Frequently Asked Questions
Question:
What will the Guide do for me?
Answer:
You will be amazed by your new color confidence and by using
the guide you will achieve the fresh radiant colors you want
to mix, easily match the colors you see, see your painting
skills improve as you make better color decisions, and have
more fun and success.
Question:
Who is the Guide for?
Answer:
TEACHERS - The Magic Palette Guide is a wonderful teaching
tool and an inspiring visual color reference for students.
Your students will find the guide easy to use and will be
encouraged to create a whole new range of fresh, radiant
colors.
STUDENTS - A world of color will be at your fingertips. The
Magic Palette Guide takes the guesswork out of mixing colors,
eliminating trial & error.
BEGINNERS - Don't let selecting and mixing color intimidate
you. The Magic Palette Guide lets you select the colors you
want and then shows you how to mix them. It's so simple.
EXPERIENCED ARTISTS - No matter how experienced you are, the
Magic Palette Guide will inspire you to broaden your color
palette, encourage you to try new colors, new color families
and new color combinations. The guide will give you a refreshing
new look at your artistic choices.
GIFT GIVING - Give the gift of color! The Magic Palette Guide
makes an amazing gift for your favorite artist.
Back to top
Question:
Will the Guides work in all mediums?
Answer:
The Color Palette Mixing Guide™ is relevant
for all mediums. A number of paint brands were used in creation
of the guide because no one brand offered all of the necessary
colors. Although there can be some subtle variations in color
by brand, all the artist has to do is visually check their
tube color against our original 18 tube colors and by following
the instructions on the back of the chart they will have no
difficulty in mixing the colors they want.
The original painting for the guide was created with oil medium,
see www.deesolin.com for
the "841 Colors" painting.
Back to top
Question:
In the instructions, Titanium White has been added to
all the tube colors on the chart. Why has white been added?
Answer:
There are two reasons for adding white. First, many of the
colors are transparent so you can't really see the color
without a bit of white. Second, the chart is all about color
and since some of the colors are significantly darker than
others, White has been added to bring all the colors closer
together in value.
Back to top
Question:
Why does Titanium White have two different mixes of pigments?
Answer:
The formulation of Titanium White varies a bit from manufacturer
to manufacturer. However, all quality brands of Titanium
White may be used with consistent results. Several manufacturers
add a bit of Zinc White (Pw4) into their formula for Titanium
White (Pw6) without any change in tinting strength or opacity.
Back to top
Question:
I am having trouble finding some of the paints used on
the Magic Palette Color Mixing Guide. Can you tell me what
brand or brands of tube paint were used to create the palette?
The particular colors I am having trouble locating are: Cobalt
Turquoise (PB 50). I have found some blues that are (PG 50)
but not (PB 50). Other colors include Magenta (PR 122, PB 15);
Naples Yellow Hue (PY 43, PY 37, PW6, PW 4); and Indian Yellow
(PY 83). I have Not been able to find these formulas anywhere.
The instructions indicate that using the same formulas is important.
Answer:
To answer this specific question, the colors I used were as
follows: Cobalt Turquoise (PB 50) is made by Grumbacher;
Magenta (PR 122, PB 15) is by Winton; Naples Yellow Hue (PY
43, PY 37, PW6, PW 4) and Indian Yellow (PY 83) are made
by Gambin.
Back to top
Question:
Can these charts be used for watercolors?
Answer:
While the original charts were created in oil, the chart is
useful for all pigmented mediums because it illustrates color
relativity and shows you how each of the pigments mix with
others. If you look at the list of pigments in the instructions
or on the web site where the colors are listed, you can compare
these to your paints. If you are using artist quality watercolors,
I believe the names are the same or quite similar. (ie: Ultramarine
Blue, Cadmium Yellow, etc.)
Back to top
Question:
The dominant and mixing color series appear to be identical.
Is that true?
Answer:
The dominant and mixing colors are the same. Choose any dominant
color and follow the row to the left... each of these color
mixtures will be dominated by the original color.
If you choose a mixing color, and follow the column up, each
of those colors will have the mixing color in it but it will
not be the dominant of the two colors.
For example, Permanent Green with Cadmium Orange has a strong
influence of orange in it but it is still more green because
Permanent Green is the "dominant color". Then look at Cadmium
Orange with Permanent Green. You can see the green influence
in the mixture but the new color is more orange because Cadmium
Orange is the dominant color.
Back to top
Question:
Sometimes identical colors appear differently when they
are supposed to be the exact color.
Answer:
They should be exactly the same color. With 4 color process,
sometimes colors print a bit differently. The color mixing
guide will never achieve the clarity and intensity of pure
pigment. The guide is a reference to color relativity. Warm
to cool, bright to grey. I mixed a bit of white into most
of the colors because many of the tube colors are too dark
or transparent to see clearly without white. Some of the
mixtures have more white than others. Color mixing is an
art not a science, and this is a guide which hopefully inspires
people to think about color the way musicians work on musical
scales. We hope that the Color Mixing Guides will inspire
artists to work with color the way that musicians work with
cords and notes.
Back to top
Question:
Corresponding target colors on either side of the same
diagonal should be identical. Correct?
Answer:
The dominant color will alway have more "power" or dominance
in a mixture then the mixing color.
Back to top
Question:
Would the mixing guide help me to determine which colour
is warm or cool?
Answer:
Warm and cool is all relative. The Mixing Guides aren't designed
to determine color temperature. However, generally, reds
are the warmest colors and turquoise blues are the coolest.
Starting with red, colors become cooler as you move in both
directions; toward the oranges and yellows and toward the
magentas and purples. If you start with a dominant color
and mix in a cooler color the resulting mixture will be cooler
than the original.
Back to top
Question:
I recently purchased the Magic Palette Mixing Guide. On the list of colors on the back of the guide, cobalt blue and cobalt teal both are listed as having the pigment pb28. Since they are different colors one or both pigments is wrong. What are the correct pigments?
Answer:
The colors used are Gamblin brand artist oil paints. Both Cobalt Teal and Cobalt Blue are the same pigment PB28. They must have been treated differently, perhaps the darker Cobalt Blue has been "cooked"...
Please feel free to use the chart as a guide and if your pigments are different it's OK as long as the colors match closely.
Back to top
Question:
I have had a great deal of trouble finding some of the paint colors with the pigments specified in your color guide. Is your Studio Mixing Guide specifically designed for any particular type of paint and if so, what type? Also, do you have a mixing guide substitution list of acrylic colors that are readily available?
Answer:
The color references that we use on the mixing guides are standard generic names for the most popular tube paint colors. The pigments that are identified may be slightly different by brand but if you follow the paint color names (e.g.: Phthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red, etc.). You should be very close, if not spot on, to a color match. Please keep in mind that the Color Mixing Guide is a "guide" and, if your original tube color appears to match the original tube colors on the chart, you should be fine with the mixed colors that result. You may have to add a touch of white to lighten the original color to get a close match before you begin mixing. I always tell people not to go out and purchase a new tube of paint just because their paint pigments aren't exactly the same. You should use the paint that you already have whenever possible even if it is slightly different. The guide will still help you as long as you work from the closest possible color match. You may want to ask your local retailer to help you find a color match by referring to the color name or by simply looking at the original tube color that you are searching for.
Please feel free to use the chart as a guide, and if your pigments are different it's OK as long as the colors match closely.
Back to top
