Brown often slips under the radar when we think of our favourite colours, yet it’s everywhere, surrounding us in nature, art, and everyday life. The bark of trees, the soil beneath our feet, the roasted coffee that starts our day, and even the soft colour of a loved one’s eyes—all showcase the subtle beauty and richness of brown. As a versatile colour, brown provides endless options in shading and tone, capturing everything from warmth to elegance. While it’s a common colour in art, creating the perfect brown in paint can be a surprisingly intricate process.
In this guide, we’ll dive into everything you need to know about creating the ideal brown shade, from warm tans to rich, cool chocolate hues. Understanding how to mix brown opens up new ways to enhance your art by blending complementary colours, working with different paint types, and learning tips to adjust hues for any creative project.
The Colour Theory Basics: What You Need to Create Brown
At its core, brown can be created by blending primary or secondary colours or even using complementary colours from the colour wheel. Different methods allow artists to make browns in a variety of shades, from light tan to deep, dark browns. Below, we’ll explore how each colour theory component contributes to this beautiful, earthy colour.
Mixing Brown Using Primary colours
Primary colours—red, blue, and yellow—are the building blocks of all other colours. In traditional colour theory, you can’t create these colours by mixing any other colours, but they combine to form all other shades on the colour wheel.
To make brown using primary colours, try mixing equal parts of red, yellow, and blue paint. This combination is a classic formula for brown and can be adjusted by changing the amounts of each colour. For example:
- More Red produces a warmer, brick-like brown.
- More Blue yields a cooler, slightly purplish brown.
- More Yellow lightens the brown, creating a tan or beige shade.
Experiment with these ratios until you find the balance that works for your project.
Crafting Brown Using Secondary colours
Secondary colours are created by mixing two primary colours. They are situated between each primary colour on the colour wheel and include green, orange, and purple. When mixed together, secondary colours also produce brown hues, and the specific shade you get depends on the combination:
- Orange + Blue yields a brown with a hint of green undertone.
- Red + Green creates a balanced, natural brown, perfect for nature-inspired scenes.
- Purple + Yellow produces a warmer brown with yellow undertones.
These combinations make it easy to adjust the brown to the specific tone you’re looking for by adding more of either colour in each pair.
Brown through Complementary colours
Complementary colours sit opposite each other on the colour wheel, creating high contrast when placed side by side. When mixed, however, they produce more subdued tones, including various shades of brown. For example:
- Red and Green mix to make a classic brown.
- Blue and Orange create a cool brown with greenish undertones.
- Yellow and Purple form a warmer, slightly yellow-toned brown.
Each pair has its unique brown hue, so experimenting with proportions is key to finding the right shade for your project.
How to Customise Your Brown Paint Shade
Now that you’ve mastered the basics of mixing brown, it’s time to fine-tune your creation. Adjusting brown to achieve specific shades, tones, and warmth adds depth to your art and allows you to achieve your desired effect.
1. Adjusting for Temperature: Warm and Cool Browns
colour temperature is important in art because it impacts how colours interact with each other on the canvas. Warm colours include reds, oranges, and yellows, while cool colours consist of blues, greens, and purples. To change the temperature of your brown:
- To warm it up, add a touch of red or yellow.
- To cool it down, add a small amount of blue or green.
The perception of colour temperature can be influenced by the hues surrounding it, so it’s a good idea to mix your paint on a neutral surface like white.
2. Lightening and Darkening Brown Shades
Whether you need a light tan or a dark espresso, adjusting the darkness or lightness of brown can add variety to your colour palette:
- To lighten brown, add white paint sparingly. Adding too much can make the colour look chalky, so proceed in small increments.
- To darken brown, add a small amount of black, but use it carefully to avoid overwhelming the original tone.
Mixing Techniques and Tips
Gradual Paint Mixing: Start with Small Portions
One of the best paint-mixing tips you can follow is to start small! Mixing in smaller portions ensures you can adjust the colour easier and save a lot of wasted paint.
Mixing Styles
- Stirring: Use a brush to stir the colours together, similar to stirring a pot. This method is useful for blending small amounts of paint.
- Folding: Use a palette knife to fold the colours over one another. This technique helps mix the colours more thoroughly and can create interesting marbled effects.
- Layering: Apply one colour on top of another. This method is useful for creating glazes and translucent effects.
Working With Different Types of Paint
Mixing Acrylic Paint
Gather Supplies:
- Acrylic paints
- Palette – any material
- Brushes or palette knife
- Water
Squeeze Out the Paint:
Start by squeezing out the colours you want to mix onto your palette, placing them a few inches apart to give yourself space to mix in between.
Start Mixing:
Use a clean brush or a palette knife to begin mixing the colours. Start with small amounts of paint, adding more as needed to adjust the colour.
Observe and Adjust:
As you mix, observe the resulting colour and use the tips above to adjust.
Add Water:
If your paint feels too thick, add a little water to your paintbrush and mix it in so your paint flows easier.
Mixing Oil Paint
Gather Supplies:
- Oil paints – various brands often have different pigment concentrations and consistencies.
- Palette – wood, glass, or acrylic.
- Painting Medium – Linseed oil, walnut oil, or other mediums to modify the consistency and drying time.
- Brushes and palette knife – have a set just for your oil paints.
- Paint solvent – Turpentine.
Squeeze Out the Paint:
Start by squeezing out the colours you want to mix onto your palette, placing them a few inches apart.
Mix in the Medium:
Pour some of the medium onto your palette and mix a tiny bit in with your oil paints using a palette knife.
Observe and Adjust:
As you mix, observe the resulting colour and adjust accordingly. Oil paints allow for subtle colour adjustments because they dry slowly, giving you time to work with the paint.
Clean Tools Between Mixing – NO WATER!:
Clean your brushes and palette knife thoroughly with a suitable oil paint solvent before switching to a new colour, and wipe dry with a clean rag.
Mixing Watercolour Paint
Gather Supplies:
- Watercolours – in tubes or pan sets.
- Watercolour palette – specifically designed with deeper wells for mixing.
- Two jars – one for cleaning and one for mixing.
- Brushes: Watercolour brushes are made from gentle fibers with fine tips.
Squeeze out the Paint:
Ensure colours are in their own sections or wells.
Start Mixing:
Mix the paint on a flat area of the palette by gently stirring the colours together. Clean your brushes thoroughly between colours to avoid mixing unwanted hues. Rinse your brushes in clean water and gently blot them on a paper towel.
Test the Colour:
Before applying the mixed colour to your artwork, test it on a scrap piece of paper to ensure it matches your desired shade.
Keep Practising:
Watercolour mixing requires patience and practice. Don’t be afraid to experiment and explore different combinations on scrap paper to achieve your desired mixes.
Can I Mix Different Types of Paint?
Mixing different types of paint can be done, but it’s essential to understand the characteristics of the paints you’re working with to achieve the best results. Generally, it’s best to stick to mixing paints within the same category (water-based with water-based, oil-based with oil-based) to ensure compatibility and stability.
Water-Based Paints
Acrylic and watercolour paints are both water-based, so they can be mixed without any issues. However, keep in mind that acrylic paint dries to a plastic-like texture, while watercolour can reactivate with water, even after drying. Mixing them might result in a surface that is not entirely predictable but can create beautiful and unique art.
Oil-Based Paints
It’s generally not recommended to mix oil paints with acrylics. Oil paints dry through oxidation and have a different chemical composition. Mixing them can lead to issues with drying, adhesion, and stability over time.
Oil and watercolour paints should not be mixed either. Watercolour is water-based and contains additives that allow it to dissolve in water, while oil paints repel water. Mixing these two types of paint will not produce a stable mixture.
Experimentation and Testing
If you’re curious about mixing different types of paint, it’s a good idea to conduct small-scale experiments on a separate surface before applying them to your artwork. This way, you can observe how the paints interact and whether the mixture provides the desired result.
Finding a Paint and Sip Classes Near You!
If you’re looking for hands-on guidance and a chance to socialise, visiting a Paint and Sip Classes can be a great way to improve your skills and have fun in the process. Our Classes offer themed events where you can practise mixing colours, including browns, with guidance from experienced artists. Prime Pass offers access to a variety of fun painting events, allowing you to explore different styles, techniques, and materials.
Why Choose Paint and Sip?
- Fun Atmosphere: Create in a lively setting with friends or new acquaintances.
- Expert Guidance: Receive tips and tricks from skilled instructors.
- Experiment Freely: Try different techniques without the pressure of a blank canvas at home.
Check your local listings for Paint and Sip events in your area, or visit Prime Pass for exciting options!
