Shadow confusion

[Sonja]

Base color+opp color = shadow color, right?  But my base color is violet - opp would be yello - how can that work for shadow?

[C.Bodine]

  Sonja! Glad you have joined our little art community! This is a great place to learn and share.  Great teachers, great members!

If you are shadowing something like the surface of a ball, you would use it's opposite.  The opposite of a color will darken it.  (try a little mix and see).

  If you are talking about a cast shadow of something like a tree onto the ground, you mix the shadow color for the ground. I hope that made sense.

There is a great, free color mixing video under the Paint Basket TV. You should look it up. 

[Sonja]

I did look it up and watche the video and it said the "shadow" of any base color is developed by adding the opposite color on the color wheel to the base.  but adding yellow to violet does not make a shadow color for violet - its too light.

[C.Bodine]

Sonja, I am fairly new to painting and color mixing is a challenge, to say the least!
Nolan will come by later and give you a great answer to your question.

[Harald]

Why not try violet on a piece of paper and try a mix of violet and yellow as the color of the shade. Experiment with different mixes and I think it will work.
Haraald

[nolan]

to the family Sonja

It would be great if you could post a photo of your colours here as we all have our image of violet in our heads. My image of violet is a very dark colour.

[Sonja]

yes, very dark - an exact match to what my color wheel has labeled as Violet.

[Kelley]

What would happen if you mixed it with green?

[dennis]

Adding a touch of violet to yellow give the shadow for yellow (and that is Yellow Ochre).
Violet is a mixture of red and blue and if you add a touch of yellow to it it will give the shadow for violet. Add a bit more yellow to it and you start getting to the "blacks".

If anyone is using student quality (less pigment and more fillers) with less covering power then you will have trouble with the mixing.

[Kelley]

Thanks for the reminder Dennis.