The Blues I Use: Phthalo Ultramarine Prussian Cobalt Cerulean

[@bevroberts8440]

I really like the skies in your journal when you switched to Phthalo blue; they are gorgeous!

[@teohyc]

Thanks. ｡◕‿◕｡

[@PaulaBean]

I'm totally into Phtalo Blue, since it is non-granulating, tinting, and transparent. Thanks for the video.

[@celagail]

My favorite blues to use are phthalo blue and indanthrone blue from M. Graham. They are gorgeous colors for night skies and galaxy art! Additionally, Indanthrone blue makes lovely muted greens (like olive green) as well as a few vibrant greens (perhaps like a chartreuse?). It’s a perfect contrast pigment to make a dark gray or black. And it can make beautiful purples (dark vibrant purples with cool reds and lovely wine purples with warm reds)!

[@7000bass]

Huge thanks for sharing that Teoh. Experimenting with different palettes, I was a bit confused between ultramarine and cobalt but you’ve certainly helped put me straight here. And on cerulean too. Wonderfully clear and straight to the point...an excellent tutorial. Thanks again.

[@iraville]

really interesting Video,!!!!!but your prussian blue looks so diffrent to the prussian blues i have. its much more intensive and darker and just beautiful. i really like it. besides phthalo blue and ultramarine i realy love blues with PB60 (delftblue or Indigo)

[@teohyc]

+iraville Yeah, it's nice to discover new colours. The new one I discovered last week was Cobalt Teal because an artist I followed, Shari Blaukopf, leaked a tube in her palette. See shariblaukopf.com/2015/11/04/an-unlikely-trio/

[@iraville]

+Teoh Yi Chie ahh thanks. she is a great Artist. i also loved to use cobalt teal a bit time ago but for some reason i hardly use it anymore. yeah, testing and discovering new Colors are great, thats why i have so many. ^_^ i think the blue i use most is really phthalo because its so good to mix and i use Indigo a lot because i do my linewoks often with an Indigo pencil and then i mix shadows with indigo

[@muskndusk]

+iraville Yes, all my prussian blues, in various media, look far more intense and dark, kind of 'inky'. It's my favourite blue but needs to be paired with ultramarine for good mixes of greens and purples.

[@muskndusk]

+iraville Yes, all my prussian blues, in various media, look far more intense and dark, kind of 'inky'. It's my favourite blue but needs to be paired with ultramarine for good mixes of greens and purples.

[@muskndusk]

+iraville Yes, all my prussian blues, in various media, look far more intense and dark, kind of "inky". It's my favourite blue but needs to be paired with ultramarine for good mixes of greens and purples: prussian for green and ultramarine for purple. Prussian mixed with burnt umber make a wonderful velvety black.

[@eileengoldenberg270]

I love Prussian blue and ultramarine. I use Faber Castell watercolor pencils and Neo color 2 crayons, and now I have started using M Graham and Schminke watercolors.. We are going to Greece in the fall and will be using lots of cereleun blue, ultramarine and. Prussian blue. Thanks for the video, very interesting...

[@teohyc]

+Eileen Goldenberg Thanks. Have fun in Greece 😁

[@irmacruz7771]

I agree with your blue choices they are my favorites! Thank you for your very informative videos!

[@NorahsYarnArt]

Thanks for this. I personally prefer cerulean blue probably under the influence of the nature around me. However I like indigo and some bright reds like alizarian to create dark backgrounds with depth

[@LeesChannel]

Phthalo Green is not a convenience mixture, it's a single pigment color.

[@MicheleLHarvey]

Teoh, great blues overview & tutorial! For pans that don't fit snuggly, or wiggle in the box I use a small bit of museum putty on the bottom of each pan. Easily removable, but quite sticky and keeps pans safely in place. Thanks for all the great videos! Love your sketchbooks too! Inspiring!

[@teohyc]

+Michele Harvey Thanks. That's a good idea. I'll do that next time :-)

[@ilahjarvis]

Excellent video! I loved seeing how you mixed those neutrals with red, and your choice to not mix them fully creates a beautiful effect. And your sketch book is amazing! I often don't bother with cobalt because it's so similar to ultramarine, I feel like there is no point in having both. I feel the same about phthalo blue and Prussian blue. Prussian blue is deeper and less intense, but they both lean towards green. I've never seen a Prussian blue that wouldn't dissolve like yours. You could try other brands or complain to the manufacturer if you wanted to.

[@teohyc]

Phthalo Blue is very different from Ultramarine. You can mix a bright yellow grass green with Phthalo Blue but not with Ultramarine.

[@paulaneary7877]

Thank you for the video, I really like your sketches/paintings in your book. They are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

[@capbin146]

My favourite is Winsor Blue(Green Shade). Just love it for a clear sky, bit of a contradiction but hopefully you know what I mean. As others have said that Prussian blue was bad. My pb is quite staining and I used it to test samples of paper to see how they allow lifting!

[@LafayetteLeSaint]

My favorite blue is thalo. When I was painting I would mix Thalo Blue with reds or alizarin crimson and get beautiful purples and violets and when mixing with lemon yellow I get bright warm greens that were close to emerald green. My lease favorite was ultramarine because it would give me strong and dull greens. I would suggest you get another brand of watercolor (like Grumbacher) for your prussian blue. The one you displayed is pretty whimpy. By the way, the painting is showed us are very nice. I wouldn't mind hanging a few of them on my wall.

[@pauladawnowen5630]

Isn't Blocx brand very expensive. I would contact the company to get a replacement for the prussian blue. I have M. Graham's and it's rich and gorgeous.

[@hjpryor]

This is great! I've made comments about liking the blues in your sketchbooks to my husband. I'll have to try working with thalo more often. I think I use cerulean and burnt umber to get my blacks. Thanks for the info.

[@teohyc]

+Heather Jones-Pryor Thanks. Cerulean is a bit on the lighter intensity side to mix to get black. Using Phthalo will be faster, next is Ultramarine. But of course it depends on what you want to achieve. :-)

[@DavidSoekana]

Great tutorial Teoh Yi Chie love to watch this tutorial because I love to paint to with watercolor and Oil! I will follow you and Less a big like!

[@kr2112]

You are so amazing!!! I’m not sure Id call the work in your sketchbook “sketches!” They are masterpieces! I learned so much from you in these last few minutes; and, I have a BA and MFA and a K-12 Art teaching credential, and I’ve taught. So thank you!!!!!

[@cindybohl9593]

I really like t halo blue also. You are very talented! Love your sketches.

[@StephenMarkTurner]

My cobalt blue (M Graham) has very solid even coverage, very nice. I thought it would granulate more (like my other cobalts) but that is OK (it looks like that solid blue that Stephen Quiller has in some of his work). I just bought an Indanthrone (PB60), it is very dark but looks a lot like cobalt when dilute.

[@AimeeFleck]

Thanks for this video. I really enjoy your videos. I use a lo of French ultramarine and cobalt blue.

[@pauladawnowen5630]

Thank you for your very informative comparison.

[@stuffstuffstuffyay]

great video thanks! I do like Prussian- my M Graham one is lovely.

[@gorway7]

Hi Teoh - that Prussian blue is pretty sad... I use Jacksons own Prussian blue which is a re-branded Sennelier PB27. It is very intense like a blacker Phthalo blue and makes gorgeous transparent greens with Indian yellow or New Gamboge. I also like it for darker, winter skies. The Jacksons / Sennelier brand is really juicy, just like M Graham, as it too is honey based and therefore dissolves instantly. I know this is an old thread but I would be happy to send you a sample.

[@teohyc]

Thanks. I'll get the Prussian Blue again to try in the future. But right now, I'm trying to finish using my paints before getting anymore. I've too much WC paints and pans at the moment. lol

[@TheSgyro]

pthalo blue is becoming my favorite too😄.. Ultramarine does get a lot of hype as the favorite blue..

[@EstrafaDC]

Sorry to see your problems with that Prussian blue. I'd suggest you try Winsor & Newton's Antwerp Blue (which is the same pigment as Prussian Blue). It's a gorgeous color and will pick up. That one in your set (Blockx) looks awful and useless. You'll love Prussian/Antwerp for its intensity.

[@teohyc]

Thanks for your suggestion :-)

[@cherigreen4471]

Thank you for this and I really love your work!

[@teohyc]

Thanks 😁

[@jdub3853]

I absolutely love Phthalo Blue! So much in fact that I gave myself a cool nick name and went by "Phthalocyanine Johnny" for a while... but that was too long and hard to spell so I shortened it to "Phthalo John"... now I just go by PhthJohn.

[@Fluffypantaloons]

I use indigo and cerulean blue the most! Likely because I really adore the greens they make!

[@Marxnchill]

my two blues are Manganese and Ultramarine. Then Winsor Green (Blue Shade) for turqoise-y colors.

[@amyx231]

Cotman Cobalt Hue is UM plus white, Cerulean is Phthalo watered down. Same pigment number. I just found out yesterday. I’m annoyed cause why would the 14 pan set contain Cerulean instead of Phthalo?! The 12 pan set has no purple, fair enough cause limited space. The Cad Pale Hue should be a more red cadmium red hue though. And no Prussian blue…. I have been toying with the idea of using a limited palette to do “ vintage” look ink and wash drawings like yours. Yellow ochre, Prussian blue, and I have no options for the red - maybe I’ll just add a touch of green to a Cadmium red hue or something, for a desaturated rusty red color. I think I’d like India red but I’m not buying another color for now.

[@suzalasuzala1135]

Somehow I acquired Manganese Blue. It sits there and mocks me as I pass it up and use cerulean blue instead almost every time.

[@teohyc]

+Suzala Suzala I've paints that sit unused too. LOL. But they never mock me, I just ignore them.

[@Shesvii]

Same. Manganese blue hue is useless.

[@crystalross2284]

I have the same problem. Bought it and it has such a low tinting strength. Not bad if you paint light greens or need just that shade of blue.

[@515aleon]

This is a very old video, but if you get my message, wonder what you think of Cobalt blue hue. I want cobalt blue in my palette,--attracted to it's more pure (neither warm nor cool) quality. But it's quite toxic. (I have cerulean and ultramarine. And don't like phthalo.) So thinking of Holbein cobalt blue hue.

[@teohyc]

You can certainly try Cobalt Blue Hue. Anyway, as long as you don’t get paint on your skin for extended periods of time, toxicity is not going to matter.

[@515aleon]

@@teohyc More worried re: natural surroundings I paint it. Though I realize actual dose would be pretty low.

[@CATAZTR0PHE]

If you're worried about it please search on youtube for "colour chemistry e13" There you will find professor who is teaching toxicology (and who is watercolor painter too 😁 ) explain this particular topic ☺️

[@LJP12330]

yesss Prussian blue is always hard to pick up! like it is made of plastic or something (the brand I use is daler rowney but same problem)

[@teohyc]

+lura garcia Thanks. I thought it was my Prussian that had this problem. Lol.

[@師太滅絕]

Why not prussian blue? 20 years ago, when i am in art school i prefer pthalo-blue, it is attractive to young heart. But as i age, i move away, because it is getting to 'saccharine' too 'fake' or too 'sweet'. Prussian Blue resonates more, like old wine that age beautifully. (this is also the same experience of several of my mentors and teachers) Why not cobalt blue, SIMPLE, because in most brands, it is series 4, occassionally it is series 3, which is more expensive.

[@Shesvii]

Van Gogh Prussian blue is also a pain to pick from the pan. It's very hard to reactivate.

[@DontBeSaddrawing]

Thanks Teoh.

[@teohyc]

+Don't Be Sad Thanks!

[@luvmyweim85]

I have Prussian blue from cheap joes American journey watercolor. It is really dark and inky and not hard to re wet at all. It's one of my favorite blues. Actually I think ultramarine is my least favorite blue. My favorites are Prussian and colbalt blue both from American journey.

[@teohyc]

+luvmyweim85 Ultramarine used to be my favourite. Nowadays I like Phthalo Blue and Cobalt Blue.

[@puppycheek]

Hi. Love your reviews. Is there any blue that is a true, true blue, with no bias no hint of anything else whatsoever? And the true red, as well, can you suggest?

[@teohyc]

Not sure about whether true blue, red or yellow exists. True yellow would probably be Lemon Yellow.

[@puppycheek]

😓 But thanks anyway.

[@carolynderricks3226]

What is so great about Daniel Smith compared to Windsor Newton or M Graham? D.S. is the court favorite, in Vogue everywhere in all the Internet videos I’ve been watching, but I’m very happy with MG and find they are usually a better price for a decent size tube!

[@teohyc]

There are many brands that make quality paint. My general advice is to get one that's easy and cheap for you to replace when you run out of paint.

[@jennw6809]

Clickbait!! You showed Daniel Smith in the thumbnail but Blockx in the video. Haha. I love Prussian Blue, although there are some paints that are more lightfast than others. But it's a gorgeous blue that's quite different than the others, I think.

[@AlexYorim]

I find it strange that some brands of Cobalt blue, particularly the Japanese brands, are brighter than the western Cobalt blues. Also, some Japanese brands place Prussian blue instead of Ultramarine in basic watercolor sets Is there a formulation difference between those blues, or is there a cultural difference?

[@teohyc]

Not sure what. It's probably got to do with how the pigment is made and treated. Eg. how it was extracted and grounded, the amount of binder used and other things they add, if any, into the paint

[@pyrrols]

grumbachers prussian blue is amazing

[@meancola]

this is ally helpful. thanks!

[@teohyc]

+Dilla Aqmalia Thanks :-)

[@XuanShaoLing]

have you ever tried alpha artist watercolor ? (korean product) I found it's cheap but ultimately vibrant and would like to hear your reviews on it . And I love blue color ! Will the quality of paper affect intensity of pigment ?

[@teohyc]

+Xuan Shao I've not tried that Korean brand. The only Korean brand I have tried is Mission Gold and it is very good. I have a video review for that at kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6ikn3xnq9h1aa8

[@XuanShaoLing]

+Teoh Yi Chie oh I see. I thought you're from Msia and alpha wtc is widely use here. sorry !

[@teohyc]

+Xuan Shao I'm from Singapore. Where are you from?

[@XuanShaoLing]

+Teoh Yi Chie from Malaysia ^^

[@yokpalm1]

Thank you, very useful info. on Phthalo Blue. please comment further about Phthalo Blue, as I've seen some brands offer Phthalo blue yellow shade/green shade/blue shade....I started using the red shade of Holbein, as I still have attachment with warm blue like ult. blue. What's your shade and why choosing it. Thank you much.

[@teohyc]

+Charermpan Soonthornyankit I don't know much about those different shades too. They are probably the underlying tone that affects colour mixing.

[@VagoniusThicket]

Have you tried Indigo blue ? Very dark intense .

[@kkriseidraws]

forgot to research on what blue i should get, i bought UB but phthalo would've been great for me

[@The_saltysalmon]

Where is the soladite watercolor from the thumbnail?

[@rinkerd3575]

if you only got to keep one, wich would u choose?

[@teohyc]

Probably Ultramarine since I like the granulation

[@Worldfriends218]

is acrylic Marian blue paint is it the same as ultramarine blue

[@radurobert1]

Do you really need 5 blues ?.

[@einwildesfetz427]

My favorite blue is from my Winsor&Newton set. (the blue of my liittle wolf avatar here :) But i don't know the name. °o° Maybe it is ceruleanblue, phthalo, winsor blue or something, i don't know. But i like the intensive look. **O**

[@teohyc]

+EinwildesFetz That looks like Cobalt Blue. Or maybe I'm wrong. LOL

[@Me-sf3zm]

do you think it matters about how many colors there are?

[@teohyc]

+Veronica Flores Not really. If I only have one blue, then I'll just use that blue. It's great to more choices but sometimes it can get confusing because there are too many choices. The blues I use most frequently nowadays are just French Ultramarine and Phthalo Blue, sometimes Cerulean Blue. If I can only use one blue, I will go with Phthalo Blue. By having a lot of colours, I suppose it will make it easier to match the colour that you see in real life. However, that is just one style of colour usage. For example, there can be colour palettes for classical, impressionists or the more modern 20th century. As long as it looks like a blue, it is good enough for me.

[@wongkokhoong8340]

is cerulean blue a warm or cool blue ?

[@teohyc]

Cool

[@davelester1985]

manganese blue is also nice.

[@justtheletterV274]

Phthalo Blue GS is very Greenish

[@SharonNolfi]

What is the difference between Ultramarine and French Ultramarine?

[@teohyc]

+Sharon Nolfi I don't know as I only use French Ultramarine. You can find more information online, especially so on Wetcanvas forums. janeblundellart.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/watercolour-comparisons-1-ultramarine.html Maybe I'll make a video to compare them in the future.

[@SharonNolfi]

+Teoh Yi Chie Thanks for the information. Yes, please do make a video comparing the two! I watch all your videos - they are wonderful, as is your art. I'm in Los Angeles and hope to visit Singapore and Malaysia sometime soon. They seem like beautiful places in your sketchbooks.

[@teohyc]

+Sharon Nolfi Thanks! If you happen to be here on the last Saturday of the month. You can join our monthly Urban Sketcher outing.

[@muskndusk]

+Sharon Nolfi I'm not sure there is a difference, but check elsewhere. I do know that originally Ultramarine was made from Lapis Lazuli, a precious blue gem, but it's no longer made from this.

[@muskndusk]

+muskndusk I've just done a brief check. French Ultramarine was originally the term used for the synthetic variety, but the terms are interchangeable now because it is no longer made from lapis.

[@ferdynand2402]

Red rade red rade rade