe’s continued misinterpretation of what using a Munsell-based approach consists of). Briggs covers the issues regarding the problems of both the “just add black” and “mix complementaries” approaches, and why a more sophisticated understanding is advantageous. Its more about a change in the way one looks at the problem – trying firstly to identify the target colour – what is the value, the hue, and the chroma of what I am trying to get to. And then looking at what are the closest colours I already have to that target, and working out how best to use them to get there. As Ron mentions in the post above, what one is generally interested in achieving is not a single target-colour though, but a series of steps which move in a consistent fashion to model the change in value (as well as any change in chroma or hue) as a form curves in the dark. Dave
