Exploring color space, part one of a color mixing tutorial,

Nada

Air-Valve Autobot!
here is my latest vid dealing with color mixing. Ever since I fell down the rabbit hole of color theory I thought the overly complicated explanations were more about exploring pseudo intellectualism than actually advancing art for many many folks. Here I’m trying to dumb it down to my level, and make it easier for those who don’t have hundreds of hours to learn, or a chance to take a class

 
Well thank you, but Right off I aint no dru Blair : ) Ive still got lots to learn, but im hoping to help a few get a solid grasp. I still maintain if they can do hands on its a lot more than I could ever put in a video!
It’s a great video! The only part I would be careful with is naming Newton as his colour wheel was based on the light spectrum and you’re teaching a pigment based colour wheel - they are different and it adds another level of confusion! Newton definitely laid the foundation for Munsells system which is what you’re teaching here!
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong though as I’m just a beginner too
 
indeed Isaac was teaching light!

And Munsell laid the foundation of 3 dimensional color, however even with the updates It has issues. Plus I couldn't see me sitting with a big book of mixes.

I'm also a bit of a fan of cmyk, And the work by (I forgot his name) the Creator of "the real color wheel" in the 80's I believe... because that more closely matches the way pigments line up.

CIE Lab is pretty interesting reading if your really bored. But way technical and a heavy emphasis on digital over pigments I believe

So ultimately working on just hue and saturation, it probably does seem munsell like, and definitely will utilize his knowledge of how different hues have maximum chroma at different values, and different maximum chroma. But how I would move through the 3rd dimension is far different.

When I get to the value of course I use white for those low saturation light tones, but I like mixing darks from the closest colors to value.
For instance I may use bv & burnt umber as a quick path to a dark not completely desaturated color. And I love RV +black as eyelashes.

And of course application will even make munsells system off the rails when I get into transparent painting. And shifting tones.

Still would love to check out Drus system, Even though I doubt I would wholly stick with it 100 percent.

And I watched after and realized twice I referred to hues as colors... I need better proof editing for those mispoken words But I'll be sure and correct it.

Thanks Paul, for the encouragement and letting me Color Geek for a bit!
 
I love geeking out on this subject as it’s huge! Dru’s system makes allowances for the colour shifts that are unique to airbrushing, I have so much to learn myself, I understand the basics quite well but I know there are many more layers to it.
Once the penny drops with Value/Hue/chroma it gives your mind a way to think about defining colour, once you can do that, you can break any colour down and start the mixing process with confidence. I still spend a long time on colour mixing (especially as I’m teaching it!)
 
I love geeking out on this subject as it’s huge! Dru’s system makes allowances for the colour shifts that are unique to airbrushing, I have so much to learn myself, I understand the basics quite well but I know there are many more layers to it.
Once the penny drops with Value/Hue/chroma it gives your mind a way to think about defining colour, once you can do that, you can break any colour down and start the mixing process with confidence. I still spend a long time on colour mixing (especially as I’m teaching it!)
Exactly, once you get that AHA! Moment. You can begin to work your way through it.
Of course it all seems hard until then. Sort of like understanding opaque , transparent and translucent. Simple really, but it may take us getting our heads out of the way to understand it. I found color the same, I had to stop fighting it, then it started to fall into place.

For the record tube paints mix much easier and faster .
 
Hey fellow artists,
I hope I am in the correct place to ask a couple questions, that may or may not be noobie ones. They actually sound stupid for me to ask. I only have about 2 years total, 1 1/2 back in 2010 / 11 tinkering with the airbrush, this time around it's only been about 5 months on and off... you can see my practice work I posted here on the forum. But may grandfather told me when I was very little " The only dumb question, is the one you don't ask " so here goes.
Every where I look I see and hear about using a color wheel, to help learn color theory and mix colors. But there is more than one, you have what seems to be called a standard color wheel and then there are the Munsell and Martian color wheels. also CYM and RGB color wheels.

My questions are : What color wheel, If Any, works best with Creative brand airbrush paints ? Is there one that works best for Auto-Air, Autoborne and the Wicked, and other wheels that work best with other AB paints, such as Inspire, Mission Models, Golden and other brands ? Or are they for artists that use a brush and paint from the tubes ?

What they say is kinda true " if you don't use it you lose it " and I think that's what happen to my brain. From not staying in airbrushing back in 2010 / 11 till now.

Thanks for any help, and I hope everyone had a great weekend,

Spritz
 
Hey fellow artists,
I hope I am in the correct place to ask a couple questions, that may or may not be noobie ones. They actually sound stupid for me to ask. I only have about 2 years total, 1 1/2 back in 2010 / 11 tinkering with the airbrush, this time around it's only been about 5 months on and off... you can see my practice work I posted here on the forum. But may grandfather told me when I was very little " The only dumb question, is the one you don't ask " so here goes.
Every where I look I see and hear about using a color wheel, to help learn color theory and mix colors. But there is more than one, you have what seems to be called a standard color wheel and then there are the Munsell and Martian color wheels. also CYM and RGB color wheels.

My questions are : What color wheel, If Any, works best with Creative brand airbrush paints ? Is there one that works best for Auto-Air, Autoborne and the Wicked, and other wheels that work best with other AB paints, such as Inspire, Mission Models, Golden and other brands ? Or are they for artists that use a brush and paint from the tubes ?

What they say is kinda true " if you don't use it you lose it " and I think that's what happen to my brain. From not staying in airbrushing back in 2010 / 11 till now.

Thanks for any help, and I hope everyone had a great weekend,

Spritz
Well RGB wont do any good whatsoever when it comes to airbrushing. It is additive color versus subtractive which all pigments are.
The color wheel should be used as a guide, The differences in a cmyk color wheel and (The real color wheel TM) Are minor, the Munsell system is very accurate, however its a lot more than just a color wheel. There exists no perfect color wheel, And the closest you can get is in making your own with the actual pigments you use. Even then, despite my tutorial showing a straight line, color does not flow that linear. It just is not that neat and straight. It curves. I have taken to using a photocopy of one i created myself as my main color wheel. Its still not perfect. More important is to match the paint you use to the points on the wheel. There are only a couple of commercially available multiple value color wheels that im aware of. And the Value in color is where most peoples heads start to get messed up. The munsell chart still has the best layout to try and understand value within a given hue, but thats a really big book, and a lot of charts to try and hang on the wall.
Making a few tint tone and shade charts, and making your own color wheel should help start to grasp it. After a time mixing colors starts to become a lot more intuitive and you rely less and less on charts and even the color wheel. You will eventually learn to SEE the value and the saturation. And even then, when you change paint lines, there is always a learning curve again. I can freely go between golden and CI. And a little less so wicked without thinking about it. As for tubes and airbrush, all pigments are affected by the same mixing ratios, however an airbrush has its quirks,, between blue shift, its ability to alter saturation based upon thickness of layers etc.

Color is a wonderful yet deep rabbit hole you can go down as deep as you want. But the basics can take you a very very long way.
 
Well RGB wont do any good whatsoever when it comes to airbrushing. It is additive color versus subtractive which all pigments are.
The color wheel should be used as a guide, The differences in a cmyk color wheel and (The real color wheel TM) Are minor, the Munsell system is very accurate, however its a lot more than just a color wheel. There exists no perfect color wheel, And the closest you can get is in making your own with the actual pigments you use. Even then, despite my tutorial showing a straight line, color does not flow that linear. It just is not that neat and straight. It curves. I have taken to using a photocopy of one i created myself as my main color wheel. Its still not perfect. More important is to match the paint you use to the points on the wheel. There are only a couple of commercially available multiple value color wheels that im aware of. And the Value in color is where most peoples heads start to get messed up. The munsell chart still has the best layout to try and understand value within a given hue, but thats a really big book, and a lot of charts to try and hang on the wall.
Making a few tint tone and shade charts, and making your own color wheel should help start to grasp it. After a time mixing colors starts to become a lot more intuitive and you rely less and less on charts and even the color wheel. You will eventually learn to SEE the value and the saturation. And even then, when you change paint lines, there is always a learning curve again. I can freely go between golden and CI. And a little less so wicked without thinking about it. As for tubes and airbrush, all pigments are affected by the same mixing ratios, however an airbrush has its quirks,, between blue shift, its ability to alter saturation based upon thickness of layers etc.

Color is a wonderful yet deep rabbit hole you can go down as deep as you want. But the basics can take you a very very long way.

Thank you Nada, for the in-depth reply to my long winded question. You are probably right on every bit of it, but for sure 100% on your very last line. "Color is a wonderful yet deep rabbit hole....... " I think I have just stuck my head in, and will never get out. But even tho it will be difficult at first, I think if I look at it in the right way, it could be a very fulfilling adventure. I just hope I can get a grip on it before I spend too much money on paint and time pulling my hair out..:laugh:
 
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