When we refer to the color blue in general, we are encompassing a wide range of variants: sky blue, navy blue, electric blue, turquoise blue, prussian blue, cobalt blue, etc. It is one of the most used colors in art, decoration and in the fashion industry, as it is associated with emotions such as serenity, harmony and loyalty.
Blue is considered a cold color due to the thermal and psychological sensations it transmits, however, it is a color that when applied to work environments transmits professionalism, order and spaciousness. If you want to know how to make the color blue and some tricks to find your favorite blue hue, keep reading this oneHOWTO article.
How to make blue color
Before talking about how to make the color blue, the tone must be slightly nuanced, because within all the shades of blue that exist there is one that cannot be created: cyan. Cyan is one of the three primary colors along with magenta and yellow, which means that it is used to create the rest of the colors. Cyan is a light shade of blue, slightly greenish and quite similar to turquoise; it is intense, eye-catching and essential on any color scale.
Therefore, if we ask ourselves the question: “Can you make blue without blue?”, the answer is no, as we cannot create cyan by mixing. The rest of the shades of blue that exist are considered secondary colors since we can reach them through combinations of various colors.
Taking as a base the three primary colors – cyan, magenta and yellow – when mixing cyan with magenta we get the purple color; all its shades will depend on the proportion of these two colors and how much we lighten them with white or darken them with black.
On the contrary, if we mix cyan and yellow we get to green; once again we can vary the tonality by changing the proportions of the mix. All existing varieties of blue fall between these two colors on the chromatic scale.
Therefore, if we have a cyan color we can mix it with any other color and, depending on which we choose and their proportions, we can get any variant of the so-called blue color. To get an idea, in the Pantone scale – the most universal and extensive color chart today – we can find almost a hundred varieties of blue, all of them located between the colors purple and green.
How to make navy blue color
Navy blue is a variant of dark blue, however they are not exactly the same color.
To darken the blue it is easiest to add black, but to achieve a balanced tonality it is important to mix the color little by little. But what happens when you want to go navy blue?
- Navy blue has a slight greenish tinge, so we will have to mix the blue with the orange, its complementary color on the chromatic scale (that is, the one that occupies the opposite side on the color wheel).
- Add the orange very slowly so that it does not distort the blue.
- If what you want is to get closer to that dark blue more related to the night skies, you will have to mix the blue with the purple, the one that is next to it on the chromatic wheel.
- Slowly mix the colors once more until you find a homogeneous hue.
How to make sky blue
When we speak of the color “sky blue” we refer to that blue hue that reminds us of the color of the sky on a clear day; it is one of the many varieties of light blue that exist, such as cerulean blue or turquoise blue.
- If you want to get to the blue sky, you will first have to add some magenta (less than 1 part magenta for every 10 parts blue).
- Mix these colors well, then start adding white paint little by little. Remember to always do it slowly so that it is not disproportionate.
- The difference between azure blue and cerulean blue is in the amount of magenta you combine with the blue, so don’t forget to be careful when adding color.
How to make royal blue
Royal blue is so called because it is one of the most representative colors in heraldry, since it is present in coats of arms, coats of arms and banners of a large number of royal houses, especially in France. It is a slightly dark but very intense blue, similar to what we commonly know as electric blue.
Royal blue is between cobalt blue and prussian blue, two shades that are achieved mixing blue with magenta. Again, the hue will depend on the proportion; for example, Prussian blue is made up of 1 part magenta to 3 parts blue, while cobalt blue is the result of 1 part magenta and 4 parts blue.
How to make turquoise blue
Turquoise blue is within the blue-green range, just like aquamarine blue or sea-green blue. To get this color you will need cyan and yellow; Depending on the exact tone you want to achieve, you can add yellow little by little to a blue base or complicate the mixture by first achieving a more greenish color and then lightening or darkening with white or black.
If you add yellow directly and accidentally go overboard with the mixture, it is possible that you lose the blue and get an unwanted greenish color; so that this does not happen, we recommend that you later lighten or darken the result. In case you opt for this color for the decoration of your home, don’t miss this article about How to combine turquoise blue in decoration.
It does not matter if you wonder how to make blue with plasticine or how to make blue with tempera, because from UNCOMO we advise you to take into account these instructions for the use of any material or technique. These step by step can also be used to make blue with watercolors or to make blue with acrylics, so whatever your plan, these tips can help you figure out how to make blue easily and quickly. And, if you want more information about How to mix colors, in this article you will find a very simple explanation.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to make the color blue, we recommend that you enter our category of Arts and crafts.