Hi Liron, Sorry to hear you have fallen into the trap of so many teachers who state 'Don't use Black!!!!' I immediately shut this argument down by giving examples of Great Master Artists who did use Black in watercolour. Every one is a revered International Master. Here is a small list, but there are countless more, also do not forget the Japanese and Chinese Masters, of whom there are hundreds, if not thousands. First we have William Turner, Picasso, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Albrecht Durer, Pisarro and let us not forget Leonardo Da Vinci. This is by no means a full list and there are thousands of new artists too. Okay, It is all very well to learn how to mix black, but bare in mind any decent manufacturer will do it better! The skill is using black with your other colours. Do this and you will find a whole new world will open up for you. What is more, this applies to other mediums such as acrylic, oil and pastel. Sorry to Rant, but I have given lectures, lessons and historical examples on this subject for many years and I firmly believe, taking Black off your palette is doing yourself and others a great disservice. Other than that I still admire your work and the wonderful improvement you have made and here is to your continued success.

i dont understand lots of artists on youtube says how they actually really hate black color especially when it is included in any palettes, but seems dont mind with paint already mixed with black commonly like the payne's grey, indigo, and other paints and still use them.

You can use black as a mixer the same as any other pigment...

It may be true for watercolours because of the way they show off the pigments, but the generalisation of "don't ever use black" rule stopped me from realising what kind of beautiful, natural greens ivory black and yellows make in acrylics and oils and how beautiful black works in Zorn's palette, so let's not give up blacks forever just yet ;)

Ok i was about to get offended. I love using black/neutral greys to get a dull greyish tint. It's lovely for painting indoor scenenes

I love using that dark dark dioxazine purple and mixing it with an intense orange because it seems so harmonic and makes sunsets wherever goes.

Didn't realize how much character black paint can bring to a painting. Practice, practice, mixing to feel comfortable with my mixes. You have so much talent, loved watching you do the mixing.

Thanks Liron, this mixing blacks video is really going to help me with my next project of painting our basset hound Lucy and creating a variety of dark colors in her coat.

Extremely helpful and clear, thanks!

Gracias por esta clase maestro!

"You may think it can't be done with primaries!" I mean of course it can, but why? Vibrant colors are very expensive and precious. Charcoal is cheap as hell, not using it for the same result is just wasteful. "But you can influence if it's warm or cool" Yeah so can you by adding a little pigment you want to charcoal... it is not any different. You made exactly the same thing but paid 10x as much for it, simple as that. Oftentimes, things people suggest as alternatives like Payne's Gray are literally just black + a bit of some pigment already. More for oil than watercolor: your leftover paints instead of going in the trash can be neutralized into grays to save resources, but not really worth it for watercolor since you can't move them into a different mixing well easily.

I mixed my blacks but sometimes I just wanted that greyed effect that just black gives. I have lamp black and have been mixing it with Indanthrone blue and Prussian blue. And it works great on my pallette. But this video was great thanks for making it.

I can't live without using black on my artwork. If you know the rules on how to use it properly...then black is beautiful...

Really interesting video Liron. These short instructional videos are very useful.

Neutral tint is my black and is part of all my watercolor palettes. I feel that I use up less paint when building darks with neutral tint, rather than mixing thick mixes of other paints. I also like to use Daniel Smith Moonglow for its granulation. With a good understanding of color harmony, black in your watercolor palette shouldn’t be an issue. Of course, it’s just a preference.

That was a pretty dimly lit video to try to show dark colors, don’t you think?

Thanks Liron.

That "secondary colour" Perylene Green is a single pigment black paint (PBk31) and just labeled as green

Great video! I also use a limited palette - usually 3 colors - and I find the blacks I mix with those colors much more satisfying than a tube black. Thanks for sharing the content, I really like your channel! :)

Yes, I am using your method to mix blacks and I love the results. Thank-you. British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦

Helpful video ☺

excellent ❤

I dont use black, but my palette do contain a chromatic black which i mix with my primary because ever since painting with a limited palette i found black is quite annoying to mix on the fly, especially when you need a lot of them... I also use that black as a shortcut to mix brown..

I love lunar black. I don't use other blacks but that one is a keeper due to the granulation effects.

not to hate hon but with that pallet u cannot get "just" any stated/given color since all the colors r contaminated. i love to see u paint something bright with clean wc. 😉

I always use my black watercolor and watercolor you know you don't get the first true hue with the first swipe patience 💯🗝️🌈

Zbukvic and Castagnet both use neutral tint as well as mixing black from blue+brown.

I think ‘convenience’ blacks (ivory, lamp, mars) give a strange effect in a painting, kind of like a ‘black hole’ in the composition. It doesn’t look like shadows or black objects. It creates a void, which sucks your eye into it and no where else. Mixed darks don’t do this. They achieve dark areas but also harmony and interest.

I don't even own any black paints. I do what you do. It makes my blacks have life and blend in with the other colours in the painting, as you said. Ivory Black or Lamp Black are dead looking. Thank you, Liron. :)

I wouldn't avoid them altogether, they can be quite useful for achieving deep muted greens, even mixing red and black can create some interesting browns. It always depends on the way your using it and whether or not it fits in the picture you're trying to recreate. Nonetheless, love the cherries!! 😄

I find that with PG7 and PR254 I can get a dark that actually seems to take on the same not so great look as actual black paint (that sorta lifeless look).

I’ve been enjoying recreating studies of the bowl of cherries. Nice to see it again in use.

Excellent lesson and beautiful painting, thank you so much! Freshly mixed black in keeping w a painting’s color scheme is so gorgeous and so much more interesting to look at.

I can use blacks if it's a monochrome painting.

Good because I don't have black in my pallet 😅

Thanks for this great video. All these people saying you can use black - yes of course. You can do whatever you want! But the fact it is very easy to make it look terrible especially if you use black for shadows. So it’s good to use other techniques to create dark colours.

Another watercolor instructor painted a striking zebra and did not mix the colors completely, so that when you look at it up close you could see a hint of the colors she used to mix the black. Seems like flat black would’ve made that painting a bit flat and dull.

I disagree... Black is the best color to make your signature!

Too dark. Paints all look dirty