How Do You Make Tints and Shades When Mixing Pigments?
A pigment, or hue, is the name assigned to a color. True colors, such as red, yellow and blue, may be blended with black or white in order to create variations in value. A tint is a true hue that has been blended with white to produce light values and a shade is a true hue that has been blended with black to produce dark values. Light hues promote expansiveness, openness, and positive space within a composition, while dark hues suggest negative space, somberness, and obscurity. Creating tints and shades lends to the effectiveness of your artwork.
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Things You'll Need
- Paint pigment of choice
- Black paint
- White paint
- Paintbrush
- Palette
- Plastic cup
- Canvas or art board
Instructions
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Select your pigment. Choose a medium, such as acrylic, water color, or oil paint. Choose a pigment in a true hue, such as blue, orange or green.
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Dispense paint onto your palette. Apply a dime-sized amount of black and white paint to one side of your palette, making sure they are adequately spaced apart from one another to avoid unwanted mixing. Apply a liberal amount of your pigment on the opposite side of the palette. Leave room in the center for mixing.
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3
Create a tint. Dip a paintbrush into a cup of warm water before dipping the brush into your pigment. Pick up a large dollop of paint and apply it to the center of your palette. Blend the paint with the water on your brush to loosen it. Rinse your brush and pick up a small amount of white paint. Blend the white paint into your pigment until a desired value is reached.
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Develop a shade. Dip your paintbrush into the pigment and apply it to the center of the palette next to your tint. Leave space between the new dollop and the tint so that they do not bleed into one another. Rinse your brush and pick up a small amount of black paint. Blend the black paint into your pigment until the shade is to your liking.
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Repeat this process to produce as many tints and shades as you wish. Variations in the value of a pigment add to the three-dimensionality of a painting. Apply your tints and shades to canvas or art board to create a work of art.
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Tips & Warnings
Rinse your brush thoroughly each time prior to picking up a new color of paint.
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
