Scribd
Upload
265 views

Apelles Palette Color Mixing Cheat Sheet PDF

Uploaded by

Jesus J
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
265 views

Apelles Palette Color Mixing Cheat Sheet PDF

Uploaded by

Jesus J
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Apelles Palette Cheat Sheet

MIX Result Useful For


Yellow + Red Orange A warm base to mix creamy light side skin
colors and shadow side browns / shadows.
Keep this on your palette to warm up
anything. For example: if shadows feel dull
or cold, add a little bit of this orange to
your shadow mixture.

Orange + White Cream Base for the light side skin colors. Add a
little bit more yellow to make your
highlights pop. Add a little bit more red in
areas that are the warmest such as the eyes,
nose, and mouth. This can also be mixed into
your brownish shadow colors to create a
slightly cooler shadow.

Orange + Black Brown Base for the shadow side. This is a warm
mixture so it works well for washes and
rocky backgrounds. It is only directly good
for the darkest shadows. However, if you add
the creamy lightside skin color to this it
will work very well for the majority of
shadow side skin colors. You can also adjust
for even colder shadows by further adding
grays or Apelles blue.

Black + White ‘Blue’ Apelles blue is extremely useful because it


is not as overpowering as ‘real’ blue
colors. However, if you contrast this with
your orange colors and warmer side of the
palette, then you can certainly achieve a
blue sky. I often find that it is too cold
to use directly and instead neutralize it by
adding orange or gray. Then it can be used
for cold light accents, cool shadows, or
cooling down anything on the palette.

Blue + Orange Gray Gray is extremely underrated. It is what


truly gives life to a painting. Gray is
essential because it makes the other colors
standout. Without neutral accents the other
colors don’t have as much contrast. Gray can
also be used to quickly neutralize any
color. It’s subtle. I highly recommend
keeping gray premixed at all times! It’s
something most people discount because it’s
not commonly kept on the palette. Try it, it
will change your life.

Gray + Orange Gray Orange This is perhaps even more useful than the
light side cream color. It is a perfect
mixture for the shadow side of the face. The
same color is achieved by mixing the light
side cream color with the base brown
mixture. It’s incredibly versatile. Use it
directly for the light on the shadow side.
Add more brown for darker shadows. Add more
white to place it on the lightside of the
face as a slightly cooler or neutral feeling
light.

Yellow + Black Green Greens are a great way to complement and


neutralize any red variations. It sets a
(+White)
beautiful and calm scene when used in the
background. The accents on the receding
parts of the face often have hints of green.
You can also play with the ratio of white to
black to create cooler or brighter
variations. I would recommend keeping a
premixed tube of just black and yellow
though because that offers the most
possibilities. Add red to that and you have
brown. Shadowy backgrounds are suitable for
subtle green variations. I think this is
because it is closer to what we truly see
when faced with a shadowy environment. We
are not able to perceive a wide range of
colors in dim light. Which is why reds and
greens will start to blend together into a
sort of gray blur at night. Hence, if you
intentionally blend them together and let
them complement each other, you are
mimicking our natural perception. Combine
that with sfumato and chiaroscuro and you
can make something that truly feels alive.

Red + Black Violet Dark violet is useful for sharp clear lines
within the shadows. Add white to the mixture
(+White)
and you can create something much more
light, soft, or cool. The complement to
violet is yellow. So any time you are
painting something that is bright white like
clothes, you should consider this
relationship. Shadows are more violet and
lights are more yellow. You can also use
violet accents anywhere within the shadows
to create a warmer variation that breaks
away from Apelles blue.

You might also like