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Artist's Color Manual: The Complete Guide to Working with Color
Developed by the same team that created Artist's Manual and Art Class , both top-selling art reference books, Artist's Color Manual is the ultimate guide to color for visual artists. Whether they work in oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, colored pencils, or inks, artists of all stripes will find information and ideas flowing from every profusely illustrated page. Renowned art instructor Simon Jennings begins with a basic introduction to color theory, the color wheel, and the art of mixing pigments. The heart of the Artist's Color Manual is a comprehensive guide to mixing and creating each color of the spectrum, from primaries to tricky neutrals, flesh tones, and metallics. Additional chapters focus on techniques, such as mixing media, that create color in both traditional and unexpected ways. Examples of work by accomplished artists and interviews with leading painters suggest creative ideas for color use. With expert instruction, detailed information, and inspiring visuals, Artist's Color Manual is especially helpful for those who are learning to paint, yet speaks with definitive authority to all artists looking to perfect their craft.
- GenresArtReferenceNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published November 27, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 15, 2016
Learn more about different mediums, the history of the word orange, and why a color index is useful today on Artist Strong.
I have a confession to make: I am an art book junkie. When I moved to Dubai from Massachusetts my suitcases were full of clothes. And books. Lots and lots of art books. Today’s Top 10 Takeaways is from The Artist’s Color Manual by Simon Jennings.
In the past 200 years so many new pigments and colors have been created that artists now have two to three times the number of pigments once available to artists. (pp 12)
Artists have always used the tools available to them. Part of me wonders if there can be such thing as too many choices?
Prehistoric artists only used yellow and red ochre, black and white. We still admire and value this artwork today.
There is something to be said for limitation. My philosophy when it comes to my color palette? Less is more.
There are two sets of primary colors: one for light and one for pigment.
Additive primary colors are the primaries of light. They are red, blue, and green. When you mix these primaries together they create the color white. You can see white light separated into the many colors that create it when you look at the colors showing on soap bubbles or when you observe oil on water.
Subtractive primary colors are the primaries of pigment. They are red, yellow and blue. Mix them together to create a dark grey, almost black. (Technically, there is no such thing as black. Black is the absence of color.) (pp24-25).
Recommended Starter Palettes. (pp 31-33)
For oil painters: cobalt blue, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, raw umber, viridian, cadmium red, titanium white
For watercolor painters: alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow pale, cadmium red, hooker’s green, french ultramarine
For acrylic painters: cadmium red, french ultramarine, cadmium yellow, burnt umber, raw umber, yellow ochre, titanium white
Generally speaking, if you are newer to painting and color theory, it’s best to work with a smaller number of pigments and increase the number of colors you include as you grow increasingly confident with color relationships.
Learn more about different mediums, the history of the word orange, and why a color index is useful today on Artist Strong.
Crystal prisms, and pieces of quartz like this, can divide light into it's many colors.
Medium: What is it?
It is a term to describe the art material used by an artist to create art; for example: oil or acrylic paint. Or clay. Or pencil. It’s plural form is MEDIA.
It is also a term that refers to assorted liquids and pastes you can add to paint to alter flow, transparency, or drying time. It’s plural form is MEDIUMS.
Confession time: All art teachers have little quirks and/or pet peeves. One colleague I worked with got really annoyed with every teenager who wanted to paint on mirrors (it really seems to be a thing). Another colleague had to label all of our resources in the classroom. Me? I don’t know why, but I hate when people misuse the plural forms of these terms. I’ll go now and hide, because I’m sure I need to re-read a bunch of blog posts and correct the very error I hate. ;)
“Color is a language...” (pp 42)
I love this quote. Color IS a language and helps us to communicate so much in our art. Color also provides important visual information in everyday life! Consider red: stop signs, stop lights, danger, christmas. The more we practice using this language the more clearly we can convey our message.
“The color orange is named after the Sanskrit word ‘narangah’ for the fruit.” (pp 60).
During my recent trip to India I learned how orange is a holy color. I saw people wearing a beautiful, bright orange everywhere I went. I’m really pleased to know the name derives from Sanskrit with this new appreciation for the color.
Learn more about different mediums, the history of the word orange, and why a color index is useful today on Artist Strong.
A glimpse of some of the statues at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, where I stayed.
Have two kinds of white paint. (pp 86)
It might be useful to have more than one kind of white pigment. I generally buy titanium white: it’s beautiful, thick, opaque. However after reading Jennings explain how zinc white is more transparent and thus good for glazing and creating tints, I want to take another trip to the art store!
Working in impasto with your oils? Holy cow watch out for those drying times!
Artist George Rowlett shares his work and process in this book. He likes to create very thick, impasto landscapes. He uses spatulas to apply the paint, actively choosing NOT to use paintbrushes. He claims a skin will form in about 1-2 weeks time (the topmost layer dries in a few weeks) but for the entire painting to dry? He says it takes 4-6 YEARS for the work to dry all the way through… (pp 114).
We can find pigment sources in our own kitchen and backyard.
Food coloring, mustard powder, chili powder, brick dust, sandstone, terra cotta, grass, rose hip, blackberry, coal ash… the sky is the limit! Mix them with a little acrylic medium and see what you can create! (pp 145)
A Color Index is a tool to help you know your colors better.
You can request a color index from your preferred paint manufacturer. Indexes help you see what the pigments really look like dried on canvas or paper. Jennings created one as part of this book.
Jennings goes into a details history of specific colors, how they work according to the medium, and interviews several artists about their use of color. I’m really pleased to have this book for constant reference. Where I move next, The Artist’s Color Manual will be fit into one of those suitcases.
Original Review published here: http://www.artiststrong.com/artists-h...
I have a confession to make: I am an art book junkie. When I moved to Dubai from Massachusetts my suitcases were full of clothes. And books. Lots and lots of art books. Today’s Top 10 Takeaways is from The Artist’s Color Manual by Simon Jennings.
In the past 200 years so many new pigments and colors have been created that artists now have two to three times the number of pigments once available to artists. (pp 12)
Artists have always used the tools available to them. Part of me wonders if there can be such thing as too many choices?
Prehistoric artists only used yellow and red ochre, black and white. We still admire and value this artwork today.
There is something to be said for limitation. My philosophy when it comes to my color palette? Less is more.
There are two sets of primary colors: one for light and one for pigment.
Additive primary colors are the primaries of light. They are red, blue, and green. When you mix these primaries together they create the color white. You can see white light separated into the many colors that create it when you look at the colors showing on soap bubbles or when you observe oil on water.
Subtractive primary colors are the primaries of pigment. They are red, yellow and blue. Mix them together to create a dark grey, almost black. (Technically, there is no such thing as black. Black is the absence of color.) (pp24-25).
Recommended Starter Palettes. (pp 31-33)
For oil painters: cobalt blue, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, raw umber, viridian, cadmium red, titanium white
For watercolor painters: alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow pale, cadmium red, hooker’s green, french ultramarine
For acrylic painters: cadmium red, french ultramarine, cadmium yellow, burnt umber, raw umber, yellow ochre, titanium white
Generally speaking, if you are newer to painting and color theory, it’s best to work with a smaller number of pigments and increase the number of colors you include as you grow increasingly confident with color relationships.
Learn more about different mediums, the history of the word orange, and why a color index is useful today on Artist Strong.
Crystal prisms, and pieces of quartz like this, can divide light into it's many colors.
Medium: What is it?
It is a term to describe the art material used by an artist to create art; for example: oil or acrylic paint. Or clay. Or pencil. It’s plural form is MEDIA.
It is also a term that refers to assorted liquids and pastes you can add to paint to alter flow, transparency, or drying time. It’s plural form is MEDIUMS.
Confession time: All art teachers have little quirks and/or pet peeves. One colleague I worked with got really annoyed with every teenager who wanted to paint on mirrors (it really seems to be a thing). Another colleague had to label all of our resources in the classroom. Me? I don’t know why, but I hate when people misuse the plural forms of these terms. I’ll go now and hide, because I’m sure I need to re-read a bunch of blog posts and correct the very error I hate. ;)
“Color is a language...” (pp 42)
I love this quote. Color IS a language and helps us to communicate so much in our art. Color also provides important visual information in everyday life! Consider red: stop signs, stop lights, danger, christmas. The more we practice using this language the more clearly we can convey our message.
“The color orange is named after the Sanskrit word ‘narangah’ for the fruit.” (pp 60).
During my recent trip to India I learned how orange is a holy color. I saw people wearing a beautiful, bright orange everywhere I went. I’m really pleased to know the name derives from Sanskrit with this new appreciation for the color.
Learn more about different mediums, the history of the word orange, and why a color index is useful today on Artist Strong.
A glimpse of some of the statues at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, where I stayed.
Have two kinds of white paint. (pp 86)
It might be useful to have more than one kind of white pigment. I generally buy titanium white: it’s beautiful, thick, opaque. However after reading Jennings explain how zinc white is more transparent and thus good for glazing and creating tints, I want to take another trip to the art store!
Working in impasto with your oils? Holy cow watch out for those drying times!
Artist George Rowlett shares his work and process in this book. He likes to create very thick, impasto landscapes. He uses spatulas to apply the paint, actively choosing NOT to use paintbrushes. He claims a skin will form in about 1-2 weeks time (the topmost layer dries in a few weeks) but for the entire painting to dry? He says it takes 4-6 YEARS for the work to dry all the way through… (pp 114).
We can find pigment sources in our own kitchen and backyard.
Food coloring, mustard powder, chili powder, brick dust, sandstone, terra cotta, grass, rose hip, blackberry, coal ash… the sky is the limit! Mix them with a little acrylic medium and see what you can create! (pp 145)
A Color Index is a tool to help you know your colors better.
You can request a color index from your preferred paint manufacturer. Indexes help you see what the pigments really look like dried on canvas or paper. Jennings created one as part of this book.
Jennings goes into a details history of specific colors, how they work according to the medium, and interviews several artists about their use of color. I’m really pleased to have this book for constant reference. Where I move next, The Artist’s Color Manual will be fit into one of those suitcases.
Original Review published here: http://www.artiststrong.com/artists-h...
June 22, 2021
Everything you need to know about colour! Contains an interesting, concise history of artist's pigments that covers ancient/traditional to how modern pigments came to be. Several useful examples of palettes in various mediums and some gorgeous artwork examples. Great color reference section included as well.
April 6, 2018
Borrowed from my local library. Very good references and I learned heaps about colors and mixing, which I will use in my future paintings.
June 15, 2013
Some of the more hyper-critical reviews have me wondering what people expect of such a book... The Artist's Color Manual is ludicrously informative, particularly in the descriptions of the evolution of each color's historical mode of production. It'll have you wondering how, if pigment, up until modern times, really was so toxic, any artist survived for more than a few years of art-making without poisoning themselves. And you know those weird little numbers all over your paint tubes you always wondered about? This book will help you decipher them.
August 3, 2011
So very useful! I'll never have to make a color chart again! I couldn't believe my luck in this find- hundreds of ideas on ways to strike out into new chromatic territory, break bad color-mixing habits,media techniques, and a very interesting section devoted to the history of each hue and the process of making it. I love this book. Love it.
February 23, 2024
I really liked this book. It consists of 3 chapters and a Color Index. Chapter 1 just goes over "What is Color?" Chapter 2 describes each color, it gives a little bit of history on the hue and how it is made. Chapter 3 lists a few different artist's color palettes and their style. I really liked the color index in the back and wish I could find a book of just that.
November 10, 2007
like really good chocolate for the eyes. The writing is fine, but it's the deep, saturated images of color that brings bliss.
March 29, 2008
This book is aesthetically beautiful and shares a ton of information about our world of colors.
August 30, 2012
The first half is very usefull But the last part (the artist walkthrough) is a bit superficial - But still absolutly worth reading
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews