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Most people learn the basics of color theory in their elementary art classes. Since those elementary art classes were a long time ago for most of us, we need a refresher before we can start confidently making art and mixing colors as adults. We’re passionate about colors here at Eye Candy Pigments, which is why we specialize in pigments and are happy to help you on your artistic journey. Keep reading to learn more about color theory basics and understand how to mix colors. Basic Color Theory Basic color theory teaches us that there are three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. Mixing these colors together creates secondary colors. Red and yellow make orange, red and blue make purple, and yellow and blue make green. When you mix a primary color with a secondary color, you create tertiary colors. While some art supply companies call these tertiary colors fancy names, their formal names are simply their hyphenated combination. For example, mixing blue and purple together makes blue-purple, and mixing red and orange together creates red-orange. The color wheel is vertically split in half to create warm and cool colors. Warm colors are reds, yellows, and oranges, while cool colors are blues, greens, and purples. Psychologically, we often think of warm colors as energetic and passionate and cool colors as calm and peaceful. All the colors we listed above are known as pure hues. They are the colors we see when we see certain light wavelengths without changes to shade, tint, or tone. To successfully mix these colors to create a larger color wheel, though, we must change shade, tint, and tone. Shade Changing the shade of a color requires us to mix any primary, secondary, or tertiary colors with black. Adding black creates a darker version of the color which we refer to as shade. Think of how adding shades, or sunglasses, over your eyes makes colors appear darker. You’re viewing the color hues through a black filter, so they appear a shade darker. We can do the same when we mix colors. Pick out any color, such as blue, and then mix in black. It’s still blue but a shade darker, and we often assign specific color names to these shade changes, such as navy. Tint When we want to change the tint of a color, we add white, making the original color lighter. We often think of tinted colors as pastels since they’re lighter versions of the other colors we know. However, there’s not always a direct correlation between tints and pastels. You can add white to red and make pink. Pink is a tinted version of red. However, pink on its own isn’t pale enough to qualify as a pastel. Pastels are described as pale and delicate, with high value and low saturation. You can create a pastel from any tint once you add more white so it’s even paler. Tone Changing the tone of a color combines the effects of shade and tint. You add the color gray, which is a combination of black and white, to one of the colors from the color wheel to change the tone of a color. Since gray is more subtle than both white and black on their own, this dulls the color you mix in. The color itself doesn’t change much, and we often don’t assign new color names to changes in tone as we do with shade and tint. However, that change is still obvious to the naked eye and is important to keep in mind when you’re mixing colors. If you like a color but want it to look less intense without making it darker or lighter, add gray and change the tone. Color Scheme Options Now that we understand basic color theory and how to mix colors into different shades, tints, and tones, we can examine color scheme options. Color schemes refer to color groupings we choose off the color wheel. While you can choose any group of colors you want for your art, different groupings will create different visual effects. You can choose between complementary, analogous, and triadic groupings. Complementary Complementary color schemes use two colors from opposite sides of the color wheel. The color wheel is composed of all primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, so you have lots of opposing options to choose from. They create a sharp contrast with each other since one is often a warm color while the other is a cool color. If you want to create contrast in your art, use these colors together. Analogous An analogous color scheme is almost the exact opposite of a complementary one. Analogous uses at least two colors that are side by side on the color wheel. Each is still its own color, such as blue and purple, but they are far more similar than the opposing colors we mentioned above. Many people enjoy these color similarities in their art, especially since placing them side by side can create a gradient effect. If you want a visually gentle but still powerful color combination, you should use these colors together. Triadic A triadic color scheme is similar to a complementary color scheme. Draw a traditional triangle in the color wheel and then use the colors from each point. The wide spread of these colors often creates a bright, dynamic combination that many people enjoy. They contrast enough to pop, but with the addition of a third color, there’s more visual harmony, such as what we see in an analogous color scheme. Mixing Colors Understanding how to mix colors is easy once you understand basic color theory and color schemes. You can mix colors together to create secondary and tertiary colors, as well as change the shade, tint, and tone of one particular color. You can mix colors when you create art, placing certain color schemes together to create your desired visual effect. Whatever combination you use, you can create something incredible with whatever colors you have available. If you want to add more colors to your artistic arsenal, Eye Candy Pigments can help. We offer beautiful pastel powders as well as other colored mica powders that will look great in any creative project. You can mix them with each other to create a unique color, change their shade, tint, or tone, or use them as they are. All our colors are nontoxic, so you can even use them in cosmetic art.

Resin is an open medium that allows all kinds of artists to make anything they can imagine. While this freedom is great for those with creative minds, it also means they have lots of decisions to make, including what colors they want to use in their projects. If you’re one of those creative minds trying to decide which color is best for your next project, we can help. Keep reading to learn about the best pigment options for different resin projects. Pigments for Woodworking Using pigmented resin in your woodworking project allows you to create something colorful and unique, but choosing which pigment to use can be difficult. The biggest influence on your pigment color choice is the shade of wood you’re working with. You want the resin to stand apart from the wood, as that’s why you’re using it and not just carving the wood by itself, so you need to choose a bright, contrasting color. If the wood you’re using is dark, consider bright colors like red, gold, white, and light blue. If the wood you’re using is light, consider more dramatic colors like black, forest green, purple, and dark blue. Medium-toned wood works well with a variety of colors, so you can consider choosing the brighter or the more dramatic shades that we listed. Pigments for Jewelry Using resin to make your own jewelry is a great way to create affordable custom pieces. All you need is a pendant mold, and you can make earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and more. Choosing the color of that pendant can be difficult, but you can narrow down your options by considering how you’ll wear the pendant. For example, if you’re making two matching pendants into earrings that will be held in silver clasps, then you’ll want to choose a pigment color that complements the silver. Pastels and jewel tones look great with silver, so you can choose almost any medium to light shade of pink, purple, green, and blue. Since yellow may look like gold, especially when mixed with resin, you’ll want to stay away from yellow if you plan to use silver in the jewelry. If you’re planning to use gold in the jewelry, such as a gold chain for the necklace your resin pendant will hang from, you can use almost any color you want. Neutral colors like black and white look great with gold, as well as natural colors like blue and green. Purples, pinks, and reds also look beautiful with gold. The only color you’ll want to avoid when pairing a resin pendant with gold is gray, for the same reason you want to avoid pairing yellow with silver. Gray pigment powder can often look silver once mixed in with resin, and these two metals are seldom paired together since they distract from each other. Avoid gray but embrace other color options. Pigments for Decorative Items If you don’t want to pair your resin art with another medium like wood or jewelry, you can make decorative items with resin alone. These decorative items can be small, like coasters, or large, like breakfast trays. As long as you have the right mold and the right amount of resin, you can make almost anything you want. Since you’re not combining this resin with another medium, you also have more freedom in color selection. You can choose any color you want for your coasters or breakfast tray. If this gives you too much freedom, then consider the setting where you’ll use the decorative item the most and how you want it to look within that setting. If your coasters are going to sit on a dark table, do you want them to blend into the table or stand out? Choose your colors accordingly. The same rule applies to a light surface. You can mix custom pigments together if you’re trying to match the surface exactly or you can choose something that will pop. If you’re not sure whether you want the coasters to blend or stand out, consider complementary colors in similar shades. For example, if you’re placing your coasters on a black table, consider making your coasters dark purple, blue, or green. The color will stand out against the black table, but not glaringly so. You’ll primarily use a breakfast tray in the kitchen and possibly a bedroom if you’re hoping for breakfast in bed. Choose the colors for your breakfast tray based on these locations. Do you want the tray to stand out from the rest of the kitchen or blend in? Likewise, do you want it to stand out from the bedroom or blend in? Neutral colors like grays and coppers can blend into almost any setting if you want the tray to fit well in both locations. And if you want it to stand out, then consider the most prominent colors in both rooms and select a color that complements both while holding its own. For example, if the most prominent color in your kitchen is white and the most prominent color in your bedroom is light blue, consider metallic colors like copper and gold, colored neutrals like peach and light green, and bold jewel tones like dark blue and red. Pigments for Wall Art Since resin starts as a liquid, you can use it to create wall art almost in the same way you could paint a canvas. All you have to do is mix the resin, choose your colors, and pour it on top of a canvas or into a mold that you eventually hang on a wall. Choosing your colors for this wall art is important, since many people want wall art to hang in their homes for a long time. To choose the right color, you need to follow the same rule we’ve mentioned above. What is the setting of the art, and how do you want it to interact with your setting? If you want your art to stand out from its surroundings, you need to pick colors that complement each other from the opposite side of the color wheel. If you want something that uses the colors from the surrounding in a unique way, you need to pick analogous colors from the color wheel. For example, if the wall your art will hang on is blue and you want it to stand out, use orange in your art. If you want people to notice the art, but you don’t want it to stand out too much, use purple or green. The best pigment options for different resin projects depend on what aesthetic you’re hoping to create within your project. Choosing between complementary and analogous colors based on how you want the finished resin project to look and interact with its surrounding is necessary. If you need pigment powder for epoxy resin, Eye Candy Pigments has a wide variety of color options available. We also have different kinds of pigments, such as glow-in-the-dark and color shift, so you can create a specific effect. The only limit in your next resin project will be your imagination.