Your four-year-old daughter is getting ready for another art project. This time she is drawing Mr. Lemon and trying to figure out ‘how to make lime green paint. She needs help and it’s time for the ultimate test of your knowledge on ‘dusty old color theory’ from your elementary school.
Seems like your brain cells are not quite in the mood to help. Can’t remember how to properly make a lime green color? No worries, this easy guide is here to save the day and maybe conceal the history of your ‘award-winning’ bad drawings from elementary school also!
So, pull down the ladder, grab your “dusty old color theory” from the attic, and check this easy guide to brush up your knowledge on making up lime green.
Contents
What Colors Make Lime Green?
Mixing yellow and blue gives you green. Mixing a certain amount of them provides an excellent lime green color. Also, adding white can influence the result notably. We will know everything in detail below.
Colors express emotions. Our surroundings are filled with lots of colors. The colors we see around us are not always produced in primary forms. Some colors are produced in nature as raw and primary products while others appear in different and more complex forms from those primary colors.
Every color contains some amount of primary color forms, and most of the time they are just a mixture of those basic colors. To make colors that are made from a mixture of primary colors, certain steps need to be followed. The steps are also the same for making a lime green color.
1. Learning the Color Basics
Learning the color basics is the first step towards making lime green paint. And to learn the color basics, first, we need a color wheel. Before putting the color wheel in motion, let’s find out what actually a color wheel is.
A color wheel is a circle where color hues are displayed around it. It generally contains three types of colors, primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Let’s take a deep look at these different types of colors to gather more knowledge about color basics and train your brain to make color combinations like Picasso!
- Primary Colors: Primary colors are the source of all colors that we see around us. Primary colors don’t mix with other colors on the other hand secondary and tertiary colors are made from the mix of two or more primary colors. There are 3 primary colors; Red, Yellow, and Blue. The primary colors are also known as RYB.
- Secondary Colors: Secondary colors are prepared by a mixture of two primary colors of equal amounts. The mixture of primary colors makes a new color that shares some characteristics from both primary colors. The secondary colors are usually found between the primary colors in the color wheel.
- There are 3 secondary colors. Green, Orange, and Violet are examples of secondary colors. Orange is made from a mixture of Red and Yellow, Green from a combination of blue and yellow, and Violet is from a mixture of Red and Blue.
- Tertiary Colors: Tertiary colors are produced from a mixture of primary colors with secondary colors. These colors are also known as intermediate colors. You will find the tertiary colors in between the primary colors and secondary colors in the color wheel. The number of tertiary hues is six; Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Blue-Green, Red-Violet, and Blue-Violet.
2. What Two Colors Make Lime Green?
This is another important step you should follow carefully. Without identifying the colors that make lime green, you can’t make the color you really need. Lime green is a little complex color. Lime green is a lighter shade of green, so, the primary shade of lime green will be the same as green.
That’s why you need to mix Yellow and Blue to get the Green color first.
Finally, adding a lighter color like white will give the green color a light, limey hue. You can make lime green without adding a lighter shade as well. Lime green made up of 3/4 yellow and 1/4 blue looks great as well.
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How to Make Lime Green Color when One (Primary Color) is Missing?
You are now ready to make the perfect lime color. Wait, did you check the paint tubes? What if your Yellow or Blue ran out, or one of them is missing? No worries. You can still make your desired lime green color paint. Take a look at these scenarios to learn how you can make your lime green color when yellow or blue is missing.
- When Yellow Is Missing
Lime green is unimaginable without green. But how can you make green when you are missing one of the most important colors for making a green hue, yellow?
Actually, you still can go green without yellow. You can pick a combination of raw sienna and Prussian blue, or orange and ultramarine blue to make the green color. After that, you may apply your desired technique to achieve the lime green color.
- When Blue Is Missing
If blue is missing, you can go with the combination of cadmium yellow light and burnt umber, or cadmium yellow light and Payne’s grey. Burnt umber and Payne’s grey will work as a substitute for blue. Now, you will be able to make green from it, and finally adding a lighter hue you will get a lime green color from it.
Read Next:
How to Make Lime Green Paint: Step-by-Step Guide
Okay, you just mastered the art of colors, now it’s time to find the answer to the straight question.
Here are the key steps to make lime green paint. Follow these easy steps to make the best lime color that suits Mr. Lemon’s skin perfectly. So, grab your painting apron and a detergent, because it’s going to be a messy experiment!
Step 1: Collecting the Right Equipment
Before you start your limey experiment, first you need some colors and other stuff to make the best lime green color. Here are the things that you will need:
- Paints: Yellow, Blue, White, Black
- Color mixing tray
- Paintbrush
- A Spoon or Wooden spatula
Step 2: Measuring the Paint
Pour some amount of yellow into your color mixing tray depending on the amount of lime green hue you want. But make sure you use the yellow paint a little bit more than the blue paint because the amount of yellow paint is more likely to determine the amount of lime green color you will get.
Pour some amount of blue into the same color mixing tray. Depending on the amount of yellow paint, pour blue paint a little bit less than the yellow paint. This will give you a head start for achieving a lime green color.
But if you want a green color first then the lime color, you should pour the same amount of yellow and blue color. This will give you a perfect green color. After that, you may add lighter shades to make it lime green as desired. This is a safer way, especially for one who doesn’t have much knowledge about colors and paintings.
Step 3: Mixing the Colors
Now, use a spoon or wooden spatula to mix the paints. Stir the mixture using the spatula in a circular motion and make sure there are no streaks remaining. Finally, after mixing the colors you will get an eye-catching green color.
Step 4: Making the Lime Green
In the green color that you just made, add more yellow paint. This will give you a lighter shade of green, perhaps the lime green color. While adding the yellow paint, make sure you add a few drops of it at a time. If you need a lighter hue you can always add yellow paint as desired but be careful because you can’t take back what has already been added.
If you think the lime color looks a bit lighter than you want, add a very small amount of blue to the mixture to get a darker hue. Always add just a few drops of blue at a time. Be careful; do not use the blue color much as it will change the lime color into a dark green color.
If you think you got the right combination, stir the mixture until you get your desired lime green color. If you see streaks remaining, stir again properly as you will not get the perfect colors until there are no streaks remaining.
Final Words
Whether you are helping your four-year-old in her art project, adding a finishing touch to your craft, or simply painting your living room with a fine lime green color, picking the right amount of colors and learning the proper way of mixing them are the keys to achieve the perfect lime green hue.
So, why not spend a lazy afternoon with colors and brushes to find out which shades make the best lime green color?