Watercolor Mixing Charts: DON'T Make This Kind

The most popular type of color chart is actually NOT the best kind to make... watch to learn five reasons why you should stay away from making your watercolor swatch charts like this, and what you should do instead.

0:50 Reason 1
2:13 Reason 2
3:55 Reason 3
5:33 Reason 4
7:24 Reason 5

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

(Mix Your Own Neutrals is an add-on to Stop Making Mud.)

[alyssalang]

I find the "big chart exercise" is helpful to find unexpected colors I would not have thought of combining. The big chart is a good starting point to then try the other method shown on the small cards. My big chart was also visually attractive so i hung it in my studio! The first time I did one of these big charts I noticed the same thing that you're repeating colors, so rather than doing all the colors 50/50 I did them 25/75, so I am skewing to one color in each version (like what was shown on the small cards). I still would recommend the big chart, but the suggestions are good if you're frustrated with it and need some ideas. I can imagine that the small cards do take a long time to do and so does the big chart! Thanks for putting these ideas out there!

[jennw]

Brush miles are never a waste. You get lots of practice painting a chart, making even flat washes and mixing colors, without the pressure of "creating art." You also get to explore many mixes you might not have thought of.

There are a lot of ways to address your criticisms of this type of mixing chart. I have seen plenty of people just make a triangle chart with only one mix, and when I do it, I make two different colors - one leaning towards one, and one leaning towards another.

If you want to mix all the steps between two colors, that is a different exercise. If you want combos of three colors, that is another different exercise. All of which are valuable and good for different reasons -- don't conflate them! It's fine if you don't like to make mixing charts personally, but clearly a lot of us do.

I make mixing charts as well as individual swatch cards, which are obviously easier to use to make a color story or palette. I do agree that individual cards are superior to swatching multiple colors on a larger sheet, so that you can pick and choose from everything, without looking at other distracting colors.

Another issue I see with your charts is that you didn't swatch the original color -- or even note what it was -- or the pigment code. You just put "warm yellow, warm blue" etc as if they are all the same. They are not! How will you mix this color again you have just labeled "warm green" without knowing what paints you used?

[chrisgregore]

I understand the 5 points that you are making in this video and I appreciate all of your advice and time in teaching us. But, I don't fully agree with you about there being no value in the big chart exercise. I do a lot of nature journaling with a limited palette. I do not have any neutrals, in the paint I carry in my limited palette, as I'm trying to keep the palette very small and easy to use while on location in nature. I have a big mixing chart with all the colors on my palette (11 total colors) and I refer to the chart often when I need to know what colors make neutrals and some other combinations too. I know the chart does not show the full range of combinations but it is a starting point and reference for me to have when I'm on location. All the color swatches are wonderful but not practical when you are carrying a minimal pack into the woods or on a hike.

[snakesonaframe]

I did the “big chart” with my India inks, it did make me realize I LOVE all the other colors mixed with brown, it makes a really pretty muted range. But that’s about all I learned from it

[stephenbailey]

Thank you for saying it. I don't necessarily think it's a complete waste of time- playing with paints and colors and mixing even 50/50 mixes still results in something learned. However; I do agree that there is MORE information and more to learn with your other methods.

I made a similar chart to the 50/50 one except instead of tiny squares (where you can only fit a tiny square of one color), I made the chart with rectangles. And I used a small flat brush to make little lines of colors in the rectangles. And I could fit around 8-10 colors. A gradual gradient mix between two colors. With this I made a "GREENS" chart. Blues on the top and yellows on the side. These 2 color mixing charts are really valuable for seeing your possibilities with secondary colors

[littlemissspritz]

As a super beginner I did that chart and thoroughly enjoyed it, and saw some unexpected and useful results, but now having seen your suggestions (especially that 3 colour mixing one!), I am super excited to try it out... I think they all have a place in the learning experience (yours maybe more as the next step in learning colour mixing). I found this video super helpful and exciting, thank you!!!

[johncitizen]

Totally agree I’ve never found those big mixing charts very useful, I made a couple when I started in watercolour and never looked at them again. They do give beginners a reason to try mixing different combinations but IMHO there’s much better ways to explore that which are less tedious and open up more possibilities.

[DL-irwb]

The color table has helped me to understand how to obtain other colors. I think that with the help of a color wheel can open up many opportunities if one knows how light or dark it is.Darkness can reach your color palette... It helped me know cold to warm colors. Maybe for someone with a lot of experience like you this is a waste of time but for beginners this It is pure gold to understand that a palette of 24 colors can be turned into 500 or more. I think that with experience one is improving and searching, but above all it is better to know about the harmony of color. with the color wheel

[sarahnoda]

I'm really surprised to see someone post this. I find my color charts invaluable and a huge time saver for mixing paints, no guessing, just a quick glance at my chart. Additionally, you did something incorrect here by simply diluting for your second color box. The boxes should have a shift towards one color, not diluted - so a yellow and blue mixed together produces a box with with green with a blue shift (cool) and another box with green with a yellow shift (warm).

[chelseaclerke]

This is so funny, every time I look at one of these colour charts I feel confused and a little frustrated, I honestly thought it was just me! I am actually really good at colour mixing, it has always come really naturally to me and I always do my charts or mixing exercises similar to how you do or just a straight value chart or 2 pigments at a time, clearly labeled. So nice to know I'm not just a weirdo.

[LeilaAtaya]

When I make the multiplication chart rather than going for lighter and darker value I create two different mixes with one and then the other colour for example if it's a mix of blue and yellow then one colour will be blue with a little yellow and the other yellow with a little addition of blue. The other charts are great too so the more the merrier I guess :)

[Maki-zfwm]

Thanks for this. I like the fact that these method gives coherent swatches rather than my previous huge luminous chaos.

[NessyMFH]

Thanks Ashley for this video! I must say that I never did the watercolor chart because it overwhelmed me a lot. I did find this video helpful!

[fidrewe]

These 2D charts are amazing and very revealing! The problem, however, is the number of such charts you would need to map out a typical palette. If you have a simple split primary palette plus a convenience earth color plus black, there are already 56 charts required to capture all possible combinations of three colors and the number goes up steeper and steeper the more colors you add. Also there is significant redundancy required because the same two color combination will appear on multiple charts. And then there is glacing, which is much more complex than mixing, because the order of the color layers matters...

[nessapainter]

It's not necessarily only a change in value. For my first large chart, I was taught to change the amount of each color to get a sense of the wider possibilities. This way you are actually making new colors, much as you do on your cards. ALL of these methods can be valuable. We should do what helps us best as we become ready to learn such things.

[mitzid]

I like the chart, I use mine a lot, because I make one for each pallet I use. I think whether you like the big chart or not is a personal choice, some people will get a lot of value and others wont. It is best to try different kids of charts and see what works best for you personally.

[susan]

Thank you for saving me all that time that I didn't have to spend doing the old school charts. I learned so much from your Mud and Neutral classes!

[suejorgenson]

You know what? I'd like to see some credit given to us for doing THAT kind of color chart. I do it to initially get acquainted with my palette, how it flows, how it dilutes and the 50/50 mixing - it's a *start* and could be acknowledged as such. Then I move on to other forms of color swatching - cool/cool, warm/warm and warm/cool and so forth. Good video, really appreciated it, but don't come down hard on us old-school color swatchers. Thanks! :-)

[ImGinaMarie]

Thank you so much for addressing this, ive seen too many multiplication type charts and thought the same thing and Im really new to watercolors. I think Ive realized mostly that as long as you don't mix 2 or 3 complementary colors together you shouldn't be making mud. I think im understanding that correctly anyway..thanks for such an informative video. I realize you didn't go into depth here with paint names/brands and that it was a concept you were addressing instead..that's what im getting out of it anyway...not sure why some are throwing shade on your techniques and findings...thank you!!

[gardener]

Thank you for validating my decision lol. I like to swatch my mixes separately in my journal, & explore all the colors I can make. Then I typically paint a small picture next to them with those colors. It makes me happy. The chart doesn't make me happy.