Sunday, November 22, 2015

Transparents and Opaques in Mixtures


The folks at Vasari put together this video showing what happens to cadmium yellow lemon (opaque) and Indian yellow (transparent) when you mix them with reds and whites. The factor of transparency greatly affects the value and chroma of the mixtures (Link to YouTube).

If you want to make such tests yourself, you can use a palette knife on glass with a black backing, or you can mix them in the form of a chart in a canvas paper pad.
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Vasari oil colors
Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter



1 comment:

Roberto said...

This is very important when choosing pigments. Transparency/Opacity really makes a huge difference when mixing colors. When I am working w a full pallet (or choosing colors for a limited pallet) I pay as much attention to opacity/transparency as much as to warm/cool. Usually the cool pigment tends to be transparent and the warm opaque. As this video shows, the difference in handling/mixing can be dramatic. -RQ