Don’t have the colour black in your paint box? Don't worry! You can easily mix your own black in a variety of ways.
Many artists actually prefer to mix their own black paint instead of buying it, because they can achieve their own desired shades that have a natural, multihued feel to them.
Black is a useful colour for painting shadow, adding drama and darkness to a painting, and creating contrast with other colours. It's a dominant colour, so use it sparingly if you don't want it to overpower your painting.
What colours make black?
The three primary colours red, yellow and blue make the colour black. A primary colour is a colour that cannot be created by mixing other colours together.
Each of the primary colours come in 'warm' and 'cool' tones. Warm tones mean the colour has a hint of red or yellow in the shade. Cool tones mean the colour has a hint of blue or green in the shade.
Mixing cool tones of red, yellow and blue, such as crimson red, hansa yellow, and pthalo blue will make a shade very close to true black.
Use equal amounts of these colours in the mixture. Adding more blue will deepen the shade.
How to make black with complementary colours
Complementary colours are colours that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel.
Mixing two complementary colours, such as red and green, will make the colour black. A warm red (cadmium red) and cool green (phthalo green) is ideal.
Blue and orange are also complementary colours. Mixing these together will also make black.
How to make black for your paintings
Mixing your own black will hone your colour-mixing skills, improving your ability to see colour. Read our complete guide to colour mixing to learn more about this vital skill for artists.
How to make green
Have fun making black and want to try another colour? Learn how to make green with our step-by-step guide.
