black paint

[milliebunny]

how do i mix black watercolour paint?

[gen2]

You won't get a really dark black by mixing but you can get a very dark grey by mixing blue + red + some yellow.  You have to juggle the proportions to get a neutral gray.  If it is too brown - add some blue, too green - add red, too purple - add yellow. It does depend a bit on which red/blue/yellow you mix. 

Scientifically, the best three to use are magenta + cyan + yellow.

Although you can get tubes of black watercolour paint (eg Ivory Black) I find these rather harsh for delicate watercolour painting.  Also there are generally no real blacks in the environment - even the darkest corners have a colour bias.  Some artists use a neutral gray and I have often used Payne's Gray as a quick way of getting dark colours.  Beware though because Payne's Gray is a staining colour and will not lift off again if you make a mistake.

[big george]

According to my art teacher you should NOT use black or white watercolour paints at all as they can produce a very grainy finish. She says they should not even be in the paint box. Instead, she advocates using purple (blue + red mixture) for shadows - the strength can be varied by adding water of course. Personally, I tend to use Paynes Gray in small doses when I feel that black is necessary.