How to Mix Sky Blue Oil Paint
To mix sky blue with oil paint, combine 3 parts Titanium White and 2 parts French Ultramarine. Sky blue is mostly white with blue tinted in. Real skies get lighter and warmer toward the horizon, so mix a second, paler batch for the lower sky.
Opens the free browser simulator with these colors on the palette. Squeeze them out and blend with the palette knife.
Step by step
- Put down 3 parts of Titanium White. It is the largest amount, so it is your base.
- Add 2 parts of French Ultramarine.
- Blend with a palette knife, folding the paint over itself until no streaks of the separate colors remain.
- Pull a thin smear out to the side. Thin paint shows the true color better than a thick pile.
Lighter versions of sky blue
The same recipe with more and more titanium white mixed in, by volume:
#83BFE8
#99CAEA
#A9D1EA
#BCDAEB
#D8E8ED
Another way to mix sky blue
With Cerulean Blue and Titanium White: 5 parts Cerulean Blue and 3 parts Titanium White.
Tips for mixing blues
Blues are strong tinters. Add them to the lighter color in small amounts, because it is much easier to add more blue than to rescue a mix that has gone too dark.
Questions
What colors make sky blue?
To mix sky blue with oil paint, combine 3 parts Titanium White and 2 parts French Ultramarine. You can also mix it from 5 parts Cerulean Blue and 3 parts Titanium White.
How do you make sky blue lighter?
Add titanium white a little at a time. Adding the same amount of white as the whole mix gives about #BCDAEB. White also cools and softens a color, so you may need a touch more of the warm color in the recipe to keep the same character.
How do you make sky blue darker?
Add a little more of the blue itself, or a speck of burnt umber. Umber is close to blue's complement, so it deepens the blue without turning it grey as fast as black does.