7 Basic Color Palettes:
- thalo blue
burnt sienna
This is one of the simplest palettes one can use. Even so, the blue has a faint touch of green, the brown has a strong element of red, and the range of neutrals that can be mixed is surprisingly varied for such a simple combination of colors.
- cadmium red medium
cadmium yellow light
cobalt blue
These are the three primary colors and they form much larger pallettes than the first in terms of the number of potential colors and neutrals that can be mixed. There are limitations that depend upon your specific colors because they will either favor the cool ot the warm side of the spectrum, not both.
- burnt sienna
yellow ochre
ultramarine blue
Here are the muted versions of the primary colors giving a limited number of mixtures and ones that tend towards the neutrals and earth tones. This palette also provides greater color control unless the blue is too saturated.
- ultramarine blue
viridian
cadmium yellow light
cadmium orange
cadmium red light
alizarin crimson
One cool, three warm hues, and a green for a larger more subtle palette. The addition helps achieve a much broader range of cool hues than is possible with only one cool hue. Mixed with CRL or the AC the viridian produces some very subtle neutrals.
- ultramarine blue
terra verte
burnt sienna
burnt umber
yellow ochre
venetian red
ivory black
Basically a group of earth colors, add blue, it has a built in harmony like palette 3. It can be used for figure painting or most other content. It is an excellent beginning palette and can later be built upon.
- thalo blue
cerulean blue
cadmium yellow light
cadmium orange
cadmium red light
alizarin crimson
This could be called a high intensity palette that contains no greens or neutrals. The trick is to learn to mix these colors so as to reduce their intensity or used full strength, with only limited mixing, played off against each other until some kind of balance is reached. Generally it is best to mix no more than two colors together or at most three) so as to avoid "muddy" results
- ultramarine blue
cerulean blue
burnt sienna
burnt umber
raw sienna
cadmium yellow light
cadmium orange
cadmium red medium
This is an expanded palette comprised of a neutral and three subdued earth colors set against several brighter cadmiums presenting a well balanced group of hues. The raw sienna is quite versatile in that it relates well to the earth tones and when lightened in value is a respectable substitute for yellow ochre. This palette provides a larger potential of strong intense hues than the former palette
Common-Color Mixture or Approach
In this method, a single hue is added in greater or lesser amounts to every paint mixture used. It gives a very strong common element which controls the entire painting. It is a mechanical approach which can, used sensitively, produce excellent effects.
Key Color Approach
One color is selected for all other colors to be related.