Essential Colors for Getting Started With Acrylics

Choosing colors can be overwhelming, especially when you are just beginning to paint. There are over 100 colors in the Liquitex brand alone. I want to give you a starting point that will be a good foundation to build on. You can add colors in the future but I think it is important to start with the basics.

I recommend using warms and cools of primary colors when starting to paint. This means you will be using two yellows, two reds and two blues. When painting with these primary colors you can mix up virtually any color on the color wheel so they are all you need. Also, starting with primary colors makes the learning process easier. A simplified palette and a simplified color range allow you to focus on a few different colors rather than getting bogged down by too many choices.

PRIMARY COLORS

Here are the specific, essential colors* that I use and recommend to beginning acrylic painters:

Yellows

For yellows I like to use:

1. Cadmium-Free Yellow Deep (warm yellow)
2. Cadmium-Free Yellow Light (cool yellow)

Yellow Deep leans towards orange and Yellow Light leans toward green.

There is believed to be some toxicity in the pigment called “cadmium.” For this reason paint companies have begun making “cadmium-free” paints which are quite true to the true colors. Both of the yellows I use are cadmium-free and if the toxicity is a concern to you these are a great option.

Reds

These are the reds I like to use and recommend:

1. Cadmium Red-Medium (warm red)
2. Quinacridone Magenta (cool red)

Red-Medium is the warmest color on the entire color chart. So when you think about a color getting warmer it is moving towards this color. If a color is getting cooler it is moving away from this color.

Quinacridone Magenta is a cool color and leans toward violet.

Blues

These are my favorite blues:

1. Ultramarine Blue – red shade (warm blue)
2. Pthalo Blue – green shade (cool blue)

Ultramarine Blue is the warmer blue and leans towards red. It is a color that I use a lot and really like.

Phthalo is cooler and leans towards green. It is a very strong color and therefore I use it sparingly.

In the Liquitex Heavy Body brand buy the Ultramarine that is noted to be “red shade.” In the Phthalo Blue buy the “green shade” color. In some of the other brands the blues are not designated in this way and that’s fine but if you are buying Liquitex Heavy Body paint I recommend buying these specific shades of color.

PLUS A FEW MORE ...

In addition to the warms and cools of primary colors I would also recommend adding white, black and gray to your palette. With these added colors you can you mix up an even wider variety of colors. 

Black

Mars Black is a good solid black that covers well. 

White

Titanium white is a nice opaque white (opaque means that it covers other colors well) and I this color more than any other.

Gray

Neutral Gray #5 is the gray I like to use. The #5 means that it is exactly in the middle on the *value scale. 

*The value scale is a 1-10 scale which shows the transition from white to black. White is #1 and Black is #10. There are many different shades of gray in between. A value scale shows lightness and darkness, not color.

With these primary colors and 3 additional colors the possibilities are endless! When you grow comfortable with these colors you can add other colors to your selection. But for now, get used to mixing these colors together and seeing what you can create. Have fun with them!

 *Note: These are the Liquitex paint names in Heavy Body artist-grade acrylic paint. If you use the Liquitex student-grade paint (Basics), or another brand, the names will be slightly different.