6 Ways to Mix Blacks and Darks in Watercolor

Mixing blacks or super darks in watercolor can yield some awesome, lively results. Not to mention it's an important mixing skill to learn. Here are 6 useful mixes you can get started with immediately.
Mix #1 - Phthalo Green BS / Quinacridone Violet
Mix #2 - Neutral Tint / any deep transparent color
Mix #3 - Phthalo Blue GS / Tr. Red Iron Oxide
Mix #4 - Ultramarine Blue / Tr. Red Iron Oxide
Mix #5 - Anthraquinone Blue / Quinacridone Rust
Mix #6 - Phthalo Green BS / Perylene Maroon
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M. Graham Watercolors used:
Phthalo Blue GS- hamzn.to/3glrFIf
Phthalo Green BS - no link
Anthraquinone Blue - amzn.to/2XuzN0t
Ultramarine Blue - amzn.to/2ytsEEX
Red Iron Oxide - amzn.to/2ZwvFiT
Quinacridone Violet - amzn.to/2ZKeieT
Quinacridone Rust - amzn.to/2ZxZYG8
Perylene Maroon - no link
Neutral Tint - amzn.to/2A2FZV4
DaVinci Cosmotop Spin #10 Flat (came from this set) - amzn.to/2A5ag5C
Daniel Smith Jane's Gray - amzn.to/2LQgVmX
The Brush Guys - www.thebrushguys.com/cgi-bin/...
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[@InLiquidColor]

Thanks for making a great quick resources for this topic and taking the time to explain why black isn't necessarily evil on its own ;) My favorite combos right now are ultramarine and burnt umber, phthalo green and DVs alizarin crimson quinacridone or another cool red like carmine, and perylene green with perylene violet depending on the undertones I'm going for. MGs neutral tint is definitely my favorite neutral tint given that it's the PV19/PG7 mix, but I also love your Quin Violet mixture so I'll have to give that a try!

[@mindofwatercolor]

Awesome! Thanks for that input Denise. A great set of ideas.

[@rileystanch3357]

I find it interesting how all the mixtures are of complementary colors together.

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yup! Excellent observation.

[@ptaylor4923]

Oh heck. You told us to go visit Jane Blundell's blog & I did. Oh heck. All those paint brands & color swatches. Oh heck. I think it must be like discovery the wonders of the Amazon rain forest for the first time. You just go deeper & deeper into the jungle until you're lost in there fooor-eeeeev-veeer. 😱 This is wonderful... Oh heck.

[@Jekisa111]

Oh, heck. This cracked me up. =)

[@MyCrimsonMischief]

I love mixing blacks with pthalo blue and pereylene maroon, quin rose and pthalo green, and Also quin rust and pthalo blue red shade

[@mindofwatercolor]

Good ones!

[@Cre-Art]

I've gotten to really enjoy mixing colors rather than depending on what comes out of the tube. What used to be intimidating or challenging is now a lot of fun. Thanks for this video.

[@baies9407]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us 😍 It's very usefull 💃🕺🎉 How funny it is that a lots of these are your favorite 😂

[@condorreades2148]

Black and opacity. Daniel Smith Lunar Black is actually transparent. Nicholas Lopez does phenomenal paintings with it. I find it incredibly tricky to use just because😊 it is transparent. I keep experimenting with it and so far not doing great!!!!

[@donnalieblick8478]

Thank you, again! I never fail to learn something new and look forward to each of your videos.

[@junelawniczak3794]

Thanks! Great info. Also, thank you for always mentioning other artists. That makes you extra special.

[@michellefrey308]

Terrific! Thank you, Steve! I'll try some of these today.

[@jessicasobel4287]

This was wonderful Steve!! I'm currently going through all of my colors and doing color mixes. I'm going to do a whole spread of blacks, so this is just perfect to reference!

[@mindakahn9964]

I love when you do these mixing tutorials. You are absolutely the best at it.

[@m.c.5124]

Than you so very much as always for taking your time to share your knowledge!!!!

[@melitalyell6915]

THANK YOU Steve! Your videos are always just so informative, a wonderful resource 😊

[@robincooper9323]

Thank you for this video! I really appreciate how you showed what they tinted down to. Gorgeous blacks!

[@efeher7236]

Awesome video! You've demystified black tone mixing for me!

[@carlaa.1617]

Thank you for the great video Steve. I look forward to creating a reference chart with lots of black mixes:)

[@danemeow8]

Amazingly useful. Love that per. green and violet mix, never thought of that combo..

[@azzuparis]

Thank you Steve, this video is so useful. I will surely use some of these beautiful mixes ☺️

[@ptaylor4923]

Thank you so much. I love mixing colors

[@Ann-ey1tw]

This is a great video and useful information! Thanks Steve.

[@barbaragemin5117]

Thanks for that interesting lessons on darks. I've recently discovered indigo with burnt sienna. Lovely darks. Neutral tint, as you showed , can be very versatile.

[@SerenWen_art]

Only just discovered using indonthrone blue for mixing grey, the advantage being that it’s non granulating. It make nice greys and blacks with transparent pyroll orange

[@cassiescreations9828]

I really like the colors you chose to mix darks/blacks, especially bending the result. Great information for everyone!

[@Shatril1]

Love this one, and I needed this one for a painting.

[@owingsart]

This was perfect Steve. Loved the way you, "bent" the colors and that's just what I've been doing a lot lately in my own painting work. You also mentioned getting the mix, "inky", which is a perfect way to describe exactly what you want these darks to look like. Thanks man! - Marty

[@suzieblair8089]

Loved this video Steve. You took a confusing topic for beginners and explained it in simple terms, along with recipes for us to try. Thank you

[@InvokeArtSense]

Thank you for sharing these black recipes. This is very helpful

[@Linda-qq5mg]

Thank you for a very interesting and informative video. Have a great weekend!

[@FloridianCalypso]

This was really great, thanks, Steve!

[@janegadd1681]

fascinating, I can't wait to play with colours like this!!!!!!!!!!

[@rnee1000]

Great information. I rarely use black and prefer to mix darks so this was very helpful.

[@draynalds]

one of your best. Thanks

[@krudler406]

yellow ochre + moonstone (DS) makes an interesting combo as well and of course viridian + alizarin crimson

[@tracylynnw]

Thank you for this! Awesome as per usual 😊

[@engelinasimmons4686]

Thank you for your beautiful expertise 🎨

[@Finkeldinken]

Lovely! I always feel like a magician every time I make a black from clear, bright colours! One of my favourites is and the first one I found by myself was Rembrandts Hooker's Green x Dioxazine violet. I also like Perylene Green x Perylene violet

[@nanschifris8734]

Fabulous lesson! Thank you!

[@lynncooper1781]

"Colours are brighter when the mind is open".- Adriana Alarcon Thank you for a great video.❤😀👍👍👍👍

[@BlackIsALightShade]

thank you so much! i had no clue using ivory black could give a ‘lifeless’ and ‘chalky’ look. you’re legitimately a life saver here. those blacks that you mixed are GORGEOUS. definitely going to save the mixing recipes.

[@jeannettecomer8739]

Thanks Steve. I really needed this!

[@ChantalDupuis]

Great combos! I use Viridian and Alazarin Crimson, Ultra Blue with either burnt or raw umbers are also my go to. Love the variety!

[@brianfisher1314]

Thank you, as always, very informative.

[@cockatielnation5425]

I'm saving this video for future reference. Excellent information!

[@lisap5615]

Wonderful demonstration. Pairing complements works great for creating interesting neutrals, but it seems that using more intense colors works best for creating deeper black-like mixes. This was so helpful. Thank you so much!

[@stinar37]

Great. Keep. Thanks. I tried indigo w burnt umber and got a nice super dark mix. Closest to black

[@drtsrk]

An excellent tutorial. Thanks!

[@timeenuf4200]

Re black - Never say never. Always say maybe? So how did you know back in May of 2020 that I would need this EXACT information as a newbie? You are psychic as well as a fantastic teacher and artist. Thanks again for the perfect help.

[@anthonyreeves5655]

Thank you for your excellent tutorials ,Tony .

[@elsagrace3893]

His name is Steve. Your name is Tony.

[@maryanharrell5642]

I love those mixes, Steve. I haven't bought Jane's Grey, because I love Payne's Grey so much, but I am going to try these mixes for new very darks. I don't use black, typically, either. Thanks, I will experiment!

[@pattycyr8662]

These tips are very helpful - thanks very much!

[@karenhoward303]

Great color lesson, thank you!

[@Fleurdoodles]

Wow, such an awesome presentation of mixing blacks and darks! 👍 My favorite at the moment is Indigo with Burnt Umber. Greetings Maike 🖌

[@4zengrl]

Very useful exercise! Thank you!!

[@AlichinaThePinkLady]

Great video! I'm from France and I use Sennelier watercolor. I love to mix their Permanent Alizarin Crimson Deep (a kind of earthy red) with their Ultramarine Deep to get a wonderful purplish black. When diluted it reminds me a little bit of the Moonglow from Daniel Smith.

[@oftenretold]

wonderfully informative video. very interested in trying the pthalo green and quin violet mix for myself 🙂

[@ayedicko6452]

Thank you so much for sharing!!

[@LeighSmith_leigh_darling]

I was looking for advice on this, saw this video and yelled "OF COURSE I WANT ADVICE FROM WATERCOLOR DAD!" My husband knew immediately who it was. Thank you for another helpful video, explained in a calm, relaxed, and informative way, with really good shots for us visual learners. I appreciate the work you put in to these videos so much.

[@comette4u]

You know... sometimes it's worth it to watch a video just to see the captions. These are great tips Steve. I'm going to make some cards for reference. Thanks!

[@howaydaabdelall]

Wonderfull. Thank you Steve

[@MusingsFromTheDen]

I particularly like mix #5 for the way it granulated and some lovely organic greens separated out from the main colour. 😊

[@sundaysunshine2925]

Thank you for the great information

[@elsagrace3893]

Pthalo green&Quin violet, MG neutral tint&pthalo blue, pthalo blue&red iron oxide, ultra marine&burnt sienna, anthraquinone blue&Quin rust, pthalo green&perylene maroon.

[@pattycyr8662]

Excllent video and black happens to be exactly what I'm looking for at this time to incorporate into one of my watercolor paintings. Thanks very much.

[@lesleykuhn8345]

Great tutorial! Thanks 😊

[@aisazia]

Ohhh this is extremely useful! I didn't know you could make blacks with some of those colors!!! Guess I'll have to give them a try and play with my colors more! Could you maybe do a video on some of your favorite color mixes? I feel like there infinite possibilities with this. lol

[@karenjohnson6487]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@dianalamm9938]

Hi Steve, thank you for this video about blacks. I enjoyed your post about palettes/plates greatly. In fact I find myself a lot freer transferring to a large plate for my paints. I am planning to purchase better quality paints in the future. I am looking for better flow. I constantly have to remind myself that this is a transparent work I am doing. I use Arches paper but my Hobby Lobby doesn't offer loose sheets or blocks as they once did. I think my plans are working out better when it comes to painting. I am currently using a variety of what paints are available locally, included in those is Winsor Newton. I seems to find all of my choices chalky right of the bat.....not muddy, chalky, yes they dry and break. Your tips and advice has helped me to even think about purchasing better quality materials.

[@jenniefrench1338]

Great review!

[@GradyGillis]

I started with Chinese Brush Painting and Sumi-e. ALL black for many of the paintings I've done. In CBP I do also use colors on many occasions. Appropriate mixing and thinning gives all kinds of range of value with black. Differential loading of the brushes also gives range of value in one stroke of the brush.

[@fredeemoon6053]

Always told all my students to create their own black.....it makes them a better artist .....they loved the challenge🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

[@agold1702]

Thanks- VERY helpful!

[@197432879]

Thank you 🙏

[@Shuvah2Him]

Very good! Thanks!

[@Vgladstone1]

Thank you Steve for debunking blacks. I took out my neutral tints and Payne’s grey’s and added a black. Why you may ask, I like single pigments in my palette.

[@KatzeARL]

Beautiful. I'm not into playing around with my colors for the heck of it (I usually make decisions on the spot about what hue a color is missing, because I do line-work and I'm very impatient) but I think I'm defenitely gonna give this a go. I consider myself to have a good eye for capturing color, but black have always eluded me :)

[@yvonnewhitehouse]

Thank you I've been having trouble with getting a dark enough colour

[@santen2309]

I've been using mijello's sepia as a black. Its basically a warm black which I use often as I paint mostly people with darker skin tones, unlike other watercolor subjects, not having black on my palette is just impractical.

[@allanfink7816]

Thanks for the great simple demonstration. Years ago someone challenged me to create blacks out of compliments that are actually darker value than "tube black". It was surpringly easy. Further the blacks are richer, and as you pointed out, actually dark versions of colors in your painting. I found in my case, the rule is NOT "never use tube black" but rather "why bother with tube black?" when mixing does so much better. Tube blacks as products do have value, especially in graphic design works for lettering, line art, line border designs, logo design, and poster art. But for painting pictues, i agree, mixing is nearly always better. IMHO. I do also find black useful for monochromatic value studies, and working sketches similar to yours in your comments on Notan in other videos. I am also glad you demonstrate so many combinations.

[@annettefournier9655]

Thanks Steve. I have the M Graham neutral tint ,(came in a set), I've not known what to do with it except shadows. Now I have a new black! Thanks again.👍😁

[@MyCrimsonMischief]

annette fournier if you mix a bit more put halo green, it becomes an even deeper and darker black.

[@annettefournier9655]

@@MyCrimsonMischief 😊

[@agold1702]

Wonderful. I get it now.😊

[@stayseekate]

I wish I watched this before I made my Watercolor painting where I only diluted a mix of black and blue to create gray 😹😹😹 well there's always room for improvement... I'll use this combinations of colors to make my blacks and neutrals on my next watercolor practice. Thanks, Steve this was really helpful I never understood why there's this rules of no using blacks on Watercolors and now I'm enlightened... I will still use blacks just like you said it's not that taboo it just depends on what kind of color you want to achieve or maybe the flat black is part of the style hahaha...

[@niazhannanwatercolors]

A channel worth subscribing..keep inspiring sir🧡💚💛❤

[@yangyangcourage3686]

thank you for sharing!

[@zara4leafclover]

My favorite black mixture has got to be Pyrrol Red and Pthalo Turquoise. I love dark colors with a more purple tint. I also love Diaxozine Purple with Pthalo Green, make a very pretty dark blue color.

[@adelehammond1621]

i really like using alizrin crimson and phthalo green it makes great blacks and grays or i will use my netural tint the schminke one and add a red it naturlise it a little

[@somacarr7528]

We use ultramarine blue and burn orange for blacks in my watercolor class. She does it with fresh paint for a darker color.

[@Art-What..]

Mind.. thanks..

[@stephaniealex1852]

Would love your suggestions on 12 colors to round our DS previous palate. The empty pans are crying out to be filled🤪

[@pjlewisful]

very informative

[@papillonbleu2782]

J'ai plutôt l'habitude d'utiliser les crayons de couleur. Mais quand je vois ta chaîne, ça me donne envie de m'y mettre :)

[@SarahKadrnka]

Hello there thanks for the advice. I find pure black can work sometimes but it can be quite unforgiving

[@lisap5615]

Thanks!

[@mindofwatercolor]

Thank you!

[@lisap5615]

@@mindofwatercolor Your welcome. I love your videos. They are so helpful.

[@sharonwieland]

I use pthalo green and alizarin crimson.

[@5t4n5]

Hi Steve, any chance of a tour of that palette some time? Rather interested in what colours you have there and your thoughts on them. Keep well. Thanks.

[@essietangle9931]

Recipes, and my husband wanted me to bake cookies today..oh I forgot we are making blacks not chocolate. Mickey would be proud. Now I am off to make my own cards, great video. I do have a tube of black, I just add other colors to it to adjust it, when its gone I wont buy more. Hope you and your family enjoy the Memorial Weekend. Color on...

[@recoveringsoul755]

It's actually Minnie, she just hasn't put on her red polka-dot bow yet or her Eyelashes (bat bat bat)

[@merryryely]

I don't use watercolors but I LOVE watercolor paintings. I use acrylics and I also avoid using black just because "Why?" Why use black if you can make a black that has a tint that you like not just Black black. It looks more natural to me because I can use the same colors from the rest of the painting to make a black, that makes the black match the rest of the painting. I guess you can say, there is more harmony that way.

[@acatinthecradle]

Great Video Steve. Just what I needed. Do you still use Stonehenge Aqua Block Watercolor paper? I'm thinking of making a purchase and can't decide between stonehenge or kilimanjaro sheets. What a delimma...which would you purchase Steve?

[@MadebyDawn23]

I was thinking of doing some studies with black paint, can you please consider painting black studies for future videos?

[@recoveringsoul755]

I think Teoh did a comparison of a bunch of different kinds of blacks from different brands. Really interesting the range of colors. It's not exactly what you are asking but might interest you. He actually said when he started painting he didn't use color, just focused on tones or hues or whatever the right word is (beginner here)

[@stephaniem999]

What is your opinion on Daniel Smith lunar black? That's on the list for my next purchase.