How to Mix Black Paint

Sometimes, the colour black gets a bad rap among artists. Many artists don’t even have tubes of black paint in their paint boxes. 

Why? Well, tubes of black pigment are often flat and lifeless. If used alone, they can make a painting seem dull. However, the black colours you see in nature and in objects around you often contain other colours that give them richness and depth.

So, how do you achieve this rich black colour? There are several ways to create a beautiful black colour using the paints you probably already have in your supplies. You can mix primary colours or complementary colours to get black. 

In this post, I will show you how to make various beautiful blacks as well as how to enhance the colour of the tubes of black you may already have.

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What Colours Make Black Paint

Many people think black is black; there is no variation or depth. That is far from true. Various colour combinations will give you different tones and shades of black as well as different colour temperatures.

While it is true that the three primaries will give you a black hue, the many variations within these primaries will result in many different versions of black paint. Below, I have outlined some possible combinations for you to try. Also, check out my blog post on colour theory to understand how colours work together. You may also be interested in learning how to paint in just black and white using a technique called grisaille.

Mixing Black with Primary Colors

The easiest way to make black paint is to combine the three primary colours, red, blue, and yellow, in equal amounts. Lighter reds and blues will give you a lighter, almost brown colour, while darker reds and blues will give you a darker black.

Once you understand how to make black from the primaries, you will be able to make black from any two or three colours in your paint box. Numerous paint colour combinations will give you various shades of black.

For example, if you have only red and green paint, you can still make black. Red is one of the primary colours, and green is a combination of blue and yellow. So you still have the three primaries, red, blue, and yellow, and you can combine the green and red to make black paint.

However, your green and red must be dark colours to get black. Light green and red will give you mud. 

Some possible colour mixes using primary colours:

Alizarin Crimson + Ultramarine Blue + Yellow Ochre

Start by mixing equal parts of red and blue paint together. This should give you a dark, rich purple. Now start adding yellow to neutralize the purple. Continue adding small amounts of yellow until you are satisfied with your black colour.

Quinacridone Magenta + Phthalo Blue + Hansa Yellow

Transparent Red Oxide + Cobalt Blue + Alizarin Crimson

Transparent Red Oxide + Cerulean Blue + Alizarin Crimson

Mixing Black From Colours

Your painting supplies probably include many variations of blues, reds, and yellows, as well as greens, oranges, purples, and browns. Combinations of these paint colours will give you black, but not all of them will be the black you want to achieve.

Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel, with a dark value, will give you the darkest blacks. Lighter colours tend to make brownish-black or brown.

Here are several combinations of primary, secondary, and tertiary colours you can use to achieve a satisfactory black in your painting.

Black From a Blue Base

Let’s start with Ultramarine Blue to get a nice dark black:

Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Umber = a dark, rich, cool black. Probably the darkest black and my favourite black mix.

Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Sienna = a warm black

Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange = a lighter black

Ultramarine Blue + Transparent Red Oxide 

Phthalo Blue is also a good blue base for black:

Phthalo Blue + Cadmium Orange =  complementary colours opposite each other on the colour wheel. They cancel each other out and produce a lighter shade of brownish-black.

Phthalo Blue + Burnt Sienna

Black From a Green Base

Phthalo Green is probably the best green to start with to get a good black. It is a rich, dark green that will give you a nice dark base to start with.

Phthalo Green + Dioxazine Purple

Phthalo Green + Naphthol Red Light

Phthalo Green + Quinacridone Red. Both are transparent colours, so they make a nice transparent black.

Phthalo Green + Alizarin Crimson

Tubes of Black Paint

You probably have a tube or two of manufactured black in your supplies. Even if you prefer to mix your own black, these tubes can still be useful and tweaked a bit to give you the black you want.

There are several types of black paint you can buy, each with slightly different opacity and colour temperature. For more information, see my post on black and white paint.

Ivory Black or Bone Black is a warm, brownish-black, semi-transparent shade. As the name implies, this pigment is made from charring animal bones.

Carbon Black is a cool, opaque black produced from burning coal or natural gas.

Lamp Black is a cool, semi-opaque black and is also made from burning gas or oil.

Mars Black is a warm, opaque black. Unlike the other blacks in this list, it is a synthetic man-made pigment, not produced from organic material.

Enhancing Manufactured Black Paint

You can enhance the appearance of any of these manufactured blacks by adding another colour to them. Because you are already starting off with quite a dark pigment, it may take a lot of colour to change the appearance of the manufactured black.

The best thing to do is experiment with your black and the other colours you have, but here are some ideas to get you started.

To make your black a little cooler, use a cool colour such as  Phthalo Green or Dioxazine Purple. 

To make your black a little warmer, try adding a warm colour such as Alizarin Crimson, Quinacridone Red, or Cadmium Orange. Orange tends to make black appear a little lighter, so it’s a good alternative if you don’t want to lighten the black with white.

See my post on warm and cool colours for more information on which colours are warm and cool.

These tips will also work on your own chromatic black mixes. If you have mixed your black a little too warm or a little too cool, try adding a little more of the cool or warm colours above to change the colour temperature.

Adding another colour to your tube of black paint will also give it more depth and dimension. It will no longer look flat and dull. 

Making Green From Black

Surprisingly, black can make a variety of greens when mixed with yellow, which is very useful for landscape paintings. 

Try mixing black with a little lemon yellow to get a cool, vibrant green. To get a warmer, more earthy green, try a little Cadmium Yellow Medium.

Again, it is best to experiment with the yellows you have to see what you can make. Experiment not just with the colours, but with the amounts of yellow you add, to get a range of values.

Making a Colour Chart

When you are experimenting with mixing these colours, it is a good idea to make a colour chart for yourself. Each manufacturer has slightly different formulations for their paint, and the colours you see on the computer screen are not always accurate.

Record your mixes on watercolour paper or heavy card stock. Laminate the paper and stick it on your studio wall, or put it in a binder or file folder for future reference. This will take the guesswork out of mixing colours in the future. 

You can also use a little white with any of these mixes to make a gray shade. This gives you a wide variety of grays to work with.