Colour mixing

Red-orange is produced by combining red and yellow. When the mixture appears too red, the governing principle is to increase the proportion of its yellow component. Adding a little yellow gradually shifts the hue toward orange without changing it abruptly. Blue or green may dull the mixture, and black mainly lowers its value by darkening it rather than making it more orange. Thus, option C is correct.

Yellow-orange lies between yellow and orange and contains both yellow and red influences. If it appears too orange, the governing mixing principle is to increase the yellow component carefully. A little yellow shifts the hue back toward yellow-orange. Red would make it still warmer and more orange, while blue or green can dull the mixture and move it away from the intended bright hue. Therefore, option D is correct.

Yellow-green is a mixture in which yellow and green are both visible. If it becomes too yellow, the governing principle is to increase the green component slightly. Add a little green, mix thoroughly, and check the colour before adding more. Red or orange can make the mixture dull or shift it toward warmer hues, while white mainly lightens the colour rather than correcting its yellow bias. Hence, option A is correct.

Blue-green is made from blue and green, with the final appearance depending on their relative proportions. If the mixture looks too green, the governing principle is to add a small amount of the blue component. This shifts the hue toward blue while retaining some green. Yellow would push it toward yellow-green, red may dull it, and white only raises lightness. Therefore, option B is the suitable correction.

The governing concept is control of colour value and intensity during mixing. Dark pigments usually have a strong tinting strength, so even a small quantity can make a light mixture much darker or change its hue noticeably. Adding the dark colour gradually allows the artist to stop at the desired shade; adding light colour back later may require much more paint. Therefore, option C is correct.

The governing concept is checking colour appearance in the actual painting conditions. A colour may look different on a palette because the palette surface, surrounding colours, thickness, and moisture affect perception. A small paper sample shows its real hue, value, coverage, and lightness after application, allowing correction before the main work begins. The other choices do not describe this purpose, so option D is correct.

The governing concept is that the proportion of each component controls the resulting hue, value, and intensity. For example, increasing yellow in a yellow-orange mixture makes it more yellow, while increasing red makes it warmer and more orange. Careful measurement or gradual addition helps reproduce a desired colour consistently. Proportion does not determine brush size, paper thickness, or drying, so option C is correct.

The governing concept is preventing colour contamination during mixing. A clean, separate tool keeps leftover pigment from one colour out of another, so the resulting mixture remains closer to the intended hue, value, and intensity. Therefore, option D is correct. Separate tools do not make paint dry faster, enlarge the palette, or automatically make every colour lighter; they improve control and colour purity.

The governing concept is a tint: adding white increases the lightness or value of a base colour. As the amount of white becomes excessive, the original hue loses depth and appears very pale, so option A is correct. Black would normally make a colour darker, while white cannot turn the mixture into black or automatically change it into its complementary colour. White should therefore be added gradually.

The governing concept is adjusting the proportion of neighbouring hues in a colour mixture. Blue-violet contains blue with a violet or red tendency; increasing red shifts the mixture toward a more balanced violet. Thus option B is correct. Yellow and green move the mixture away from violet, while white mainly raises its lightness and creates a tint rather than making it more violet. Only a small amount should be added at a time.

The governing concept is restoring the proportion of the base pigment. Light blue usually contains blue mixed with white; adding a little more blue increases the concentration of the original hue and makes the mixture deeper and bluer. Therefore, option C is correct. More white would make it lighter, while yellow or orange would shift the hue and may dull or alter the blue rather than deepen it. Add blue gradually to avoid overcorrection.

The governing concept is organised colour mixing and contamination control. Separate palette areas keep different pigments or prepared mixtures apart, allowing each colour to retain its intended hue and strength. Consequently, option D is correct. Dividing the palette does not change its weight, speed up drying, or alter the brush length. Clean spacing also makes it easier to compare mixtures and control the amount of each pigment accurately.

The governing concept is shifting a hue by changing the ratio of its component colours. Yellow-orange contains more yellow than a balanced orange; adding a small amount of red moves the mixture toward an equal red-yellow relationship. Thus option A is correct. White would only lighten it, while blue and green would introduce contrasting or neighbouring influences that do not produce a balanced orange. Small additions allow careful control.

The governing concept is subtractive pigment mixing combined with the effect of a large amount of white. Red and yellow together create a warm orange-like mixture; when only small amounts are added to white, the result becomes a pale peach or peach-like tint. Therefore, option B is correct. Blue-violet and green require different pigment relationships, and the presence of abundant white prevents the result from being dark.

The governing concept is testing a colour before final application. A small sample on paper reveals how the mixture actually appears on the intended surface, including its hue, value, and approximate intensity after spreading or drying. Hence option C is correct. The test does not thicken the paper, renew the brush, or turn the colour black. Sampling also prevents a wrong mixture from spoiling the finished artwork.

In traditional subtractive colour mixing, red and blue are treated as primary colours. Combining these two produces violet, which is classified as a secondary colour; therefore option C is correct. Orange comes from red plus yellow, while green comes from yellow plus blue. A useful memory rule is: red-yellow gives orange, yellow-blue gives green, and blue-red gives violet.

In colour theory, a tone is made by adding grey to a pure hue. The grey lowers the colour’s saturation or intensity and makes it appear softer, so option B is correct. A tint is created by adding white, whereas a shade is created by adding black. A complementary colour is a colour relationship on the colour wheel, not a result of adding grey.

Adding a small amount of yellow to orange shifts the hue toward yellow, producing yellow-orange; therefore option C is correct. Orange and yellow are neighbouring warm colours on the colour wheel, so the change is gradual rather than a move toward an unrelated hue. Red-orange would result if red were added to orange. The direction of a mixture generally follows the colour that has been added.

When a little orange is added to red, red remains the dominant hue and the mixture shifts slightly toward orange. The resulting intermediate or tertiary colour is red-orange, so option A is correct. Yellow-orange would require yellow and orange, while yellow-green and blue-violet require completely different neighbouring colour pairs. The larger or dominant component usually controls the main visual direction.

Blue and violet are adjacent on the colour wheel. Mixing them produces the intermediate tertiary colour blue-violet, so option C is correct. This result combines the primary colour blue with the neighbouring secondary colour violet. Red-orange, yellow-orange, and yellow-green belong to other neighbouring pairs involving red, yellow, or green; none of those ingredients is the pair given in the question.

Testing a small sample is a practical colour-mixing method because it allows the painter to observe the likely hue, value, and intensity before using a larger quantity. It helps predict whether the mixture matches the intended result and prevents waste of paint and paper, so option A is correct. It does not make a brush heavy, polish paper, or instantly dry the paint.

Orange is produced by combining red and yellow. If red is present in the greater proportion, its hue has the stronger visual influence, so the orange shifts toward red and appears reddish orange; option B is correct. If yellow were greater, the result would be yellowish orange. Bluish orange introduces a colour not used in the mixture, while grey orange refers to lowered intensity rather than a greater red proportion.

Green is commonly made by mixing yellow and blue. When yellow is used in the greater amount, the hue moves toward yellow and appears yellowish green, making option C correct. A blue-green result would indicate a greater influence of blue. Dark green describes a change in value or depth, not specifically a higher yellow proportion, and violet-green is not the expected result of the stated two-colour mixture.

Violet is formed from red and blue. If the mixture contains more blue, blue becomes the dominant visual influence, so the violet shifts toward blue and appears bluish violet; option D is correct. More red would produce reddish violet. Yellowish violet and orange violet are not the expected directional changes because yellow and orange are not the component whose proportion has increased.

The governing concept is colour testing before final application. Paint can appear different while wet because water, binder, or surface reflection affects its appearance; after drying, the visible value and intensity may change slightly. Applying a sample to separate paper allows the artist to inspect the dry result and adjust the mixture before using it on the artwork. Paper size, brush length, and erasing are unrelated to this purpose, so option A is correct.