How to mix green paint
Yellow and blue make green, but which yellow and which blue decides how bright it is. Lemon yellow with phthalo blue gives a clean green; ochre or ultramarine make it softer and more natural.
Ways to mix it
This mix The colour Way 1
very close · difference 1.5
- 4 parts Hansa yellow light PY3
- 1 part Yellow ochre PY42
- a touch Phthalo blue PB15:3
This mix The colour Way 2
very close · difference 2.9
- 8 parts Hansa yellow light PY3
- 1 part Ultramarine blue PB29
- a touch Phthalo blue PB15:3
The palette opens with this colour as the colour you want; the coach finds it with the tubes of your box.
Lighter, darker, warmer, cooler, duller
What to add to way 1, as the coach on the palette would tell you:
- LighterAdd ¾ part Titanium whiteWhite lightens but also cools and greys: a touch of yellow brings the warmth back.
- DarkerAdd ¾ part Ultramarine blueDarken with a dark colour of the same family rather than black, which kills the colour.
- WarmerAdd a touch Cadmium yellow medium and a touch Yellow ochreWarmer means towards yellow and orange.
- CoolerAdd a touch Phthalo blue and 2 parts Hansa yellow lightCooler means away from yellow and orange: towards pink, blue or green.
- DullerAdd 1½ parts Yellow ochreIts opposite colour dulls a colour while keeping it alive; black dulls and darkens at once.
A tip
Greens in a landscape are rarely bright: dull them with a touch of red or burnt sienna rather than black.
To understand why
Close colours
Computed from a common box: Titanium white, Hansa yellow light, Cadmium yellow medium, Cadmium red medium, Quinacridone magenta, Ultramarine blue, Phthalo blue, Yellow ochre, Burnt sienna, Burnt umber and Ivory black. Parts are by volume; a touch is about a quarter of a part. Your screen shows the colours close, not exact.
Print a mixing chart of these tubes (PDF)
All the colour recipes