Welcome to my course on mastering color with a limited palette for oil painting! This will not by the typical color theory course. While I touch on the basics of color theory, this course is more focused on the practical understanding of color through mixing actual pigments.
After completing this course, I hope you'll learn that you never need to buy specific tubes of paint. With just a few primary colors, you can create an immense array of color! And by dedicating yourself to just a few foundational colors, you'll gain a deep understanding of color and pigment more quickly than you would if you had to constantly work between multiple versions of every primary and secondary color. 
Not only will we explore the limited palette, we will also cover strategies for mixing color, creating harmonious color compositions, strong focal points, and color schemes. I will take you through several projects that will help you learn every aspect of color. We will especially emphasize the exploration and design of reduced-chroma colors (also known as neutrals / muted colors / greys, etc). Many artists feel that their paintings are "muddy" and blame neutral colors. However, a muddy painting is usually the result of a poorly designed / chaotic color design rather than the colors themselves. We'll go in depth into neutrals, color design, and even take a look at mixing every skin tone.
After some elementary projects, we'll move into a few different capstone projects. We will find that we can use every primary color to paint a subject that is "white," we will learn how to take quick color notes, and finally we will learn how the masters created such compelling color in their works. I will show you how to simplify the process of creating a "master color study."
While this course is meant for beginner and intermediate painters, there is an assumption that you know some basic color theory, such as how to mix secondary and tertiary colors. If not, there are many color theory courses here on Skillshare that you should also check out! I just didn't want this course to replicate the common intricacies of color theory. 
I had initially planned on dividing the subject of color into shorter, focused courses because I worried that a long course would feel overwhelming. However, segmenting a course may lead to unnecessary confusion since all these concepts are linked and student might find some of the courses and not others. Ultimately I decided it would make sense to present it all in a single course with lessons that proceed in a logical order.
I suggest getting and overview of this course, and then going through one project at a time. While some projects are simple and loose, others will be more of a challenge. If you begin to feel frustrated or overwhelmed, I encourage you to take a break. Color is a subject as deep as it is wide and no artist can master it in a day!
<img src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/71658145" class="zoomable rounded-image-wrapper" alt="71658145">
<img src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/894a8ce6" class="zoomable rounded-image-wrapper" alt="894a8ce6">

Introduction

How to Approach this Course

A Handful of Supplies

Color Theory Basics

The Munsell Color System

Hue - Primary Colors for Painters

Hue - Chromatic Black

Hue - Limited Palette, Unlimited Possibilities

How to Use the Color Wheel Template

Munsell Color Wheel - Anatomy

Munsell Color Wheel - Hue

Munsell Color Wheel - Chroma

Munsell Color Wheel - Value - Shade

Munsell Color Wheel - Value - Tint

The Finished Color Wheel + Process Overview

Chroma - Limited Palette Swatch Chart

Chroma - Exploring "Greys"

Chroma - Exploring "Browns"

Chroma - Green Reduced Chroma Swatch Chart

Chroma - Violet  Reduced Chroma Swatch Chart

Chroma - Creating Skin Tones

Value - Shade - What is Dark Yellow?

Value - Tint - What is Light Red?

Mood, Energy, and Color Schemes

Designing a Color Scheme

Color Mixing Strategy: Color Strings

Color Mixing Strategy: Recycled Color

Optical Mixing vs. Direct Mixing

Paint from Life Faster! Color Notes from Observation

Master Color Study - Selection

Master Color Study - Color Strings

Master Color Study - Block-In

Master Color Study - Refining

Outro

Munsell Color Wheel Template -Printable.png

SwatchGrids.png

Oil Painting for Beginners - Master Color with a Limited Palette

Rachael Broadwell gave you 1 free month of Skillshare

Get 1 free month of Skillshare

Oil Painting for Beginners - Master Color with a Limited Palette

Creative Learning Made Easy

Company

Work With Us

Teach with Us

Shop

Mobile

English

English