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Understanding Colours
With the Scale 75 Artist Range Acrylic Basic Set
An look into colour theory and how it can be used in hobbies, particular plastic kits~
Colours as we know them can be simplified down to 3 primary colours. This sort of understanding stems forward to the entire colour spectrum within the colour wheel, their identification as primary, secondary, and tertiary colours, plus the basic yet fundamental knowledge of complimentary colours, etc. are all part of what’s called ‘Colour Theory’.
Now, in order to get a clearer picture of “Colour Theory” one must understand how colours work. Luckily BJ is here to give you a better understanding of how colours work, and to demonstrate the colour wheel philosophy while using the Scale 75 Artist Range of Premium Water-Based artist acrylics, which are super smooth artist paints in tubes.
The complete Scale 75 Artist Range comprises of 48 colours, but in his tutorial videos, BJ uses a basic palette with the 3 primary colours (which we mentioned at the start of the this blog) Red, Blue and Yellow, accompanied by tones of Black and White and a 6th pre-made shade called Burnt Sienna Umber, which essentially is the colour Brown.
The Scalecolor Artist Range is inspired by the plastic artist’s palette. They’re a set of extra-fine, pigmented creamy paints preserved in individual tubes. These are more resilient and have a deeper intensity and contrast of colour, great coverage, smoother application and control (compared to standard acrylics) as well as plenty other versatile applications, such as on paintbrushes and in airbrushes.
In the tutorial, BJ explains in great detail how the colour wheel works. He has his paints laid out, a wet palette setup (to stop the paints from drying out between painting sessions) and a towel handy, along with his paintbrushes, an acrylic paint thinner and some water to clean his brushes which it too can be used to thin the paint.
He opens up the tubes of the 3 Primary colours, Red, Blue and Yellow, to take a dollop from each and blot them onto his wet palette.
(Watch this video to learn how to create your own wet palette.)
Note how BJ blots the colours out of the tube on the palette as if marking the 3 corners of a triangle.
Basically, we see how 2 primary colours mixed in equal parts from a new colour.
- Blue + Yellow = Green
- Yellow + Red = Orange
- Red + Blue = Purple / Violet
So that means the colours Green, Orange and Purple are "Secondary Colours". And if we look at BJ’s colour wheel closely, we see 2 other shades on either side of the secondary colours. These 6 colours, namely Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Blue-Violet and Red-Violet are called "Tertiary Colours". They are called tertiary as they are created by a combination of primary and secondary colours.
While painting, one may need colours of either higher or lower intensities to create effects of highlighting and shadowing. In order to achieve this, one must simply use White or Black tones, to get the desired effect. BJ dots white on the inner side of his colour wheel and dots black on the outer side to show us the difference between the highlight and shadow tones for each colour on the wheel.
In the video we also see how a combination of equal parts of Red, Blue and Yellow gives us the colour Brown. And adding a bit of Orange to it, and then White will give us a variety of flesh tones or skin colours. You can achieve the desired flesh tone by simply adding more or less of white, based on your needs. Note: another interesting feature of the colour wheel, is that every pair of colours that are exactly diagonally opposite to each other are called ‘Complementary Colours’. That is because these colours perfectly complement each other in a colour palette.
After going through the basics of the colour wheel, we see how the paints are used on an actual resin model. The paints squeezed out on the fresh palette are quite thick, just as artist style acrylics tend to be. And so, one must learn how to thin them a bit to get the right consistency. For that, usually water works just fine. By wetting the paintbrush and leaving in the right amount of water, then dabbing it into the colour, you can get the consistency you desire.
Now there are specialized thinners available in the market which are designed specifically for the same application, although in most cases they are used mainly when airbrushing (but as mentioned before not exclusively for airbrushing either).
In the regular use of painting with paintbrushes, as BJ demonstrates with a resin model, it is suggested to have the base primed first. A primers of any brand could be used for this. Primers help in making the paint adhere to the surface you are painting on, such as plastic or resin.
It is generally, highly recommended to use a primers when painting with any paint. It is usually only in specific circumstances that you may not need to use a paints base. But in the use case of this blog and working with acrylics, it is definately recommended.
To summarise, here are a few benefits of the Scale 75 Artist Range Acrylic Paints
- No strong odour
- Great texture and coverage
- High quality pigmentation
- Dense, high contrast colour with flat finish
- Versatility in terms of ease of use
- 20 ml non-diluted paint allowing for customisability and longer shelf life as compared to pre-mixed paints
- Value for money when looking at the longevity/price ratio
Understanding colour theory and being able to pick the right palette of colours are great skills to have. And with a product like the Scale 75 Artist Range Acrylic, these paints are the perfect building blocks for you to begin your journey into the world of paint and colour!