Mixing Colors, Red and Green, in Polymer Clay (technique works for paints also)

 Lilian Nichols tells us to never throw away scraps.  It is possible to use even the most ugly scraps.  This scrap isn't even ugly.  It will make a nice simple leaf.

A simple leaf is my end goal.

I decided to start from the beginning on another green tones bull's eye so you can see the whole process.  This is Part One.

I started with two entire squares of Green Premo.

 I rolled out one square, then ran it through the pasta maker until it was soft and pliable.  I used the thickest setting.  Then I laid a small piece of Cadmium red on it.

I ran the sheet through the pasta maker, folding it and rerunning it through until the red was well mixed into the green.

The green I made was very, very dark.  I could have used half the red that I did use.

I sliced off a rectangle of the green and of the dark green.

When I mixed them thoroughly using the pasta maker, I had another green, the one on the left.

The green was still quite dark so I mixed two parts pure green to one part dark green and this is the second of the four greens below.

The new green was still too dark so I mixed another strip of pure green into it.  I created the second green from the left.

I'm not finished with mixing or choosing my final colors for the bull's eye cane.  

This green to dark green example shows you one principle of color mixing.  If you want a darker green add the red which is opposite on the standard color wheel.  The opposite works, too. To make a darker red, start with red and add a little green.  Red and Green are compliments.  

Yellow and Violet are opposites or compliments and so are Orange and Blue.  Use a tiny bit of violet to dull a yellow or a little blue to darken an orange.