Thursday, March 13, 2014

Rock Painting Tip: How to Identify Colors from a Photo

 
This recent rock painting project called for cadmium yellow deep acrylic paint. I did not own that color and I had no clue what it looked like other than a shade of yellow.

An internet search for cadmium yellow deep returned several different shades.


Which of these deep cadmium yellows was I supposed to use?

Here's a helpful tip to identify colors and color match using the Microsoft Paint program and the color picker tool.


For my example, I'm using a photo of Cadi, my favorite Corgi.

Open the photo you're working from in MS Paint or other painting program and click the eyedropper (circled below).




When you click on a section of your photo with the eyedropper, the color of that section appears in the "Color 1" box (circled below). You can then use the brush tool or draw a box and fill it with that color. Do the same thing for other sections of your photo.

 
Now you have the hues you need to paint your rock project. You can print the photo and use it as a guide for purchasing your acrylic colors or use the photo as a guide for mixing your own colors.



Useful Resources

A special thanks to Lisa from ROCK ART USA for the idea and Shirley for permission to use Cadi's photo. 

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

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