How to Make the Color Black - What Colors Make Black?

Learning how to make the color black and how to mix black paint has many benefits that any artist shouldn't miss out on but instead enjoy. The good news is you won't run out of options since there are several ways to make a black color. You can use primary colors, secondary colors, and more, and that's what we will teach you today.

Before You Learn How to Make Black Paint

First, let's gain basic knowledge of what black is and why you even need to make black when you can simply purchase pre-made black paint products.

What Is Black?

Scientifically speaking, black is simply the absence of visible light, a result of the non-absorption of visible light, or not in the visible spectrum of light. For this reason, most experts don't consider black a color; after all, a color is a light phenomenon. It's also why we often use it to symbolize darkness.

Also, pure black doesn't exist in terms of paint and other coloring agents. Hence, it's categorized as an achromatic color. Meaning it doesn't have any forms of hue.

How to Make Black Paint Step by Step

Now that you're more familiar with the color black and the top benefits of knowing how to create it, let's proceed to the fun part! The different ways on how to make the color black.

For each method, you would need the following tools and materials:

• Paint
• Mixing palette
• Palette knife
• White sheet of paper

How to Make the Color Black With Primary Colors

The basic foundation of the color theory is the color wheel, which divides colors into three categories: primaries: red, blue, and yellow.

Keep in mind that these colors are also used to make the color brown. That's why it's best to use darker shades of colors, such as crimson red, ultramarine blue, and yellow ochre. You can also use magenta, pthalo blue, and hansa yellow.

In terms of how to make the color black using primaries, you must never directly mix equal amounts of each color. Ensure that you follow these steps to achieve black that meets most painters' expectations:

1. Put a good amount of red on one side of your mixing palette.
2. Right next to it, place the same amount of blue.
3. Place your palette knife over the red, slowly bring it to the blue, and mix them together until you achieve a purple color.
4. Take your yellow paint and add a little amount to the purple color. Mix with your palette knife until the colors blend.
5. If the color looks black, take your paintbrush and test it on your clean sheet of white paper.
6. Add more yellow if the black shade you made isn't what you need or want. Repeat step 5, but make sure you use a clean paintbrush. You can use a different brush or wash the one you used earlier.
7. If you still haven't reached the right shade of black, repeat steps 5 and 6 until you're happy with the black paint you created.

How to Make the Color Black With Green

When creating black paint with green, the perfect option is phthalo green because it is very rich and dark, making it easy to achieve the best results. Plus, you can pair it with several colors to make black, namely:

• Naphthol red (Standard black)
• Alizarin crimson red (Deep black)
• Dioxazine purple (Rich, dark black)
• Quinacridone red (Transparent black)

To create black paint, simply mix equal amounts of green and any of the colors above, depending on what type of black you need or want.

Just note that phthalo green and dioxazine purple are not complementary colors, and the former is a stronger color. Thus, be careful that the green doesn't overpower the purple. That's why testing the mixture on white paper before using it on your project is important.

How to Make Black Paint With Blue

Like with using green, you can make black using blue in several different ways, depending on the shade of black that you need or want. They include the following combinations:

• Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Umber
• Phthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange
• Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Siena

Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Umber

If you need a very dark shade of black paint with a cool temperature, this combination is ideal for you! All you have to do are the following:

1. Place a good amount of ultramarine blue on your mixing palette.
2. Add a little amount of burnt umber to the blue paint.
3. Mix using your palette knife.
4. If the color looks black, take your brush and test it on your clean sheet of white paper.
5. Add more burnt umber if the black shade you made isn't what you need or want. Repeat step 4, but make sure you use a clean brush. You can use a different brush or wash the one you used earlier.
6. If you still haven't reached the right shade of black, repeat steps 4 and 5 until you're happy with the black paint you created.

Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Siena

If you want a warmer shade of black that's a bit lighter than the previous one, choose these two colors to make your paint. Simply follow the same steps as above.

Phthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange

If you want a lighter shade of black paint, more of black with hints of brown, this blend of colors is perfect because they neutralize each other. Here are the steps you need to take to make black with phthalo blue and cadmium orange:

1. Put a good amount of the blue color on one side of your mixing palette.
2. Right next to it, place equal parts of orange.
3. Place your palette knife over the blue, slowly bring it to the orange, and mix them together until well blended.
4. Take your paintbrush and test the mixture on your clean sheet of white paper.
5. Add more blue if the black shade you made isn't dark enough for you. Repeat step 4, but make sure you use a clean brush. You can use a different brush or wash the one you used earlier.
6. If you still haven't reached the right shade of black, repeat steps 4 and 5 until you're happy with the black paint you created.

How to Make the Color Black With Purple

The best pair of purple when making black acrylics is yellow, preferably cadmium yellow. In terms of the purple: yellow ratio, you should use 60:40.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Put a good amount of purple on one side of your mixing palette.
2. Right next to it, place a little amount of cadmium yellow.
3. Place your palette knife over the purple, slowly bring it to the yellow, and mix them together until well blended.
4. Add more yellow if you still haven't achieved a black shade. Repeat if necessary.
5. Once the color looks black, take your paintbrush and test the mixture on your clean sheet of white paper.
6. If it isn't dark enough for you, add a little amount of purple and test it on a clean sheet of white paper.
7. If you still haven't reached the right shade of black, repeat step 6 until you're happy with the dark black paint you created.

How to Mix Black - Adjusting the Temperature

While we have already included warm and cool blacks in the how to make the color black tutorial above, there are times when you can't simply make them from step one. If you already have black, whether in your arsenal or already made one, you can adjust its temperature by following the tips below.

How to Make the Color Black Cool

The best way to make black paint cool is to add a little amount of any cool color to the paint. Experts highly recommend pthalo green, ultramarine blue, and dioxazine purple. The more color you add, the cooler the black will be.

However, make sure you add the color gradually so you don't go overboard or change the shade of your black acrylic paint unless you're also trying to darken or lighten it instead of just adjusting its coolness. Also, always test the mixture on white paper whenever you add color.

How to Make the Color Black Warm

To make warm or warmer blacks, all you have to do is add warm-colored paint, such as alizarin crimson and quinacridone red. Again, make sure you add it gradually and test the mixture to help you determine if you have already achieved the right temperature.

How to Make the Color Black FAQs

Here are answers to some common related questions to ensure you're armed with enough knowledge of making black paint:

Why Make the Color Black?

The primary benefit you'll gain from knowing how to make the color black is not needing to run to the store when you run out of paint while in the middle of your project. However, with this knowledge and skill, you'll also be able to:

• Combine Colors Freely
• Allows More Dynamic Painting
• Helps Bring Out and Improve Your Creativity
• Saves You Money

Combine Colors Freely

One of the best things about black is that you can create it by combining different hues, depending on the specific color properties you want and need. As such, you'll often find black shades that seem to look like dark green or dark gray.

Allows for More Dynamic Painting

In relation to the last benefit of having the skill of making black paint, you can play around with combining colors to give your art or project a signature look.

Take, for example, painter Johannes Vermeer. His 1665 Girl With a Pearl Earring oil painting seem like it has a plain black background. However, it actually has different shades of black that you'll only notice upon closer inspection.

Helps Bring Out and Improve Your Creativity

Mixing colors, in general, already helps with your creativity. As you experiment with the ratio of colors you mix to achieve popular shades like ivory black and vibrant black, you will surely end up thinking of experimenting with creating colors you don't usually find in the color wheel. These can include but are not limited to cobalt blue, burnt sienna, and viridian green.

Saves You Money

As a painter, purchasing paint colors that you regularly use isn't too practical. After all, you surely have a set of paint products with several color choices, and some you only get to use once or none at all.

Thus, learning how to make the black color (or any color) will help you make the most out of your paint sets. No longer will some of the colors collect dust or even harden due to prolonged storage, which means you won't be wasting your investment. That's most especially since there are highly recommended shades of colors to use in making black for an easier process of achieving a more accurate shade of black.

Does green and yellow make black?

No, it doesn't. This color combination leads to lime yellow.

Can you darken a paint color?

Definitely! And black is the universal color you can use to darken any color. On the other hand, you can add a little blue if you want to darken the black paint.

What two colors make black?

From the methods above, you'll find that there are a lot of tow-color combinations to use when making black. The highly recommended ones are as follows:

• Green and red
• Green and purple
• Blue and brown
• Blue and orange
• Purple and yellow

How to Make the Color Black - In Conclusion

Many colors make black paint, making it convenient for all painters of all skill levels to create a shade and temperature of black that they need and/or want. This also gives you the opportunity to experiment with the black paint. By doing so, you'll surely have the right black paint to make your painting more realistically looking and stunning.

Of course, the color combinations discussed in this guide aren't your only options. When you get the hang of the procedures above, consider playing around with your paint colors. Who knows? You might create a unique black color that will become one of your painting's signatures!