{"id":192473,"date":"2015-12-15T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T15:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.craftsy.com\/blog\/?p=192473"},"modified":"2021-11-30T16:20:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T22:20:27","slug":"how-to-mix-brown-paint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/post\/how-to-mix-brown-paint\/","title":{"rendered":"Color Mixing 101: How to Mix Brown Paint in Acrylic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Brown. It&#8217;s a vital\u00a0color in acrylic painting, used to create subject matter as widely varied as hair, skin tones, chocolates, trees, earth, and hardwood floors. Do you know how to mix brown paint?\u00a0<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-258436 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2culxnxbccemt.cloudfront.net\/craft\/content\/uploads\/a\/general\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/shades-of-brown-acrylic-paint.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Shades of Brown Acrylic Paint Lined Up on Palette\" width=\"800\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<p>Mixing brown paint is\u00a0an extremely easy\u00a0process\u00a0with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.craftsy.com\/class\/acrylic-painting-basics-beyond\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">acrylic paint<\/a>. While there is more than one way to mix brown paint, this method, which employs the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.craftsy.com\/post\/mixing-primary-colors\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">primary colors<\/a>, is ideal for beginners because it is easy,\u00a0utilizes painting supplies\u00a0that are likely already in your supplies, and allows for a lot of refinement and customization in your mixing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&lt;!&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.mybluprint.com\/other\/patterns\/craftsy-s-quick-guide-to-color\/269817\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ctaContainer\">\n<div class=\"ctaTitleContainer\">\n<h2>Free Color guide<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctaContentContainer\">\n<div class=\"ctaContent leftHalf\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.craftsy.com\/upload\/986001\/pattern\/169817\/full_6908_169817_BluprintsQuickGuidetoColor_1.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"color guide\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctaContent rightHalf\">\n<p>Download Crafty&#8217;s Quick Guide to Color and learn the difference between shades, tones, tints and hues.<span class=\"buttonLook\">Get The FREE Guide<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> &#8211;&gt;<\/p>\n<h2>How to Mix Brown Paint in Acrylic:<\/h2>\n<h3>You&#8217;ll need:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Acrylic paint in red, yellow, blue and opaque white<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0palette<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0palette knife<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0paintbrush<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0work surface for testing mixed colors<\/li>\n<li>Water for washing your brush<\/li>\n<li>Paper towels for cleaning off palette knife between mixing colors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Note:<\/strong><\/em> I used Cadmium red, Cadmium yellow medium, cerulean blue and Titanium white paint. You don&#8217;t have to use these exact hues, but try to use a fairly classic-looking version of each primary color and an opaque white paint.<\/p>\n<h3>Step 1:<\/h3>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-257746 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2culxnxbccemt.cloudfront.net\/craft\/content\/uploads\/a\/general\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/blue-red-yellow-white-acrylic-on-canvas.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Set up paint palette with primary colors and white\" width=\"800\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<p>Set up your palette. Place approximately equal-sized dollops of red, yellow, and blue\u00a0on your palette, with plenty of space between each color. Add a dollop of white too.<\/p>\n<h3>Step 2:<\/h3>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-257759 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2culxnxbccemt.cloudfront.net\/craft\/content\/uploads\/a\/general\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/yellow-red-blue-acrylic-paints.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Three acrylic paint colors side by side\" width=\"800\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<p>Combine an approximately equal portion of each of the primary colors.<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-257758 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2culxnxbccemt.cloudfront.net\/craft\/content\/uploads\/a\/general\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/mixing-primary-colors-together-acrylic.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Swirling Yellow Red and Blue Paint Together\" width=\"800\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<p>Mix together using your palette knife. It will progress from being three distinct colors to a muddy mixture to brown. Your results may vary slightly, especially if you were using a different hue of any of the primary colors than I used.\u00a0<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-257757 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2culxnxbccemt.cloudfront.net\/craft\/content\/uploads\/a\/general\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/acrylic-paint-brown-made-with-primary-colors.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Brown Paint Made With Primary Acrylics\" width=\"800\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<h3>Step 3:<\/h3>\n<p>This step is something I personally like to do, and think you may like, too. Once you&#8217;ve mixed this &#8220;primary&#8221; brown, add in a touch of white to the\u00a0mixture.<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-258437 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2culxnxbccemt.cloudfront.net\/craft\/content\/uploads\/a\/general\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/201710_ArtBlog_AcrylicPaint_AddingWhitetoPrimaryColorBrownMix_001_null.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Add White to Brown Acrylic Paint Mixture\" width=\"800\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<p>This can be a smaller amount than the other colors that you added to make the brown. It is not meant so much to lighten the color as it is to enforce it.\u00a0The opaque white paint will\u00a0make your brown color more opaque, giving it more bang for your buck in terms of canvas or painting surface coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Step 4:<\/h3>\n<p>So now you have a basic, fairly soft brown color. Is it the exact brown you&#8217;d like to use for your painting? Awesome; you&#8217;re good to go.<\/p>\n<p>However, oftentimes\u00a0in painting, you need a more specific version of a color to fit your vision. This brown can be refined by adding more or less of your primary colors and white to make it perfectly suited for your needs.\u00a0Here are some basic moves to alter your brown. Play with these methods, adjusting them to suit your needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-258431 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/d2culxnxbccemt.cloudfront.net\/craft\/content\/uploads\/a\/general\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/family-acrylic-paint-colors.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Mixing Shades of Brown on a Paint Palette\" width=\"800\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<h3>For a lighter brown<\/h3>\n<p>Lighter browns work well for painting highlights, coffee with milk and light hair colors. For a lighter brown, you can add white paint a little at a time until it has reached your desired tone. Adding a touch of one of the primary colors can also be nice, keeping the color from becoming too beige and bland. Adding red or yellow will make for a warmer light brown, and a touch of blue will make for a cooler light brown.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>For a warm brown\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Warm browns\u00a0work well for painting brick,\u00a0warm wood tones, and trees in sunlight. To make your brown warmer, experiment with adding red\u00a0and\/or yellow paint a little at a time. If the mixture becomes too warm, you can add a touch of blue paint to cool it down.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>For a cool brown<\/h3>\n<p>Cool browns work well for painting cool wood tones, wintry trees, and dark hair or fur. To make your brown cooler, experiment with adding blue paint a little at a time to your basic brown mixture. If it becomes too bluish, you can add a little bit more red and yellow paint to bring it back into brown territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>For a darker brown\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Darker browns work well for painting hair, twilight scenes, and dark wood. While it may be tempting to create dark brown tones using black paint, this can often create muddy tones. This may work for your painting, but often it does not. For a brown that is dark but still bright, add a dark blue paint such as ultramarine to the mix.<\/p>\n<p>&lt;!&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.mybluprint.com\/painting\/guides\/painting-realistic-portraits-in-acrylic\/453004\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ctaContainer\">\n<div class=\"ctaTitleContainer\">\n<h2>Free Guide: Acrylic Portraits<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctaContentContainer\">\n<div class=\"ctaContent leftHalf\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d1a6t1943usoj7.cloudfront.net\/v1\/44ceb507-1251-4ebd-b434-88cbc8ba5c61\/w1366\/1474485474590-acrylicportraitpainting_slides1_453004.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"acrylic painting guide\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ctaContent rightHalf\">\n<p>Now that you know how to successfully mix acrylic paint learn how to paint portraits with this free guide!<span class=\"buttonLook\">Get The FREE Guide<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> &#8211;&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why buy a tube of brown paint when you can mix it up yourself? While there&#8217;s more than one way to mix brown paint, this easy method, which employs the primary colors, is ideal for beginners because it uses painting supplies you likely already have and allows for a lot of refinement and customization in your mixing. <\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-read-more-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/post\/how-to-mix-brown-paint\/\" class=\"excerpt-read-more\" >Read more \u00bb<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1417,"featured_media":304788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[56,3972],"tags":[3475,3477,3487,3385],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1417"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/304788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}