How to Make Red

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Red is a primary color so there’s nothing you can do to create pure red on any material. However, you can create many shades and tones of red by combining pure red with other colors.

Table of Contents

Learn color theory

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Understand that you cannot make red. Red is a primary color so you can’t create it by mixing multiple colors together.

The base color is the primary color and does not mix any other colors. In addition to red, blue and yellow are also primary colors.
While pure red cannot be created, you can still create many shades of red by mixing pure red with other colors. You can change the brightness of any red tone in the same way.

Change the tone by combining with other colors. Mixing pure red with other colors changes the shade of red. You can mix red with primary and secondary colors to produce a variety of results.

When mixing the base color with red, you should only use a small amount so as not to turn the red into a completely different color. A little yellow can create a reddish-orange tint, but too much will produce orange. A little blue will create a reddish-purple tint, but too much will produce purple.
Mixing red with orange will produce orange-red, but you should only use the same or less amount of orange as red to avoid creating a color that is more orange than red. Similarly, mixing red with purple will produce purple-red, but you’ll also only take the same amount of purple or less of red.
You can also mix red with a little secondary color, such as green. Since these two colors complement each other (two colors are in opposite positions on the palette circle), mixing green with red creates a reddish-brown tone. However, adding too much green will turn the red into a muddy brown or gray.

Change the brightness by adding black or white. If you want to change the brightness of the red while keeping the tint, you would mix pure red with black or white.

Adding white will make the color lighter. However, adding more white creates a pink color.
Adding black will create a darker color, but adding too much will make it difficult to tell it’s pure red.

Mix red

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Prepare some colors. When painting, you will need a variety of reds of different shades. You can create most shades by combining pure red with other colors.

At least you should have red, yellow, blue, orange, purple, green, black and white. For each color, you should try to choose the color that is closest to the original color for tinting.

Test with pure red. Put some red on the color tray. Use a brush to dab some color in the center of the scratch paper.

Observe the red streak. This will be the original sample and you will use it to compare with the other reds you will be mixing during the process.

Try mixing red with other primary colors. Add two red dots on the color tray. Add a little yellow to one red dot and blue to the other.

You just add a little color and stir until the streaks are gone. Adding too much color can cause the red color to change dramatically and turn into a different color.
Paint a red-orange line (blended with yellow) right next to the original red. Paint a purple-red line (blended with blue) on the other side of the original color trail. Compare the difference between two mixed shades of red.

Mix red with orange and purple. First, you will take the other two red dots. Add orange to one red dot and purple to the other.

You can mix two colors in equal proportions and still create a tint of red, but the red will be more pronounced if you only use a little secondary color (orange or purple).
Paint a red-orange streak just mixed right next to the previous red-orange. Fill in the new purple red right next to the old purple red. Compare the new color with the previously mixed similar color and the original color.

Mix red with green. Take some red on the color tray and add some green. The red will turn reddish brown. ^{[1] X Research Source}

It’s best to get a little green at first. If you want, you can gradually add more green to change the shade. Adding too much green will result in a brown or grayish brown color. ^{[2] X Research Source}
Paint the new color on the paper, close to where the original color is so you can compare the two.

Change brightness. Add some white to the magenta dot and some black to the other magenta dot. Stir the color.

Paint a dark red near sepia and compare; both paint colors are dark, but sepia will have a distinct brown tint and dark red will not.
Paint a bright red streak on the paper. Compare this color with other colors.

Make the sugar cream red

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Make the whipped cream first. It may seem a bit difficult to make the icing sugar bright red or dark red, but the color of the icing will become more pronounced over time. Therefore, it is best to prepare the sugar cream 24 to 72 hours before it needs to be used to properly color the sugar cream.

This is especially important when you want to make pure red sugar ice cream with red food coloring, but you can still apply this to other shades of red when the color isn’t as bold as you’d like.

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Taste the whipped cream from time to time. When it comes to a dark or bright red color, the amount of color you use can make the sugar cream bitter.

Tasting the ice cream during the process will allow you to control the taste change and avoid making the sugar ice cream bitter.
However, if the sugar cream is bitter, you can fix it by adding flavoring. Choose only colorless flavorings and use about 1/4 teaspoon of flavoring per cup of whipped cream.

Add more red to the white sugar cream. Putting white sugar cream in a bowl does not cause a chemical reaction. Slowly add the red food coloring, stirring after each addition, and continue until you have a bright red color.

It’s best to choose gel or powdered food coloring specifically for sugar cream. Ordinary food coloring is not concentrated enough; Sufficient amounts of color to produce a red color can ruin the taste and texture of whipped cream.
As a rule of thumb, you’ll need about 1/2 teaspoon of red for each cup of white sugar creamer. If you’re using the “unflavored” red, you’ll get 1 teaspoon per cup of whipped cream. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Try mixing red with brown. If you want to create a dark red sugar cream, but only have a bright red color, a good way to create the desired color is to add a little brown. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Add red food coloring to the white sugar cream in the same way as described earlier. Continue adding color until you have a deep pink or magenta color.
Add brown food coloring to the red sugar cream and stir well. The amount of brown food coloring should be about 1/4 of the amount of red used or less. After stirring, you will have a dark red sugar cream with a brownish tint.
- Similarly, you can mix brown cocoa powder into red sugar cream for a darker color. This will also change the taste.

Try mixing other reds. Similar to paint, you can still change the color of the icing by mixing pure red or deep red food coloring with other colors. Try different combinations; each time you try, you need to put the white sugar cream in a clean bowl.

Make burgundy sugar cream by using 5 parts red (“rose pink”) to one part purple.
Make a maroon-red sugar cream by combining 2 parts red-red with one part burgundy.
Create a raspberry red by combining red-red with pink. ^{[5] X Research Sources}
Create a reddish-brown color by combining 2 to 3 parts dark red, 5 to 8 parts orange, and 1 part brown.
Make a deep ruby red by adding a little black to the red sugar cream. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Give red color to ppymer clay

Create a hot red color gamut. If you want to create red with hot shades, but only have pure red clay, simply combine the red with a little orange or yellow.

Use a bronze color and avoid using yellow with a green tint as it will create a reddish brown color. Most orange clays can be combined effectively.
To avoid obvious discolouration, just add a little bit of different colored clay to the red clay. Next, you will knead, knead and squeeze until the clay no longer has colored stripes. If you want to create a noticeable color change in the clay, you will increase the number of other colors and do the same thing.

Create a cool red color. If you need to create a cool-toned red, you would combine pure red clay with a little blue or purple clay.

Warm blues with a hint of purple are more effective than cool colors with greens. Blue mixed with green can create color with brown tones. However, most purple clays can be combined effectively.
Similar to the hot red, you will mix the cool red by adding a little bit of different colored clay to the red one at a time.

Create a deep red color. You can darken the red clay by adding a little brown or black clay. No matter what color you use, you should only add a small amount to avoid creating a noticeable color shift.

Adding brown clay also gradually creates a darker color, but this also causes the clay to brown.
Adding black clay will make the red clay darker, but won’t change the original color.

Create a bright red color. You can make red clay a brighter color by using a little white or translucent clay.

Choose one of the two clays and add some to the red clay. If the red clay is still not bright enough, you can add more clay until the color you want. ^{[7] X Research Sources}
Adding white clay will change the brightness, but adding too much can turn reds into pinks.
Adding translucent clay will make the color less bright without changing the brightness. Add only about 1/3 of the translucent clay as compared to the original sample, as using more can turn the red into a slightly clear color instead of opaque.