<p>The result of that first mixture sounds exactly like expected.</p>
<p>Your idea of raw umber is not completely right, though: it is generally a neutral, somewhat cool, subdued brown pigment. But in combination with the cool white of white acrylic, it might appear redder and warmer.</p>
<p>What is surprising to me is that combined with Cadmium yellow light, it becomes a muted green. This would indicate the presence of blueish pigments.<br />
Depending on the manufacturer this could be the case, as some cadmium yellows are shifting towards a greener lemon yellow rather than a neutral yellow. I think this result is more indicative of the nature of your cadmium paint than that of your raw umber.</p>
<p>As a sidenote, as mentioned in the last paragraph of <a href="https://crafts.stackexchange.com/a/5865/6388">my answer here</a>, naming conventions are a mess: pigments and color names can vary quite substantially per brand, line, and even batch.</p>
<p>Pbr7 (brown iron oxide) is <a href="https://www.artiscreation.com/brown.html#PBr7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a widely used pigment</a>, and is used in a variety of paints, but its hue can vary slightly, as well (depending on the manufacturing process and origin and nature of the iron, I assume).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-15T11:46:27.667Z
Ah, I see. What would you suggest for a neutral yellow or warm yellow?
Bluebug
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-15T12:50:45.363Z
@Bluebug What is your end goal here? To have a greenish grey imprimatura (on the warm side)? Regular cadmium yellows (or cadmium yellow medium) tend to be quite warm, but for dull greens it can be worthwhile to mix in a little yellow ochre, as it is more neutral.
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-16T13:54:38.887Z
my palette right now has lemon yellow and cad yellow light. I should have one warm and one cold yellow right? I find the cad yellow light is very close to the lemon yellow. And yes my goal was to create dull greenish grey for the underpainting's background.
Bluebug
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-16T16:59:53.103Z
@Bluebug If you have a blue, that would make it easiest to get a dull greenish grey. You can mix in some raw umber to bring it closer to a neutral grey, and, since it is relatively warm, it might offset the cool green a little. The lemon yellow won't be of much help, I'm afraid.
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-15T09:27:14.043Z
2024-07-27T18:41:07.663Z
2024-07-27T18:41:07.663Z
Joachim
<p>I'm using Liquitex Heavybody Raw Umber to mix with some white gesso (generic regional brand) to prepare a canvas (white, pre-primed, store-bought).</p>
<p>I was under the impression that Raw Umber is a greenish earth tone and mixed with (titanium) white would produce a cold dull greenish grey. But after mixing with white gesso, I'm getting a reddish dull grey.<br />
In the first thin layer, it's pretty warm and reddish like Burnt Sienna mixed with excess white. And on the second layer with thicker gesso and more paint, I'm getting a warm but muter reddish grey.<br />
Why is this happening? Is it because titanium white and white gesso has different pigments?</p>
<p>To test the paint, I mixed it with some Cadmium Yellow Light, and it produced a muted green. The paint also uses the standard PBr7 pigment.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-15T16:48:59.243Z
Was the cadmium yellow true cadmium or a "hue" ie a substitution of pigments that mimics the cadmium? The hues tend to behave differently when mixed with other paints.
rebusB
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-16T13:55:14.917Z
Not a hue. Cad yellow light. That's what the tube said.
Bluebug
<painting><paint><acrylic-paint>
Why does Raw Umber have a reddish tone?
Bluebug
# Why does Raw Umber have a reddish tone?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-07-14)

I'm using Liquitex Heavybody Raw Umber to mix with some white gesso (generic regional brand) to prepare a canvas (white, pre-primed, store-bought).

I was under the impression that Raw Umber is a greenish earth tone and mixed with (titanium) white would produce a cold dull greenish grey. But after mixing with white gesso, I'm getting a reddish dull grey.  
In the first thin layer, it's pretty warm and reddish like Burnt Sienna mixed with excess white. And on the second layer with thicker gesso and more paint, I'm getting a warm but muter reddish grey.  
Why is this happening? Is it because titanium white and white gesso has different pigments?

To test the paint, I mixed it with some Cadmium Yellow Light, and it produced a muted green. The paint also uses the standard PBr7 pigment.

**Tags:** painting, paint, acrylic-paint

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Was the cadmium yellow true cadmium or a "hue" ie a substitution of pigments that mimics the cadmium? The hues tend to behave differently when mixed with other paints.  
> **username_0**: Not a hue. Cad yellow light. That's what the tube said.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-07-15. Score: 3

The result of that first mixture sounds exactly like expected.

Your idea of raw umber is not completely right, though: it is generally a neutral, somewhat cool, subdued brown pigment. But in combination with the cool white of white acrylic, it might appear redder and warmer.

What is surprising to me is that combined with Cadmium yellow light, it becomes a muted green. This would indicate the presence of blueish pigments.  
Depending on the manufacturer this could be the case, as some cadmium yellows are shifting towards a greener lemon yellow rather than a neutral yellow. I think this result is more indicative of the nature of your cadmium paint than that of your raw umber.

As a sidenote, as mentioned in the last paragraph of [my answer here](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/a/5865/6388), naming conventions are a mess: pigments and color names can vary quite substantially per brand, line, and even batch.

Pbr7 (brown iron oxide) is [a widely used pigment](https://www.artiscreation.com/brown.html#PBr7), and is used in a variety of paints, but its hue can vary slightly, as well (depending on the manufacturing process and origin and nature of the iron, I assume).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Ah, I see. What would you suggest for a neutral yellow or warm yellow?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 What is your end goal here? To have a greenish grey imprimatura (on the warm side)? Regular cadmium yellows (or cadmium yellow medium) tend to be quite warm, but for dull greens it can be worthwhile to mix in a little yellow ochre, as it is more neutral.  
> **username_0**: my palette right now has lemon yellow and cad yellow light. I should have one warm and one cold yellow right? I find the cad yellow light is very close to the lemon yellow. And yes my goal was to create dull greenish grey for the underpainting's background.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 If you have a blue, that would make it easiest to get a dull greenish grey. You can mix in some raw umber to bring it closer to a neutral grey, and, since it is relatively warm, it might offset the cool green a little. The lemon yellow won't be of much help, I'm afraid.  

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