Hi there! It’s Marsha here today!
One of the most frequently asked questions we get is how we manage the colours in our gel prints to look so bright and vibrant.
The first answer is that we use quality paints. And secondly, each of us, whether it’s intuitively or consciously, uses the basic principles of colour theory.
Colour theory doesn’t have to be hard. Even basic knowledge of the primary and secondary colours goes a long way.
However, a color wheel can be a handy tool to have because it not only tells you exactly what colour you’re going to get when you mix two colours together but also which colour combinations work best.
Let me show you in this video!
Please note that colour confidence only gets better with practice. Take time to really get to know the paints you have in your stash.
Try making lots of colour wheels or colour mixing charts with them. Find out which yellow and blue combo create that particular green you like and see what happens when you switch the blue for teal or the yellow for chartreuse.
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| Analogous Colors |
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| Complimentary Colors |
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| Tetradic Colors |
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| Triadic Colors |
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| Monochromatic Colors |
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| How To Mix Violet |
Also, note whether the colours are transparent or opaque. Transparent colours usually give the brightest results. However, opaque paint is super useful too, especially when you want to add additional layers to your prints and don’t want the underlying colours to show through.
Please share your discoveries with us on Instagram using #gelliarts and @GelliArts . We love to see your gel printed colour combos!
Happy colour mixing!
-Marsha
Materials:
Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate 5×7″
4″ Roller
Other:
Colour wheel
Acrylic paints
Paper (A5 size)
Newspaper print (to remove excess paint)
Stencils (Art by Marlene for StudioLight)
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Nice summary of colors Marsha. Just wish you had mentioned that mixing primaries creates neutrals (not mud!) that can be effectively incorporated into artwork.
the prints you pulled were gorgeous!
Excellent video! So helpful for learning the beginnings of colour theory.
i was looking to the video and untherneed you said you use a 4" roller, what kind of roller is it? a hard one or a soft roller?