Tips for Color Mixing Acrylic Paints

I am frequently asked about color mixing acrylic paints. Sometimes when painting you want to use a specific color that isn’t in your stash. Maybe you even tried to mix it up but the color didn’t turn out quite right and you don’t know why or how to fix it. 

Today, I will give you all my tips and tricks for color mixing and even share my video below!

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I use color mixing often. For example, in the background of my recent Abstract Birds painting for my Inner Tribe Membership I only used a few colors! But you can see so many colors that range between the vibrant blue and bold green.

To help with color mixing paints I like to have this color mixing guide and color wheel handy. They will help you to understand hue, tint, and shade. Plus, they are a great jumping-off point to eliminate the guessing game of which colors to start with to create a color.

It’s OK if your paint color names don’t match those written on the color mixing guide. All you have to do is match the colors as close as possible with the colors you have on hand. They may be slightly different but you can still use the guide. This is all about using what you have to achieve what you want.




There is a bit of trial and error once you have decided on which colors you will blend together. I just use a plate and my mixed media pad to blend and test which quantities of each color will work best to reach the color I am trying to match.

If you will need an exact color of paint to complete a painting make sure to mix enough, if you have to make more, sometimes it can be hard to get an exact match.

To paint a background similar to the one in my Abstract Birds painting you only need 3 colors to make a variety of different combinations. I had a green and blue to blend and added white paint which changes the tint. Use short and quick brush strokes to create a layered look.

My Abstract Bird Paint painting tutorial is available! Sign up and you can get instant access to my step-by-step painting tutorial and learn how to paint this colorful painting!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ABSTRACT BIRD PAINTING TUTORIAL



Check out all these color mixing tips in the video below. I will even show you how using opposite colors on the color wheel create a neutral and can tone down a vibrant color by changing the tint!

You can see just how easy color mixing acrylic paints can be. Once you start to play around you will see that with just few primary colors you can mix so many colors.

Color Mixing Acrylic Paint

This is a fun activity for you to try just to see what you can create with the colors you mix. I challenge you to try out what you learned here, mix up a few colors and create a painting using them! 

Stay Creative!