Change the Color Value. Make your Colors Darker or Lighter
If you look on the back side of a color wheel, you will see how black and white added to the colors darken and lighten them.
When you do this, you Change the Color Value.
You will also see what is called a Gray Scale. It shows the different values from black to white so you can compare them as you mix your colors.
I personally do not like using black if I don’t have too, because I feel that it deadens the color. What I prefer to use are complimentary colors.
So now you want to know… How do you make black paint that won’t deaden your colors?
The answer is: Use ultramarine blue and burnt umber. Usually it is about equal parts, but your can adjust to your liking.
Here is an example of mixing a little red into green to give you a darker shade of green. If I had added a small amount of green to the red, it would have darkened the red.