[skullmonkeys]

I'm buying these sets of paints in acrylic to learn and practice color mixing.
cadmium light yellow, cadmium light red, cerulean blue
ultramarine blue, hansa yellow.

I'm going for the cheapest brands [winsor newton galleria etc..] since Im not concerned about the longevity[?] of the pigments and I prolly won't be creating works of art at first time.

Is cheap quality paint okay for this purpose? If you have any recommendations on cheap paints I would like to hear your opinion as well.

[nafa]

If you want to just mix color, you may wish to try the virtual palette in Wetcanvas:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/colormixer/

You have to register to use it though.

[watmough]

skullmonkeys,the cheaper paint is the same as the artist quality,just with lower pigment count.i use it alot ,doesnt change the archival quality,just less pigment to vehicle/binder.

[skullmonkeys]

I see thanks for your reply. watmough, what brand of paint do you use?

[watmough]

i use galeria alot,also liquitex basics.(can mix them together no problem)u can use matte medium or gel medium to extend the paints even further as well.the problem as i see it ,isnt so much the cost of the paint,its the cost of painting supports.(ie, canvas) what ive been doing recently,is buying a 32x40 sheet of museum board,cutting it into 8x10 pieces and gessoing them,works great and only costs about 30 bucks for 16 8x10 pieces.(thats 8 ply btw,for 4 ply the cost is about half,but when u gesso it it warps abit)
really wiht acrylic u dont need to gesso it at all,so....good luck!

[Alan]

Just wanted to second what watmough said. I have a set of the cheapest paints and brushes i could find, which i use for all experimenting. They work fine. I also think it good if you are just starting out to start with cheaper stuff so you don't worry about wasting paint, etc.

With the expensive paints you will see a difference in some colours, they have a "higher wattage" so to speak I have a small set of expensive paints and brushes which i use on rare occasions. But again, it is good to use the cheap stuff first so you can learn to appreciate the difference, and when to use cheap and when expensive. Hope this makes sense.

For painting surfaces, i have used all kinds, and these can get expensive too. watmoughs idea is good, and I have done this too. also, i sometimes paint on sheets i have cut up from big cardboard boxes. This sounds lame, but if you are just experimenting and want a surface, it's free also the backs of drawing and sketch pads..

[skullmonkeys]

Hmm, I just tried some color mixing excercises in 'Blue and yellow don't make green'
I'm mixing cerulean blue with cadmium red light. But im not getting the correct result which should be a neutralized purple. Im getting neutralized brown somewhat.
I may be being way to cheap here. Im using WN Galleria Acrylics. They are also named [hue] for example 'cerulean blue hue' so I'm thinking that might have an effect as well.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try and track down the Liquetex basic brands. I might buy one or two of the better known brands as well. And of course more experimenting. ^^

Yes Alan, I practice on newspaper sometimes. The days of a student. Good times, good times....

[watmough]

cerulean blue-greenish blue+cadmium red light-orange red=mud
if u really want to find out the undertones of a colour.....thin it out with water,or even add white,it will help show what colours to mix to get what you want.

[Lunatique]

One thing to remember with acrylics is that although most people think it's safe, it actually gives off toxic fumes. It'a always a good idea to have good ventilation while working with any kind of traditional paint.

[GordMacDonald]

If you want to fasttrack your colour/colour mixing knowledge, I recommend you get Johannes Ittens "the Elements of Color", or if you are really serious about getting up to speed, his pivotal work "The Art of Color".

Gord MacDonald