Blue, a color that resonates deeply within us, evoking feelings of calm, vastness, and inspiration. It’s the hue of the sky above and the deep ocean, a color that artists have revered and utilized for centuries to express a wide range of emotions and atmospheres. While blue is known as a primary color, meaning it exists on its own and isn’t made by mixing other colors together, understanding how to mix blue with other colors is key to unlocking a spectrum of breathtaking shades and tones for your artistic endeavors.
This guide will explore the fascinating world of color mixing to answer the question: “What Two Colors Make Blue?” We’ll delve into how adding just one other color to blue can transform it, creating cool, warm, light, and dark variations, expanding your artistic palette and allowing for nuanced expression in your artwork.
Creating a Cool Blue: The Magic of Green
To achieve a cool blue, the secret lies in introducing a touch of green. The specific green you choose will influence the final coolness and vibrancy of your blue. Two excellent green shades for cooling down blue are Veronese Green and Cadmium Green.
Veronese Green is particularly effective for creating cool blues due to its inherently bright and cool undertone, leaning naturally towards lighter blues.
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Veronese Green + Ultramarine Blue: This combination yields a very cool and subtly darker shade of blue, reminiscent of twilight skies.
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Veronese Green + Cobalt Blue: For a lighter and more vibrant cool blue, mixing Veronese Green with Cobalt Blue is ideal, resulting in a fresh, airy blue.
Cadmium Green, while slightly warmer than Veronese Green due to a hint of red within its composition, still works beautifully to create cool blues, especially for scenes that require a balance of coolness with a touch of warmth, like landscapes under a bright sky.
Warming Up Blue: Introducing Red and Brown
If your artistic vision calls for a warmer blue, you’ll want to turn to colors that introduce warmth: Alizarin Crimson and Burnt Sienna. The impact of each of these will vary depending on the base blue you start with. For warm blues, it’s best to begin with a blue that already possesses some warmth, such as Ultramarine Blue.
Burnt Sienna, a darker and earthier red-brown, will deepen and warm any blue it’s mixed with.
- Burnt Sienna + Ultramarine Blue: This pairing results in a darker, warmer blue shade, evoking feelings of depth and richness. Burnt Sienna is also slightly cooler than Alizarin Crimson, making this combination a touch less intensely warm in comparison.
Alizarin Crimson, a deeper, cooler red, brings a different kind of warmth to blue, often leaning towards purple undertones.
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Alizarin Crimson + Ultramarine Blue: Combining these creates a very deep and distinctly purple-blue shade, perfect for dramatic skies or shadows.
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Alizarin Crimson + Cobalt Blue: For a more vibrant yet equally warm blue, mixing Alizarin Crimson with Cobalt Blue gives you a lively, warm blue with a touch of purple vibrancy.
Lightening Blue: The Essential Role of White (and Alternatives)
Creating lighter shades of blue is surprisingly straightforward. The most common and effective method is by adding white paint to your blue.
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White + Ultramarine Blue: This classic combination produces a beautiful, vibrant Cornflower Blue, with the white highlighting the inherent warm undertones of Ultramarine Blue.
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White + Cobalt Blue: For an even brighter light blue, combine Cobalt Blue with white. This results in a crisp, clear light blue, perfect for skies and delicate details.
Interestingly, if you find yourself without white paint, you can still lighten blue, albeit in a slightly different way. Adding a touch of yellow or light green can also lighten blue. However, this method not only lightens the blue but also subtly shifts its temperature, making it slightly cooler.
Darkening Blue: Exploring Depth with Purple, Brown, and Green
While creating light blue is relatively simple, achieving dark blues offers a few more intriguing options. Whether you desire a muted dark blue, a warm deep blue, or a cool shadowy blue, different colors can be employed to reach your desired effect.
Dioxazine Purple is an excellent choice for creating rich dark blues.
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Dioxazine Purple + Ultramarine Blue: Adding Dioxazine Purple to Ultramarine Blue creates a profoundly rich and deep dark blue, imbued with a sense of luxury and mystery.
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Dioxazine Purple + Cobalt Blue: Due to the red pigments in Dioxazine Purple, combining it with Cobalt Blue may result in a slightly more muted dark blue, still beautiful but with a touch less vibrancy.
Burnt Umber, a deep brown, provides another route to darkening blue, resulting in more muted, earthy dark blues.
- Burnt Umber + Cobalt Blue or Ultramarine Blue: Using Burnt Umber with either Cobalt or Ultramarine Blue will yield darker blues with a brownish undertone, creating muted, natural-looking shadows and depths. Burnt Umber is your go-to for achieving very dark, desaturated blues.
An unconventional yet effective method for creating dark blue involves a trio of colors: Phthalo Green, Alizarin Crimson, and your chosen blue.
- Phthalo Green + Alizarin Crimson + Blue: This combination cleverly mimics the effects of Burnt Umber, offering a way to create dark blues with nuanced undertones by adjusting the proportions of green and red.
The Limitless Spectrum of Blue Shades
Blue is a truly versatile color, capable of expressing a vast spectrum of moods and effects. From invigorating and bright to calming and deep, blue’s power lies in its adaptability. Incorporating different shades of blue into your artwork and even your daily life can enrich your experiences, fostering feelings of peace, happiness, and deeper understanding. Experiment with the color combinations discussed to unlock a world of blue shades, and discover the perfect hues to bring your artistic visions to life.
We hope this exploration of color mixing has answered your questions about what two colors make blue (and the many more you can create!), inspiring you to further appreciate and utilize this captivating color in your creative journey. Ready to experiment? Explore our range of paint supplies here, including acrylic paints, oil paints, watercolor paints, and gouache paints. And don’t forget the essential brushes! Browse our brush range here, featuring acrylic brushes, oil brushes, watercolor brushes, and convenient brush sets!
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