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Making Blue & Creating Different Shades

The colour blue was first created by the ancient Egyptians who discovered how to create a permanent pigment that they used for embellished arts. The colour blue continued to evolve for a further 5,000 years, and certain pigments were even used by the world's greatest artists to create some of the most famous works of art. Blue is a primary colour that is often used by painters. It appears on the palette more frequently than many other colours, so it's important to learn how to mix different shades of blue. This article will help you better understand the colour blue and will hopefully help and inspire you in your own creative journey.

What Does Blue Represent?

One of the most common associations with blue shades is that of peace and tranquility. Throughout history, humans have been associating blue hues with positive and relaxed mental states. In fact, many scientific studies have shown that this association is wired into our brains. Scans show that simply looking at a cool blue shade can encourage the production of various chemicals that promote relaxation and rest. As part of this relaxation process, blue shades can also suppress the appetite and slow the metabolism.

What Colours Make Blue?

You may be wondering what two colours make blue. The answer is blue is a primary colour, so there is no need to mix any two colours to make blue. However, we are able to create numerous shades of blue through colour mixing. Grab your paint supplies and keep reading to find out more!

 

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Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic Paints 60ml

FROM $15.90

Achieve unparalleled brilliance and performance with Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic Paints 60ml (also known as Artists' Acrylic), the premier choice for discerning artists. These high-quality acrylics are made with pigments of the highest quality to ensure clean & strong colours with delightful working properties. They are also known for their exceptional colour vibrancy, superior coverage, and lasting durability.

Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylics feature a rich, creamy consistency that allows for smooth application and excellent blending. The high pigment load ensures intense, vibrant colors that remain true over time. These paints dry quickly to a satin finish that is flexible and resistant to cracking, making them ideal for a wide range of techniques and surfaces, including canvas, wood, and paper.

With an extensive palette of colours, Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylics 60ml offer endless creative possibilities. Each colour is formulated to provide maximum opacity and brilliance, ensuring your artwork stands out with stunning clarity. The richness, intensity and depth of every colour in the Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic Paint range becomes evident as the colours are applied from tube to canvas.

Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic Paints 60ml utilise the maximum amount of pigment possible, to produce a paint with broad handling & unsurpassed colour-mixing capabilities.

Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylic Paints 60ml are also available in 200ml tubes.

 

Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paints 80ml

FROM $8.35

Revolutionise your painting experience with Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paints, the innovative choice for artists seeking exceptional control and versatility. These unique acrylics allow you to rehydrate and blend colours even after they’ve dried, providing unparalleled flexibility and creative possibilities.

Atelier Interactive Acrylics feature a rich, creamy consistency and a high pigment load, ensuring vibrant and long-lasting colours. Their fast-drying formula can be kept workable with a light mist of water or Atelier’s Unlocking Formula, enabling seamless transitions and intricate details.

Perfect for various techniques, from traditional acrylic methods to glazing and layering, these paints adhere well to a variety of surfaces including canvas, paper, and wood. The extensive colour range offers endless options to suit your artistic vision and offers exceptional consistency, brushability and colour load. The patented technology results in an acrylic paint with a smooth and buttery consistency, drying to a matte or satin finish.

Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paints offer a versatile set of working properties, applying like a conventional acrylic paint whilst allowing unique control over the drying process and the ability to reactivate the paint once dry.

Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paints are also available in 250ml and 1 Litre sizes.

 

GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylic Paints 59ml

FROM $20.40

Professional quality paints - GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylic Paints are made with the best quality pigments available, offering professional artists excellent permanency and lightfastness in their work.

Thick, smooth, buttery consistency - These paints have a wonderfully creamy consistency, perfect for impasto techniques to retain brush or palette knife marks on canvas.

Each colour has its own unique matte or gloss finish based upon the pigment characteristics. From Ultramarine Blue's matt finish to Dioxazine Purple's glossy one.

The paint offers excellent flexibility when dry, preventing your artwork from cracking and providing longevity of your compositions.
With interference, iridescent and metallic colours all included in the range, you'll have many options when searching for those creative sparks to ignite your masterpieces. Plus the water based formula is easy to clean-up with soap and water.

 

Jo Sonja's Artists' Acrylic Paints 75ml

FROM $6.75

Jo Sonja's Artists' Acrylic Paints are derived from a flow formula offering the opacity of colour combined with the velvet matte finish synonymous with traditional gouache. Made from the finest quality pure pigments, Jo Sonja's Artists' Acrylic Pants will not crack or chip when cured and will remain vibrant for generations.

Jo Sonja's Artists' Acrylic Paints are suitable for all surfaces including paper, papier mache, card, canvas, wood, fabric, tin, terracotta, glass & tile.

Jo Sonja's Artists' Acrylic Paints are also available in a variety of colour in 250ml bottles and 1 Litre in white.

 

Creating a Cool Blue


The trick to making a cool blue is by simply adding a splash of green. The particular shade of green you use will determine your final cool blue hue. The two best green shades for cooling down blues are veronese green and cadmium green.

Firstly, veronese green is an ideal colour for creating cool blue hues, as it has a bright, cool green tone that naturally leans towards light blue. Mixing veronese green with ultramarine blue will result in a very cool, slightly darker blue shade. For a light and bright cool blue, try mixing veronese green with cobalt blue. Secondly, cadmium green is a little warmer than veronese green because it contains a touch of red. This makes it a great choice for painting scenes with a warm, sunny atmosphere.

Creating a Warm Blue

There are two colours that you can mix with a blue shade to make it warmer: alizarin crimson and burnt sienna. The effect of each shade will differ depending on the blue base shade you choose. If you want to make a warm blue, we recommend beginning with a blue shade that is already quite warm, like ultramarine blue.

Firstly, burnt sienna is a darker, warmer shade of red, so combining it with ultramarine blue will create a darker, warmer shade of blue. Burnt sienna is also a little cooler than alizarin crimson, so this combination will be a little cooler in comparison. Secondly, combining ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson, will create a very dark and quite a purple-blue shade. For a more vibrant yet equally warm blue, you can mix alizarin crimson with cobalt blue.

 

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What Colours Make Light Blue?

Now that we know how to make blue warmer or cooler, you might be wondering what colours can create light blue shades. Making light blue hues is actually quite simple. The most common way to make your blue colours a little lighter is by adding a touch of white. The combination of ultramarine blue and white creates a lovely, vibrant shade of cornflower blue. The addition of white paint highlights the warm undertones. For a much brighter light blue, combine cobalt blue with a touch of white. Furthermore, if you’re out of white, a less common way to lighten a blue shade is to add a little yellow or light green. If you choose to use this method, you will notice that not only are you lightening your blue hue, but are also making it slightly cooler at the same time.

What Colours Make Dark Blue?

We know that light blue is made up of different colours, but what about dark blue? While there are only two main colours for light blue, there are three options for dark blue. Whether you want a dark, muted blue, a warm dark blue, or a cool dark blue, you can use different colours to achieve the desired effect.

One of the best ways to create a dark blue shade is to add a touch of dioxazine purple. The addition of this dark purple hue to ultramarine blue creates a very rich dark blue. Dioxazine purple contains red pigments, so combining it with cobalt blue is likely to create a slightly muted dark blue.

Burnt umber is a great way to create dark blue shades with both cobalt and ultramarine blue. The colour will be more muted, with a brownish hue, because it contains red. If you want a very dark blue, burnt umber is your best bet.

The last way to create a dark blue shade is to mix phthalo green and alizarin crimson with your blue shade. This combination of colours simulates the effects of burnt umber, giving you similar results.

Different Shades of Blue in Your ArtWork

Blue is a colour that we can't help but love. It invigorates us, calms us, and communicates with us just by existing. Blue goes beyond dimensions, and incorporating this colour into our everyday lives will certainly make us happier, more peaceful, and more insightful of our experiences. You can experiment to create different shades of blue such as the ones below:

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Did we answer your questions on what colours make blue and all the different types of blue you can create? We hope that through this article, we have inspired your appreciation for the colour and that you'll use it more in creating your best works of art. If we’ve inspired you to get creative you can find our handy paint supplies here, including acrylic paints, oil paints, watercolour paints and gouache paints. Plus what’s paints when you don’t have brushes? Check out our brush range here, including acrylic brushes, oil brushes, watercolour brushes and even brush sets!

 

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