SOLO GOYA Acrylic Acrylfarbe Zinnoberrot und Primärblau

Changing the colour red

07/16/2024 |

Summer, sunshine, holidays – in July, we just want to enjoy life. Then it's no wonder that a power colour like red really speaks to us. That’s why we are choosing red as our colour of the month. But red isn’t always red. This signal colour is very versatile. From a neutral red colour like SOLO GOYA Acrylic Vermilion Red or Genuine Red, you can mix so many variations on red.

 

How do you make red lighter? How do you make red darker? How do you make it look cooler in tone and how do you make it pop less? For us as a paint manufacturer, that's no problem, after all we make lots of different shades of red. So we’re happy to share a few tips on effectively changing red by mixing it with other colours.

 

How do you make warm red cooler?

Warm red shades like SOLO GOYA Acrylic Vermilion Red are pretty close to orange. That’s why they really seem to glow. You can generally cool down a warm colour with blue. But you need to take care. Too much blue in a warm red conjures a reddish purple. It’s better to make a warm red just one to two nuances cooler. That works best with a cool red like, for example, Magenta. 

How do you darken red?

For this, a powerful red needs a dark partner. Black may seem suitable at first glance, but you have to use this with care. Black is a dominant colour and just a little bit is enough to steer the entire paint mix towards black. A gentler option is a cool blue like SOLO GOYA Acrylic Primary Blue. Here, though, the mixed colour can quickly tend towards a reddish purple. You can mix a more neutral dark red by adding some Umber to Genuine Red. The dark red won’t be as radiant as the original colour. It is suitable, however, for shaded areas. If you want to keep the warm character of the red, we recommend adding Burnt Sienna Reddish. 

How do you make bright red softer?

A colour always looks too bright if it has a high saturation. You can influence that best by mixing it with its complementary colour. For red, this would be the colour green, e.g. SOLO GOYA Acrylic Foliage Green. If you add a bit of green to a red colour, it becomes neutralized and "greys". The grey part makes the colour less bright. A little Neutral Grey, Black and White can make the red less saturated. But White and Neutral Grey will also make the red look pinker. At the same time, Black can very quickly make red too dark. 

How do you lighten red?

White only works if you want a pink colour. Otherwise lighter red colours from the same colour family are the better choice. To lighten a dark red like SOLO GOYA Acrylic Wine Red a nuance, you are best off reaching for Genuine Red. 

If you want to make red lighter, but warmer, too, then adding yellow is a good option. You can add Genuine Yellow Light to turn a neutral red like SOLO GOYA Acrylic Genuine Red into a warm, light reddish orange. Or for cool reds with a high blue component like, for example, SOLO GOYA Acrylic Magenta, add some Genuine Yellow Light to get a toned-down orange shade.