<p>It would be helpful to know the order of magnitude of your volumes.</p>

<p>I paint miniatures and so milliliters are often enough. In this case my paints are in dropper bottles and I count the droplets I add to the mix. </p>

<p>For bigger volumes I would use a transparent bottle and make a level mark for each colour I add. So next time the marks could be reused in the same bottle to get the same ratio.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-26T21:13:49.743Z
I see, ok so your dispenser (the dropper bottles) dispenses discrete amounts, which you simply count/keep track. That makes a lot of sense. The transparent bottle idea is excellent too, I will keep that in mind. Thank you!
Paul Richter
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-26T20:57:10.370Z
2016-04-26T21:20:10.123Z
2016-04-26T21:20:10.123Z
Oneira
<p><strong>Some Background</strong></p>

<p>Back in 2014, I made a "wand" out of a wooden dowel, and some glue gun glue for the handle. The "wand" part was a single pre-made colour, but for the handle, I mixed together a few different colours to create a nice brown-ish colour. Once I was satisfied, I began to happily paint the handle, unaware that I had not mixed enough of the colour. Once I began to run out, I attempted to re-mix the colours in roughly the same ratio as best I could remember, but obviously it wasn't exact.</p>

<p>I ended up having to do this at least twice, as far as I remember. I managed to get the colour pretty close, almost indistinguishable, but by the third time, I simply mixed a massive amount and painted over what I had already done.</p>

<p>While this was not the end of the world, it dawned on me that there must be a better way than simply eyeballing amounts and relying on memory to determine ratios.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong></p>

<p>How would a more experienced crafter/painter ensure that, if they needed to mix a new batch of a custom colour, they mixed colours in the proper ratios each time?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-12T23:36:34.767Z
Mostly, I go with the "mix a (relatively) massive amount" method, which is fine because I use watercolors - if there are leftovers, I let them dry out, and then I can use them for the next project by adding water. I have no idea what people do when painting a large canvas with oil paints or acrylics, other than maybe "don't mix your own colors, buy them instead".
Martha
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-10T14:54:37.557Z
There are things called paint mixing cups that have different measurements all over the sides. Those are really good, and I know some people do it by weight. They get a cup, put it on a scale, then pour paints in to the right weight. So it could be like 9g or blue, 7g or red, and 2g of white to make light purple,
DripKracken
<paint>
When mixing paint colours, what is a good technique for ensuring consistent ratios each time a new batch needs to be created?
Paul Richter
# When mixing paint colours, what is a good technique for ensuring consistent ratios each time a new batch needs to be created?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-04-26)

**Some Background**

Back in 2014, I made a "wand" out of a wooden dowel, and some glue gun glue for the handle. The "wand" part was a single pre-made colour, but for the handle, I mixed together a few different colours to create a nice brown-ish colour. Once I was satisfied, I began to happily paint the handle, unaware that I had not mixed enough of the colour. Once I began to run out, I attempted to re-mix the colours in roughly the same ratio as best I could remember, but obviously it wasn't exact.

I ended up having to do this at least twice, as far as I remember. I managed to get the colour pretty close, almost indistinguishable, but by the third time, I simply mixed a massive amount and painted over what I had already done.

While this was not the end of the world, it dawned on me that there must be a better way than simply eyeballing amounts and relying on memory to determine ratios.

**Question**

How would a more experienced crafter/painter ensure that, if they needed to mix a new batch of a custom colour, they mixed colours in the proper ratios each time?

**Tags:** paint

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Mostly, I go with the "mix a (relatively) massive amount" method, which is fine because I use watercolors - if there are leftovers, I let them dry out, and then I can use them for the next project by adding water. I have no idea what people do when painting a large canvas with oil paints or acrylics, other than maybe "don't mix your own colors, buy them instead".  
> **username_2**: There are things called paint mixing cups that have different measurements all over the sides. Those are really good, and I know some people do it by weight. They get a cup, put it on a scale, then pour paints in to the right weight. So it could be like 9g or blue, 7g or red, and 2g of white to make light purple,  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-04-26. Score: 11 | Accepted answer

It would be helpful to know the order of magnitude of your volumes.

I paint miniatures and so milliliters are often enough. In this case my paints are in dropper bottles and I count the droplets I add to the mix.

For bigger volumes I would use a transparent bottle and make a level mark for each colour I add. So next time the marks could be reused in the same bottle to get the same ratio.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I see, ok so your dispenser (the dropper bottles) dispenses discrete amounts, which you simply count/keep track. That makes a lot of sense. The transparent bottle idea is excellent too, I will keep that in mind. Thank you!  

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