When mixing colors for painting or other creative purposes, understanding the basics of color theory is important. One of the fundamental concepts in color theory is the idea of a hue, tint, and shade. A hue refers to a pure color, without any black or white mixed in. A tint is created when white is mixed with a hue, resulting in a lighter version of that color. Mixing a hue with black creates a shade – a darker version of the original hue. So to make a tint, you need to start with a pure hue and mix in white. The amount of white determines how light the tint will be.
Tinting Primary Hues
The primary hues are red, yellow and blue. Tinting these pure hues is straightforward:
| Hue | Tint |
| Red | Pink |
| Yellow | Cream |
| Blue | Baby blue |
Adding white to red makes pink. With yellow, white makes cream. Mixing white and blue creates lighter tints like baby blue. The more white added, the lighter the tint becomes.
Tinting Secondary Hues
Secondary hues are created by mixing two primary hues. For example, red and yellow make orange. Tinting secondary hues follows the same principle – adding white to create a lighter version:
| Hue | Tint |
| Orange | Peach |
| Green | Mint green |
| Purple | Lavender |
Peach is an orange tint, mint green is a tinted green, and lavender is a light purple. The tints get lighter as more white is mixed in.
Tinting Tertiary Hues
Tertiary hues are made by combining a primary and secondary hue, like red-orange or blue-green. Tinting these involves adding white as well:
| Hue | Tint |
| Red-orange |