Traditional Colour Studio
A free colour mixing resource from Vault Canvas
Traditional RYB Colour Guide
Ratios and named-colour comparisons are approximate starting directions, not exact matches. Screen and printer colours are approximate, and actual paint mixtures will vary.
1. What this guide is
This is a practical colour-planning guide built around a traditional twelve-colour red-yellow-blue wheel.
It helps painters:
- Mix nine additional colour families from three starting paints.
- Choose complementary, analogous, triadic and split-complementary palettes.
- Plan a painting using one dominant, one focal and two accent colours.
- Explore approximate mixtures resembling familiar named tube colours.
- Create lighter, darker and more muted variations.
All recipes are general starting points. They describe the direction of a mixture rather than guarantee an exact colour.
2. The three starting paints
The wheel uses:
- Cadmium Yellow
- Cadmium Red
- Ultramarine Blue
Their wheel positions are labelled Yellow, Red and Blue. All nine remaining positions are mixtures of these three paints.
This palette generally produces strong oranges, earthy greens and muted violets. Cadmium Red and Ultramarine Blue will usually give a subdued purple rather than the brilliant violet found on a printed colour wheel.
White, earth colours, Payne’s Grey and black are optional additions used after the main wheel has been established.
3. The twelve-colour wheel
Read these colours in order around the wheel.
| Wheel colour | Approximate starting mixture |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Cadmium Yellow |
| Yellow-orange | 4 parts Cadmium Yellow : 1 part Cadmium Red |
| Orange | 2 parts Cadmium Yellow : 1 part Cadmium Red |
| Red-orange | 1 part Cadmium Yellow : 2 parts Cadmium Red |
| Red | Cadmium Red |
| Red-violet | 2 parts Cadmium Red : 1 part Ultramarine Blue |
| Violet | 1 part Cadmium Red : 1 part Ultramarine Blue |
| Blue-violet | 1 part Cadmium Red : 2 parts Ultramarine Blue |
| Blue | Ultramarine Blue |
| Blue-green | 2 parts Ultramarine Blue : 1 part Cadmium Yellow |
| Green | 1 part Ultramarine Blue : 1 part Cadmium Yellow |
| Yellow-green | 1 part Ultramarine Blue : 3 parts Cadmium Yellow |
Adjust by eye. If a mixture looks too close to one of its neighbours, add more of the paint that moves it towards the intended colour.
The violet positions describe the intended colour family. With these starting paints, their actual appearance may be quite muted or brownish.
4. Approximate mixes for familiar named colours
These mixtures can resemble familiar tube colours in hue. They will not necessarily reproduce their transparency, coverage or mixing behaviour.
| Named colour | General mixing direction |
|---|---|
| Cadmium Orange | Mix Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Red towards a balanced orange. |
| Yellow Ochre | Begin with yellow and add a tiny amount of mixed violet to mute it. |
| Raw Sienna | Begin with yellow, add a little red, then a trace of blue for an earthy golden colour. |
| Burnt Sienna | Mix orange and add a little blue, retaining a warm reddish-brown appearance. |
| Burnt Umber | Mix orange with blue towards a dark brown; adjust with red if it becomes too greenish. |
| Raw Umber | Mix green with red towards a subdued, slightly greenish brown. |
| Olive Green | Mix a yellow-rich green and add a little red. |
| Sap Green | Mix yellow and blue towards a natural yellow-green; mute with a trace of red if needed. |
| Terre Verte / Green Earth | Mix green and gradually mute it with red towards a subdued earthy green. |
| Payne’s Grey | Begin with blue and add small amounts of red and yellow until it becomes a dark blue-grey. |
Some colours are beyond this palette’s reach. In particular, do not expect a close match to brilliant Dioxazine Violet, Phthalo Green or a vivid turquoise.
5. Colour relationships
Complementary colours
Complementary colours sit opposite each other on this traditional wheel.
| Colour | Complement |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Violet |
| Yellow-orange | Blue-violet |
| Orange | Blue |
| Red-orange | Blue-green |
| Red | Green |
| Red-violet | Yellow-green |
Placed beside one another, complements create contrast. Mixed together, they generally produce more muted colours, browns or greys.
Traditional wheel opposites are useful planning relationships, although they will not always mix into a perfectly neutral grey.
Analogous colours
Choose neighbouring colours for a closely related palette.
Examples:
- Yellow, yellow-orange and orange.
- Yellow-green, green and blue-green.
- Blue, blue-violet and violet.
Let one colour lead, with the others supporting it.
Triadic colours
Choose three colours equally spaced around the wheel.
Examples:
- Yellow, red and blue.
- Orange, green and violet.
- Yellow-orange, red-violet and blue-green.
Use unequal amounts to give the painting a clear dominant colour.
Split-complementary colours
Choose a main colour, then the two colours on either side of its complement.
Examples:
- Yellow with red-violet and blue-violet.
- Red with yellow-green and blue-green.
- Blue with yellow-orange and red-orange.
This gives variety and contrast while avoiding reliance on a single complementary pair.
6. Painting-area proportions
For a four-colour painting palette, a useful starting arrangement is:
| Role | Approximate painting area |
|---|---|
| Dominant colour | 80% |
| Focal colour | 10% |
| Accent 1 | 5% |
| Accent 2 | 5% |
These figures describe areas of the finished painting, not quantities of paint to mix.
The dominant colour can include light, dark and muted variations within the same broad family. The focal colour draws attention to the main subject or area of interest. The accents provide smaller supporting notes.
Treat the percentages as a compositional guide, not a measuring exercise.
7. Colour and greyscale
Colour differences do not always create light-and-dark differences. A red and a green can look distinct in colour but similar in greyscale.
When planning a palette:
- Identify the lightest and darkest areas.
- Check that the focal area has enough tonal contrast.
- Vary the value within the dominant colour family.
- Avoid making every colour equally dark or equally light.
Screen swatches and greyscale previews are visual guides. Physical paint may look different.
8. Titanium White
Titanium White is not needed to mix the nine additional wheel colours. It is an optional addition for:
- Creating lighter values and tints.
- Making peach, cream, lavender and other pale colours.
- Revealing the coloured bias of a dark mixture.
- Increasing opacity.
Add colour gradually to white when making a very pale mixture.
White changes more than lightness: it can also reduce saturation and alter the apparent warmth or coolness of a colour. It will lighten a muted violet, but it will not turn it into a brilliant violet.
9. Burnt Umber
Burnt Umber is an optional extra, separate from the three-paint wheel.
It is useful for earthy browns, muted mixtures and dark neutrals.
A useful dark mixture
Start with approximately equal parts Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue.
Then adjust:
- More Ultramarine Blue gives a cooler, bluer dark.
- More Burnt Umber gives a warmer, browner dark.
- A balanced mixture can produce a near-neutral chromatic black.
Add a little white to a small portion if you want to see its colour bias more clearly.
10. Mixing neutrals and dark colours
Using the three starting paints
Begin with Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Red to make a dark, muted violet. Add Cadmium Yellow sparingly to move it towards a neutral.
Adjust as needed:
| If the mixture looks… | Try adding… |
|---|---|
| Too violet | A little yellow |
| Too green | A little red |
| Too orange or brown | More blue |
| Too red | A little mixed green |
| Too blue | A little mixed orange |
This can produce useful coloured darks, but it may not reach the depth of a tube black.
Using complementary mixtures
Try:
- Ultramarine Blue + mixed orange.
- Cadmium Red + mixed green.
- Cadmium Yellow + mixed violet.
These are especially useful for muting colours. Blue and orange are also a practical route towards browns and dark neutrals. Yellow and violet may produce an earthy neutral rather than a deep dark.
Add the complementary colour gradually so that you can stop before the original colour disappears.
11. Payne’s Grey and tube black
Payne’s Grey and tube black are optional convenience colours.
Payne’s Grey offers a quick route to cool darks and subdued shadows. Mixed gradually into Cadmium Yellow, it can also produce useful foliage and olive greens.
Tube black provides a deep dark and can be useful for lowering value. Add it sparingly, since it can change the character of a mixture considerably.
Neither is required for the main wheel. Choose them when their effect suits the painting.
12. Practical advice
- Begin with the paint shown in the larger quantity and add the second gradually.
- For equal-part recipes, start with either paint and adjust towards the intended hue.
- Add dark or strongly tinting colours in small amounts.
- Keep the main wheel mixtures free of added white and black.
- Use complements to explore muted versions of a colour.
- Treat named-colour recipes as approximate resemblances.
- Use the wheel to plan relationships; do not expect every mixture to match a printed swatch.
The aim is a useful working palette: twelve colour families, clear colour relationships and a wider range of earthy colours and darks from three starting paints.