Red, blue, and yellow are the primary colors.
Artists have known for a long time that the color brown can be mixed using other colors, and that an even mixture of the primary colors will produce a brown shade. Achieve richer browns like sSienna or umber by matching different color combinations. Acrylics are not like oil paint or tempera; it's base is a plastic or latex. Understanding the ratios of pigments will let you think like an artist. With practice, you can get the color brown that you are looking for in an instant.
Instructions
Mixing Brown
1. Use the same brand of acrylic paints. Make sure you have solid hues and not transparent base paint. There are different types of colors and different shades of the primary colors. The colors should be evenly saturated. Put out 1 tsp. of each color on one side of your palette. Give them a little room toward the bottom. Put them in a row all next to each other with red first, blue second and yellow third.
2. Make sure you have your cup of water and rag handy. Dip the paint brush in water to loosen up the hairs. Pull down a little of the red creating a little puddle of paint and work it into the brush. Pull in some blue. Mix them together until you have a deep purple. Take your clean brush and dip it in the water. Mix some of the blue and pull it down into a little pile with some yellow. Mix even amounts until you have a solid green.
3. Use the same brush and pull down a little pile of the purple into the green. The test here is brush control. Keep it neat and mix even amounts. The color brown should appear like magic.
4. Mix deeper browns by adding more red and/or blue. Lighter browns will have a lot more yellow.
5. Clean up with water. Use the cup of water to swish the brush around until it comes out clean. Clean the palette with the rag.
