Buzz
While many people think of gray as a combination of black and white, you can actually mix gray by blending primary colors with their complementary hues. Once you understand the basics of color theory, you can apply these concepts in various art forms.
Steps
Apply Color Theory
Mixing White and Black. Combining white and black creates a "neutral gray".
- Neutral gray is the purest form of gray, as it doesn't have any added hues or tones.
- Equal parts white and black yield a medium gray tone. You can adjust the shade by adding more white or black. To achieve a darker gray, add more black; for a lighter gray, add more white.
Mix equal parts of complementary colors. Combining two complementary colors will result in a gray known as "complementary gray".
- The basic complementary color pairs are:
- Red and Green
- Yellow and Purple
- Blue and Orange
- Mixing these colors in equal amounts creates a light gray, but you can add depth to the color by using more of one color than the other. Adding red, yellow, or orange will produce a "warm gray", while green, purple, or blue will create a "cool gray".
Mix three primary colors together. When you mix the three primary colors, you get a "basic gray".
- The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow.
- Mixing these colors in equal amounts results in a light gray, but you can adjust the shade by increasing or decreasing one of the colors. For example, adding more blue will produce a cooler gray, while adding more yellow or red will yield a warmer tone.
Mixing Gray Paint
Choose the type of gray you want to create. Neutral gray, complementary gray, or basic gray are the easiest to create, but the choice depends on the paint you have and how you want to apply that gray tone.
- Neutral gray is a good option for mixing without altering the inherent gray tone. It’s generally the ideal gray if you need a pure, standard gray.
- Complementary gray is a better choice if you want to add warmth or coolness to the shade.
- Basic gray is perfect for shading or placing next to a brighter color. Since it’s mixed from three primary colors, it makes secondary colors appear more vibrant when placed next to it.
Mix equal amounts of necessary colors. Pour the colors you need onto a palette or mixing tray. Use a mixing stick to blend the colors thoroughly until they merge into a uniform gray.
- To recap, here are the available color combinations for mixing:
- Black and White
- Red and Green
- Yellow and Purple
- Blue and Orange
- Red, Yellow, and Blue
- When mixed together, these combinations will create gray. If you use "pure" tones, the result will be a clean gray. If the tones are not pure, the gray will have subtle undertones.
Adjust the lightness or darkness of the color to your preference. Test the brightness of the gray color you mixed to see if it is too light or too dark. You can add white or black to fine-tune the lightness or darkness.
- Add white if you want a lighter gray, and black if you want to darken it. Remember to add only small amounts at a time to avoid overly changing the shade.
- Use white and black to adjust lightness or darkness, no matter what kind of gray you mixed (neutral, complementary, or basic). Adding other colors will change the tone, not the brightness or darkness.
Add tonal shades as desired. Check the tone of the gray you've mixed. If it appears dull, you can add more tonal shades by mixing in other colors.
- When adding color, always do so in small amounts. If you don’t like the tone, it will be easier to fix.
- If you mixed a complementary or basic gray, adjust the tone with the primary colors you used to mix the gray. In other words, if you mixed gray using blue and yellow, add more yellow and blue to adjust the tone (avoid adding red, green, or purple).
- If you mixed a neutral gray, you can still modify the tone with nearly any color to create various shades.
Make gray-colored frosting
Choose the type of gray you prefer. Neutral gray is the easiest for making frosting, but you can also use complementary or basic grays.
- It’s best to stick with neutral gray if you want a purer shade, but you can choose the other two types if you prefer gray with a hint of additional tone.
- Liquid food coloring only includes shades like red, yellow, green, and blue. If you want to use liquid food coloring, your best options are basic gray (from red, yellow, and blue) or complementary gray (from red and green). However, gel and powdered food colors come in a wider range, allowing you to mix gray in all three ways mentioned.
Add the necessary colors to your white frosting. Scoop the required amount of frosting into a bowl. Gradually pour in the necessary food coloring and mix until fully blended.
- Here’s a recap of the color mixing options:
- White and black (note: you don’t need to add ‘white’ as the frosting is already white)
- Blue and orange
- Yellow and purple
- Red and green
- Red, yellow, and blue
- For liquid food coloring, add the color drop by drop using the dropper. For powder or gel colors, dip a toothpick into the color and stir it into the frosting to dissolve it.
Add black to achieve a darker gray. If you like the gray tone you've mixed but want it a little darker, simply add a small amount of black food coloring and stir until you reach the desired shade.
- You can use black to create a dark gray without worrying about the base color you started with.
- Alternatively, you can create a more dynamic gray by adding more base colors into the frosting. The more colors you add, the lighter the gray will become, but be careful not to add too much color or the frosting may shift to a different hue.
Mix the gray tone as desired. If the gray looks too flat, try adding another color to give it a more defined tone.
- For neutral gray, you can use almost any color to adjust the tone.
- For complementary and basic grays, stick to adding the same primary colors you used to mix the gray. For example, if you mixed gray with red, blue, and yellow, only add more of red, blue, or yellow to adjust the tone (do not add green, purple, or orange).
Mixing gray with clay
Choose the type of gray you want to mix. You can mix neutral, complementary, or basic gray with clay. Pick the mixing method that best suits your preference.
- If you want a pure gray, go for neutral gray.
- If you want your gray to have some nuance, mixing basic and complementary colors will make the process easier and reduce the number of materials needed.
Divide the necessary colors into equal portions. Take equal amounts of clay for each color you need. Knead each color separately, then mix them together.
- The color options include:
- Black and white
- Blue and orange
- Red and green
- Yellow and purple
- Red, yellow, and blue
- To mix the colors, simply press the colored clay together, roll it between your palms, flatten it, and then roll it back into a ball. Keep doing this until no streaks of color remain, and the clay blends into a uniform gray.
Lighten the color as desired. If you want to make the gray color lighter, roll a small ball of translucent clay into the existing gray mixture.
- Translucent clay is colorless, so it doesn’t affect the shade of the gray but makes it more muted and less vibrant.
- When measuring the translucent clay, use only about one-third of the amount of color you want to mix.
Brighten the gray color to your preference. To lighten gray, simply knead a piece of white clay into the existing gray mixture.
- You can use white clay regardless of the original color used for mixing.
- Though technically, you could mix in black to darken the gray, the black clay can easily overpower other colors. It's usually easier to darken neutral gray since it already contains black as part of its base color.
Consider adding tonal shades to the clay. Once you've achieved the desired shade of gray, decide whether to add tonal shades or not.
- To add tonal shades, mix a small amount of colored clay into the gray mixture.
- You can add nearly any color to neutral gray to introduce a tonal shade, but for complementary and basic grays, you should stick to the original colors used to mix the gray.
Things you will need
Gray paint
- Paint colors (black, white, red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple)
- Color mixing stick
- Palette or mixing board
Gray-colored frosting
- White frosting
- Liquid, gel, or powdered food coloring (black, red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple)
- Glass bowl
- Spoon
- A few toothpicks
Gray clay
- Clay (black, white, red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, translucent)
