Optical colour mixing

Learn all about optical colour mixing with acrylic paint in this comprehensive step-by-step guide with photos and helpful tips.

What you need View steps

What you need

Rembrandt acrylic paper
Amsterdam brushes: a fine brush and a medium-sized gussow brush
Amsterdam Standard Series: Zinc White 104, Titanium White 105, Ultramarine 504 and Sap Green 623
Amsterdam acrylic markers (Medium): Ultramarine 504, Primary Cyan 572, Phthalo Blue 570, Burnt Sienna 411, Burnt Umber 409, Neutral Grey 710, Permanent Green 618, Yellowish Green 617, Primary Yellow 275, Yellow Ochre 227, Azo Yellow Deep 270, Oxide Black 735
Amsterdam acrylic markers (Small): Titanium White (105)
Van Gogh sketch pencils (preferred hardness)
Bruynzeel Design kneadable eraser

Step 1

Sketch with pencil on acrylic paper. Not everything on the photo needs to be included in the sketch. In this photo there was a large tree precisely in the centre of the selected area. This would have drawn considerable attention and was therefore omitted from the sketch. Also ensure that you don't depict too many distracting details along the edge of your work. This will focus attention on your selected subject.

Step 2

Begin by painting the first layer for the sky with acrylic colours (105 & 504) and a coarse brush.

Please note! The sky is always lighter just above the horizon than further up. Paint this on with broad strokes. Continue with the rough base painting of the buildings and shapes. Use a brush for the larger areas and a marker for the fine elements

Step 2 - Optical colour mixing with acrylic paint

Step 3

Apply more details in black and blue. Observe the spatial effect. The greater the colour contrast, the closer the objects appear. In this work, therefore, the shadows of the houses are first made black and then blue. This makes the houses appear further away than if you were to make the shadows black. By layering the two colours, you achieve a deeper blue.

Step 4

Now fill in the tree line with marker. First, the dark shape, then lighter points in white, orange and yellow for the spatial effect. Initially the trees are too close. This can be remedied with blue dots at the top of the trees.

TIP: For optical colour mixing, wait until the bottom layer is dry, as the paint will otherwise mix when wet.

Step 4 - Optical colour mixing with acrylic paint

Step 5

Continue to add more details. Try to work with many intersecting dots and lines to create an optical mix of colours. Be sure that the shadows and the perspective are still correct. Use the thin marker to add (small) white details.

Step 6

Lastly, finish working on the water. Paint the white areas turquoise (with a brush). Create the white and dark reflections of light on the water with a marker. Blending both white and blue achieves an optical mix of colours.

Tip: you can mix the colours of the markers as long as the paint is still wet by overlapping the strokes. You can also draw a line with the marker and use a brush to blend and smooth it out (see the white silo on the right).

Optical colour mixing

What you need

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