Mixing Pigment

I assume you've chosen the type of pigments you wish to work with. Begin with pure primary pigments as these are the basis for all other colors.

Store your primary powder samples in these 10 gram jars. TKB Trading sells them for $5.50/10. You'll need 20 of these. Label each jar according to pigment name and CI number.

Store individual powder mixes in these clamshells. TKB Trading sells them for $15.00/100 and 100 labels for $2.40. I chose the yellow one, what they call a "lemon pie" that holds 1.5 grams or 3/4 teaspoon of pigment. You'll need 540 of them with 18 or only 1 left over if you follow my charts. Use those for modifying blends if you don't like a color or want to expand your palette.

Before you go any further, you need a method of organizing your mixed pigments. You need:

Foam board

Printer paper

Pencil
Broad tip sharpie

Lemon pie clamshell

12" Ruler

Spray adhesive

Xacto knife

Sharp nail file

Hole punch

3" three ring binder

Place a sheet of foam board inside the binder and mark where the holes will be. Punch out the holes. Insert the foam board into the holes and close the binder. Open the binder just enough so you can see where to trim it so the foam board rests inside the binder when it's closed. Trim as necessary.

Lightly spray the foam board with adhesive. Stick the paper to it. It's okay if you need to glue sheets of paper together to cover the board.

Measure and mark 1/2" from the edge on all four sides. Place a clamshell in the top left corner of the marked space. Trace around it with a pencil. Do the same thing in the bottom left corner. Place the ruler horizontally on the edge of the outside line of the two circles. Draw a line end to end with the sharpie. This should make a 1/4" line to separate the clamshells horizontally. Place the clamshell on the right side of the sharpie line and trace around it with the pencil. Do the same at the bottom. Draw another sharpie line. Continue in this manner moving across until you have 4 across.

Place the ruler vertically on the edge of the outside line of the top row of circles. Draw a line with the sharpie. This should make a 1/4" line to separate the clamshells vertically. Trace around the clamshell going across as you did before. This is the second row. Continue in this manner until you have 7 down. You should have 28 evenly spaced circles. The sheet of greys is 3x3 with a row of uncut clamshell spaces between them.

You can readjust the paper to make the space even at both ends. Cut out the circles through the paper with the Xacto knife, being careful not to cut all the way through the board. Remove the foam from the circles with the nail file. The clamshells should fit snugly and flush to the lid inside the board. They will not fall out even if turned upside down. Remove the paper carefully and reuse it. Paint the foam board white. You'll need 14 sheets, one for each color, one for browns/skin tones if using mineral pigments and one for the greys.

What I actually have here is makeup samples because I was an Avon rep, but you get the idea.

Write a numbered formula list and place it in the binder. Label both the clamshells and the spaces they belong in with the corresponding formula numbers so you don't get them out of order.

Now, it's time to mix your pigments.

This chart shows you how to mix secondary colors. The shade and number of colors you end up with will depend on the value of your primary pigments. The ratio of each color is 1:1.

The following charts show how to mix complementary colors and light values. The synthetic pigment chart on the left will give you 256 colors. The mineral chart on the right will give you 156 colors. You can expand it to 231 by adding another row of white.

The following steps are for the synthetic color chart. The mineral pigments are mixed straight across with each other and down with white.

Step 1: Place a small amount of primary and secondary pigments from their 10 gram jars in clamshells and label them. 

Step 2: Place those clamshells on either end opposite one another. These are place holders. You won't be using the pigments in them. 

Step 3: Place 6 empty clamshells between them. From the 10 gram jar of the color on the left, place 1 Tad in each of the next three clamshells. Do the same for the color on the right. 

Step 4: In the first clamshell, place 1 Drop of the right color from the 10 gram jar. In the second clamshell, add 2 Drops. In the third clamshell, add 3 Drops. Repeat on the opposite end, adding the left color to the clamshells on the right side. Clamp down the lids and shake to blend.

Step 5: For the second row, set 8 empty clamshells beneath the first row. Place 1 Tad of the left and right pigments from the 10 gram jar in the clamshells on either end. Add 1 drop of Titanium dioxide to each. Clamp down the lids and shake to blend.

Step 6: From the clamshells on the first row, remove 1 Dash of pigment and place it in the empty clamshells below them on the second row. Add 1 drop of Titanium dioxide to each. Clamp down the lids and shake to blend.

Step 7: For the third row, set 8 empty clamshells beneath the second row. From the clamshells on the second row, remove 1 Pinch of pigment and place it in the empty clamshells below them on the third row. Add 1 drop of Titanium dioxide to each. Clamp down the lids and shake to blend.

Step 8: For the fourth row, set 8 empty clamshells beneath the third row. From the clamshells on the third row, remove 1 Smidgen of pigment and place it in the empty clamshells below them on the fourth row. Add 1 drop of Titanium dioxide to each. Clamp down the lids and shake to blend.

Repeat Steps 5-8 going up from the first row using black instead of white. You may have to re-mix the first row. This will give you 248 shades. 

Label these clamshells and organize them in the foam board according to color. Place the clamshell with the starting base color in the right center. The arrangement from center is right-left = base-deep; center-bottom = base-light; center-top = base-dark. The warm colors should appear in the same order as in the mixing diagram above. The cool colors should be mirrored on the sheet. 

Now, you need to mix a set of cool grays and warm grays. Set out 9 empty clamshells in a row and a condiment cup. Place 9 Tads of Titanium dioxide in the condiment cup. Add 1 Touch or a half drop of carbon black to the condiment cup and stir. Remove 1 Tad and place in a clamshell. Add 1 Touch or a half drop of black to the condiment cup again and stir. Remove 1 Tad and place in another clamshell. Continue until all the clamshells are filled. Label the first, Cool Gray 10% and continue up to 90%.

Set out 9 more empty clamshells in a row and a condiment cup. Place 9 Dashes of ivory black and 9 Dashes of white in the cup and stir to blend. Place 1 Tad in each clamshell. The 5th clamshell is the neutral gray. Add 1 Touch of white to the #4 clamshell to the right. Add 1 Drop of white to the #3 clamshell. Add 1 Drop + 1 Touch of white to the #2 clamshell. Add 2 Drops to the #1 clamshell. Repeat this process to the left adding more blue.

Organize the last sheet of grays in order from light to dark with the cool tones at the top and warm tones at the bottom labeled according to percentage.

You should end up with a total of 504 colors and 18 grays, a palette that any artist would be jealous of. These premixed pigments will be the basis for all of the media you intend to make in this series. You'll only be using a small amount of each blend.