What Colors Make Blue?

According to a worldwide survey, blue is among the most popular colors in more than ten countries across the four continents.

It is not only a popular color but an essential and primary shade for painters. It appears more frequently on a painter’s palette than any other shade. In today’s post, we will help you learn the mixing techniques to create various shades of blue. It will improve your color blending skills. 

But before you understand how to create other shades of blue, it’s crucial to know the creation of blue. You might be curious to know about what colors make blue? 

If you mix magenta (purplish-red) with cyan (greenish-blue), you’ll make the color blue.

Now that you know what colors make blue, let’s take a look at how you can create its other shades. In addition to the blending methods, we are also going to discuss the psychology behind the blue colors. Let’s dive in!

What Shades Make Light Blue Color?

You can create two entirely different shades of blue by blending cobalt blue with white and Ultramarine blue with white. When you mix Ultramarine blue and white, it will result in a slightly darker shade of light blue than the light blue colors that come out by mixing cobalt and white.

Let’s refer to the mix of ultramarine blue and white as A and cobalt blue with white as B. This will make it easier for you to understand what we are talking about without getting confused among so many blues. 

Further, when A and B are mixed with orange colors, it will create muted colors. When A is blended with orange, the resulting shade will lean towards purple. On the other hand, when B is mixed with orange, it will lean more towards the green shade.

Talking about green, here’s a fact about the green shade you might not know – after blue, green is the second most popular color in the U.S. and numerous other countries.

Are you eager to know what color is formed when green and blue are mixed? Keep on reading to discover. 

What Color is The Result of Mixing Blue And Green?

When you mix green and blue, you get a light shade of cyan. This light cyan shade is acceptable on your color printers. However, when it’s about using cyan in painting, you need to use the darker shade of this cool-effect color. The whole effect of cyan colors is only appreciated when it’s in the dark form.

How to Get Warm Shades of Blue?

As an artist, you might already know the importance of temperature and how it plays a key role in colors. Since blue is recognized as a cool shade, it’s possible to mix the warm colors with the blue. One of the warm shades we are going to discuss here is – ultramarine blue. Ultramarine blue is already a warm color, but you may require a warmer blue shade several times. 

To produce that shade, you can mix the ultramarine blue with alizarin crimson. It will result in a much warmer blue shade (C). Moreover, another good method to produce warm blue colors is by mixing cadmium green and cobalt blue. The resulting warm colors might not be as warm as C; however, it will give a blue shade that’s warmer.

When you blend the colors, you need to be precise and careful throughout the process. Have a look at these tips; they will help you avoid making mistakes during color blending. 

Tips to Follow When Mixing Different Tones of Blue

There are lots of methods to create different variants of blue, depending upon how you want the shadows and light to appear in your art.

Below we have shared a few expert tips, using which you can get the exact tone of blue you are looking for. Moreover, these tips will also eliminate the risks of making mistakes on your way to color mixing. Here’s how the tips look:

• Don’t try mixing red with blue; you’ll get a blend slightly close to purple. There’s an unspoken rule among the artists – Never mix the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) altogether.
• If you want to get bright shades of blue, make sure to use colors paints that are made from only one pigment.
• Always remember that it needs a small amount of dark shade to change a light tone. But to change to a darker shade, a lot more light colors are required. For this reason, always add dark shades (blue) to light shades, never vice versa. 

Psychology of Blue Color

All the colors in a rainbow are alluring; however, blue catches attention more quickly with its magnificent rich tone. The colors reflect the feeling of calmness, tranquillity, and peace. Besides that, blue can also invoke an icy cold feeling and look, arousing our alertness. 

All of us are attracted towards the blue shade in one way or another, whether it’s looking into the sparkling sea, freshwater, or gazing up at the sky. 

So how do the blue colors make humans feel? An old belief has been carried out since the past generation – colors arouse many different feelings and moods. Moreover, many pieces of research and studies have also been done on this topic. And all of them conclude the same thing – different colors prompt different emotions.

However, blue is among those colors that have a calming effect on humans. One reason is that this color is associated with nature – whether it’s in the water or the sky. Let’s dig deeper and learn how the color blue affects our feelings and moods. Here’s what the psychology and study of the colors blue indicate:

• Blue is one of the most-liked colors by men
• As per various researches, blue tends to decrease human body temperature and pulse rate
• Blue colors seem to improve productivity at work. That’s why many companies have offices painted in blue
• Blue is also a symbol of stability and reliability. This is why brands use the blue shade in their advertising campaigns and marketing strategies
• Surprisingly, blue also brings a feeling of loneliness and sadness, which is portrayed by the legendary artist Picasso in his art. 

Final Words

We hope you have a clear idea of how blue colors are made – i.e., by mixing magenta and cyan. In addition, make sure to try creating other shades of blue following the same process shared above. However, when you are experimenting with the colors, keep the tips we have suggested in mind. 

Lastly, don’t forget to share this blog with all your artist friends. Help them gain more knowledge about colors, especially the color blue! 

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