Creating Natural Tints & Shades

How 2 colors can elevate your acrylic paintings!

TITAN BUFF: a soft transition instead of white

Why Use Titan Buff Instead of White?

When lightening colors, many artists automatically reach for white, but Titan Buff is an excellent alternative. Titan Buff is an off-white, slightly creamy and translucent color that softens hues without the stark, sometimes harsh effect that pure white can create.

How Titan Buff Affects Colors:

- Subtle Lightening: Instead of dramatically lightening a color like white does, Titan Buff creates a more nuanced, natural tint. It desaturates the color slightly, giving it a warm, earthy undertone, which can be perfect for creating vintage, muted tones.

- Soft Transitions: If you’re aiming for a softer, more blended look in your artwork, Titan Buff can provide smoother transitions between colors. It’s particularly useful when painting skin tones, landscapes, still life's or anything requiring a more natural color palette.

Examples of Titan Buff in Color Mixing:

- Titan Buff + Ultramarine Blue: This combination gives a softer blue with a touch of warmth, perfect for skies or atmospheric depth without the brightness that white would introduce.

Titan Buff + Cadmium Red: Instead of the pinkish tone you’d get with white, Titan Buff softens red into a more clear, neutral shade -- great for florals, landscapes and still life's.

Titan Buff + Hooker's Green: This produces a warm, creamy green with a rich, natural feel instead of the minty tone you get with white — ideal for landscapes, florals, or backgrounds where you want a more subdued tone.

When to Use Titan Buff:

- Use Titan Buff when you want a natural, muted tint instead of the cooler, sometimes harsh tint that white can create.

- Try Titan Buff in landscapes for creating soft, atmospheric effects in clouds, leaves, flowers, mountains, or background elements.

Final Thoughts:

While white is an essential color for tinting, Titan Buff opens up new possibilities for adding depth and warmth to your palette. Next time you’re looking to lighten a color, experiment with Titan Buff to see how it transforms the mood and feeling of your work.

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BURNT SIENNA: a soft transition instead of black

Why Use Burnt Sienna instead of Black?

While black is often the go-to for darkening colors, it can sometimes be overpowering, creating muddy or flat shades. Burnt Sienna, a warm, earthy brown, is a fantastic alternative. It allows you to create rich, more natural shades without losing the vibrancy of the original color.

How Burnt Sienna Affects Colors:

- Natural Depth: Instead of turning colors dull and flat, Burnt Sienna maintains the integrity of the hue while adding warmth and richness. It’s perfect for giving your painting a more organic feel, especially in landscapes or portrait work.

- Warm Undertones: Black can cool down colors dramatically, but Burnt Sienna adds a warm, reddish-brown undertone that creates a softer, more inviting shadow effect. This makes it ideal when you want to avoid the harshness of pure black.

Examples of Burnt Sienna in Color Mixing:

- Burnt Sienna + Ultramarine Blue: This mix creates a deep, muted blue with a subtle warmth—great for shading skies or creating atmospheric shadows without the starkness of black.

- Burnt Sienna + Yellow Ochre: When you mix Burnt Sienna with yellow ochre, you get a rich, earthy shade perfect for creating shadows in landscapes or for adding depth to golden tones.

- Burnt Sienna + Alizarin Crimson: This combination results in a deep, warm red, great for darkening reds without the lifelessness that black might bring.

When to Use Burnt Sienna:

- Use Burnt Sienna when you want to darken a color without losing warmth or vibrancy.

- For landscapes, Burnt Sienna is excellent for shading earthy elements like rocks, trees, and soil, maintaining the warmth and realism in the scene.

Final Thoughts:

Burnt Sienna is a versatile, subtle tool for creating shades in your paintings. By opting for this warm, natural brown instead of black, you can preserve the life in your colors and add depth in a way that feels more organic and nuanced. Experiment with Burnt Sienna to see how it transforms your shading techniques!

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Recommendations:

My favorite Titan Buff is made by Golden; it is a fluid acrylic and can be found at Jerry's Artarama, Dick Blick, Amazon, and probably locally to you depending on where you are. I definitely prefer the Golden brand for this application.

My favorite Burnt Sienna is by Nova Colors. They are based out of Austin, TX, and to my knowledge, can only be bought through them. I bought about 8 of their colors at once to test them out, and have been very happy with the consistency, opacity and friendly mixing with colors from other brands that I have. You can find them here https://novacolorpaint.com/