Taking the edge off of black

[Karl Becker]

Getting back on topic here for a moment...

What I'm currently working on is a monochrome painting. Based on some instructional vids I've watched, I tried to warm up the black a bit by adding a little red. Trying to make it look less blue. That's the color I will be using for the remainder of this one because that's what I started with.

With that said, I was wondering what cocktails of color you guys/gals prefer for such an application? Also, why? What effect are you going for by doing so?

Thanks!

EDIT: This should probably be in the Color Help section. Sorry. Feel free to move it.

 

[erwin de pan]

Adding red is a good option.
If you use magenta red you can add yellow to make it some orange red.
When I mix dark colors like this one.
I often take a drop of the color I am making on a piece of paper and mix in some white.
That makes it easier to see if I need to add some more or not.
The ready-made solution is.
Colden shading gray.
I like the graphite look.

 

[Ronald art]

it actually depends on what subject I want to paint in monochrome but I am nearly always using standard Etac efx colors except when I paint a baby in that case I use a warm brownish colour made from magenta , black and yellow
If I want a cold look I will use paynes grey or shading black if I want a warmer colour I use burnt umber . Sepia smoke is a bit of a wild card for me as it has a red/purple look to it and I mainly use it for full colour portraits

 

[HellBird]

@Karl Becker Great post! I’ve wondered about this myself. Had a few times where “black” was not quite black and would shift blue or even green. May have been the lighting at times, but in one case it was the paper. Of course I was swearing a lot for a whole collection of other things too on that ‘piece’ before I consigned it to the blue bin.

Adding red is a good option.
If you use magenta red you can add yellow to make it some orange red.
When I mix dark colors like this one.
I often take a drop of the color I am making on a piece of paper and mix in some white.
That makes it easier to see if I need to add some more or not.
The ready-made solution is.
Colden shading gray.
I like the graphite look.

it actually depends on what subject I want to paint in monochrome but I am nearly always using standard Etac efx colors except when I paint a baby in that case I use a warm brownish colour made from magenta , black and yellow
If I want a cold look I will use paynes grey or shading black if I want a warmer colour I use burnt umber . Sepia smoke is a bit of a wild card for me as it has a red/purple look to it and I mainly use it for full colour portraits

@erwin de pan and @Ronald art Thank you for the suggestions

 

[Karl Becker]

Thanks for the replies! Great info, as always.

 

[Squishy]

For monochrome I always prefer a transparent sepia. With enough layers (like - a lot , but still) you can get to black with transparents. I prefer it to black or something like paynes grey which is colder.
You can see on this old paint pal monotone pic I did many moons ago, you can still get some pretty deep colour building up layers. Might be something to play with, and see what you think.

 

[Raven]

Not what your asking Karl, but i use a few drops of orange into my white mix to stop the blue shift in the black when highlighting, works a treat mate

 

[Karl Becker]

Thanks for that, Raven! I'm still learning color theory, complimentary colors, etc. Good info.

 

[JackEb]

Don’t know how I missed this thread and yes Karl it would be better under colour help so it’s now moved.

 

[Karl Becker]

Don’t know how I missed this thread and yes Karl it would be better under colour help so it’s now moved.

Don't worry, I'll figure this thing out soon. Where to put it...

 

[JackEb]

Don't worry, I'll figure this thing out soon. Where to put it...

Don’t stress, sometime it could belong in multiple categories so I take a guess at where newcomers would go looking

 

[AndreZA]

It depends on the brand of paint. I always find black to be a bit on the brown side when thinning. That is why I started using Payne's Grey to get a cooler black.

This one is with E'tack carbon black.


This is with Com-Art Payne's Grey


This is Schmincke black

 

[JackEb]

It depends on the brand of paint. I always find black to be a bit on the brown side when thinning. That is why I started using Payne's Grey to get a cooler black.

This one is with E'tack carbon black.
View attachment 64720

This is with Com-Art Payne's Grey
View attachment 64721

This is Schmincke black
View attachment 64722

Pictures paint 1000 words ! Great examples of the difference Andre

 

[Mr.Micron]

Golden Shading grey is awesome
But lately I have been using the Wicked Detail Jet Black and over reducing it for the grey areas.

But black will either have a blue tint to it or a brown depending on brand .

 

[Kingpin]

I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to say, that bubblewrapped skull is Amazing!!!

 

[JackEb]

I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to say, that bubblewrapped skull is Amazing!!!

Bring up old threads is encouraged, a lot of great stuff gets forgotten and yes, @AndreZA does amazing artwork and is a great asset to the braintrust here. if you haven't checked out his blog, you should, its amazing.

Check it out here:
avwairbrushworks.com

 

[Kingpin]

I have checked out Andre's blog a few times and have it saved in favourites. I was just blown away by the bubblewrap and wanted any new members to see it