Noodler's CMYK Color Mixes

[Limner]

I'm posting these in response to a request for more scans of an ink mix chart that I posted in another thread--if this is in the wrong section or is otherwise inappropriate I trust the moderators will move or remove it--thank you!

 

These are ink colors I mixed according to 4-color CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color conventions. There are other techniques for mixing color, but CMYK is the method I am most experienced with. It is the method used in full-color printing separation.

 

For the Primary Hues I used the following:

CYAN: Noodler's Navajo Turquoise

MAGENTA: Noodler's Shah's Rose

YELLOW: Noodler's Yellow

 

The secondary and tertiary hues are all mixed from different combinations of the primary hues, and were matched to a commercial CMYK color wheel (these are available at art supply stores, usually in the Graphic Arts section).

 

I mixed the Tints (pastels) using Noodler's White Whale. The same effect can be achieved by mixing with Blue Ghost, or even distilled water (for pastels without the ultraviolet properties).

 

Tones are muted colors acheived by mixing a hue with its complimentary hue (the color directly opposite on the color wheel). An infinite number of tones can be mixed from any complimentary hues, but in my experience the differences can be pretty subtle. I like tone mixtures, as I feel they have a softer, more "antique" look than Shades (colors mixed with black). With the Noodler's ink, tone mixes also don't separate in the bottle, as the colors mixed with black tend to do.

 

I used Bulletproof Black for mixing Shades (hue plus black). A little black goes a long way.

 

The formulas noted are parts ratios--ie, 1 (part) ink A plus 6 (parts) ink B. I mixed all the secondary and tertiary hues before continuing on with mixing the various tints, tones, and shades. I found that a mini ice cube tray, with cover, makes an ideal palette for mixing a lot of ink colors at once.

 

The scans show the colors arranged in a traditional color wheel format, an overall color chart (with formulas noted), and some writing samples. Unfortunately I have samples for only the primary, secondary, and tertiary hues, and one set of basic tones; I pooped out before I managed to reach the tints and shades. The paper used in all the samples is HP Laser.

 

Hopefully this will be of some interest/use to others. If not, my apologies.

 

EDIT:

My image files apparently aren't compatible with the FPN system...to see the scans, please click the links below (the files are large--they may take awhile to load for some members). Thanks, James!

 

Noodler's CMYK Color Chart

Color Wheel

Writing Samples

Edited September 25, 2007 by Limner

[captnemo]

Well I'll be darned. Nice work!

 

When first I saw the topic my first thought was that you'd have a hard time finding a suitable cyan color, but you did. Very cool.

[Limner]

Thank you, captnemo. I can't seem to find the edit function--wanted to add that the paper used in all the samples is HP Laser.

 

Edited to add that I found the edit button.

Edited September 24, 2007 by Limner

[HDoug]

Wow! This is something that will be a well used reference by many here. Just want to let you know that your time and effort are very much appreciated!

 

Doug

[jenik]

Amazing! Very useful indeed.

 

Jan

[Phthalo]

I love people who understand color theory! Thank you very much for this excellent resource.

[jd50ae]

Wow, that is outstanding.....

[limesally]

That was amazing! I love the color wheel! I hope this post can be stickied as a reference. You developed some beautiful color mixes.

 

Is there any reason to think they'd not be stable - is there any chance they'd change over time? Protected from light, say.

 

eta: I can't stop looking at the pictures! I really love the tones. Can anyone else see a run on Noodler's ink in those three colors?

Edited September 24, 2007 by limesally

[acfrery]

That was amazing! I love the color wheel! I hope this post can be stickied as a reference. You developed some beautiful color mixes.

 

Another vote for fixing this post as an excellent reference!

 

Thanks a lot,

 

Alejandro

[Ann Finley]

For the time being I'm linking this in the Ink Recipes pinned topic. This may change, and we'll advise if it gets moved.

 

Thank you very much, Limner, for all of your work on this and for sharing this very useful info. The only problem(s) as of this writing is that dial-up users will have problems loading this, and side by side the images can't be viewed without scrolling.

 

We'll see if this can be changed.

 

Thanks again,

Ann

 

[BillTheEditor]

For the time being I'm linking this in the Ink Recipes pinned topic. This may change, and we'll advise if it gets moved.

 

Thank you very much, Limner, for all of your work on this and for sharing this very useful info. The only problem(s) as of this writing is that dial-up users will have problems loading this, and side by side the images can't be viewed without scrolling.

 

We'll see if this can be changed.

 

Thanks again,

Ann

Thanks for pinning this. I was going to ask that it be pinned, but you've already taken care of it. Really a nice chart!

[rattybad1]

Wow, awesome! I admire your patience in putting all this together; very helpful too.

[southpaw]

Superb work, Limner! As a dial-up user, I will say it was worth the wait. Very nicely done.

[Stephen-I-am]

The high bar for ink mixing posts. Thanks! That blue-violet does look nice.

 

Stephen

[MicheleB]

Please add my "wow" and "thanks" to the long list above. AWESOME and very helpful!

[jmkeuning]

Holy Crapamoly!

 

If you want to post some super high res copies of these, please let me know. I have extra bandwidth and storage, and I would love to host it.

[Limner]

Thanks to everybody for the kind words, and you're certainly welcome! I should mention that I have a background in color specification and separation for printing, and I enjoy mixing colors, so formulating the colors wasn't a chore (though cleaning the pens after each sample was).

 

I assume the mixes are as stable as their "parent" colors--Noodlers claims their colors are all intermixable, and these three are all of similar saturation. I've had the charts and samples in a closed file cabinet and haven't noticed any changes in them.

 

My apologies for the original oversized scans--I reconfigured them so that they (hopefully) load better. It's a little harder to compare the colors in the reformatted chart but the formulas should still be legible. I'm on dial-up as well, but for some reason my browser was showing them as thumbnails and stacked, not side-by-side, so I didn't realize that there was a problem.

 

Also, Dick Blick art supplies (www.dickblick.com) carries CMYK color wheels, if anybody is interested in learning more about it. They also have sets of empty ink bottles. (No affiliation, but I shop with them fairly regularly as they have some very good prices).

[krz]

That's the same Noodler's CMYK set I've been using, but I never thought to chart them out. Great job!

 

 

CMYK ref

Edited September 25, 2007 by krz

[krz]

Just curious Limner. How many shades do you keep inked up? I tried keeping 20+ uniform pens inked up for drawing (Rotring Cores) which was fun for a while but I couldn't keep up with them all.

[Limner]

Twenty at once is a lot of colors! I don't think I've had more than twelve colors (not counting black) in pens at one time. I prefer using a limited palette--six or seven colors--and change my palette when the mood strikes. I use the chart as a 'menu' to select the colors, then mix up the ink in very small batches (I use Waterman Kulturs as my 'uniform set'--line the barrels up in a test-tube rack, and measure the inks right into the barrels).

 

A monochromatic palette is fun for sketching--pick one hue, and mix up a tint, couple of tones, and a couple of shades of just that hue. I like a palette of all tones too--since they don't have a waterproof component, the ink lines can be manipulated with a wet watercolor brush.

Edited September 26, 2007 by Limner