• Mix primary colours to create secondary and tertiary colours.
• Make sure to investigate only mixing warm versions of colours together and cool versions of colours together.
• Mixing warm and cool is how you can end up with mud.
• Investigate the split primary colour palette/wheel, one that combines both warm and cool colours.

This will work with any type of paint - watercolour, gouache, acrylic, oil, etc.

A split primary palette consists of two versions of each primary colour, a warm and a cool, allowing for a wider range of mixing possibilities. Some colour examples for a split primary palette:

Red:

• Cadmium Red (warm)
• Alizarin Crimson (cool)

Blue:

• Cobalt Blue (warm)
• Phthalo Blue (cool)

Yellow:

• Cadmium Yellow (warm)
• Lemon Yellow (cool)

You can't always mix the brightest or most intense colours with the primaries, so, to round out a split primary palette, it's handy to have some pre-made colours handy to round out a split primary palette.

Earth Tones:

• Burnt Sienna (warm)
• Raw Umber (cool)

Green:

• Viridian (cool)
• Sap Green (warm)

Orange:

• Cadmium Orange (warm)
• Pyrrole Orange (cool)

Purple:

• Magenta (warm)
• Dioxazine Purple (cool)

Neutrals:

• Payne's Grey
• Neutral Tint
• Titanium White
• Ivory Black

You could:

• Perhaps put some squares onto a sheet of watercolour paper or sketchbook page.
• Mix each pair of colours to see what happens.
• Make sure to label each square so you know what colours you used.

Notes:

• Messing around with mixing these colours is a great thing to do with a sketchbook, to make swatches, and to see how the colours mix.
• Remember that colours can vary across brands. So, even if you have two tubes with the same colour name, they may not be quite the same colour.
• The warm split primary palette leans towards brighter and more vibrant mixes.
• The cool split primary palette tends to yield more subdued and cooler mixes.