Easy DIY Color Wheel

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Do You Want To Make Painting Easier?

Making your own color wheel will make painting quicker and more efficient. I know I got tired of constantly looking up color wheels online or quickly pulling up a screenshot of one right before I would begin painting. So, I finally decided to make my own. It was not only easy, but it was also cheaper than buying one from an art store. In this post, I’ll take you through 4 steps on how you too can create your very own color wheel.

Supplies You’ll Need:

Pencil
Eraser
Waterproof Ink Pen
Watercolor Paper
Watercolor Paintbrush
Watercolor Paint
Circular Object (ex. soup bowl)
Two cups of water
Paper towel

If you would like to know more information on watercolor supplies and techniques check out Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Watercolor. You can check out all the art supplies I recommend on my, “My Supplies” page. Click HERE to check it out!

Step 1:

Our first step is very basic but crucial to creating our color wheel. We are going to draw a circle. I recommend finding a circular object to trace, like a bowl from your kitchen. Place the bowl facing down in the center of the paper and trace around it with a pencil. Once your pencil lines are in place remove the bowl to see how the circle turned out. Next, trace your pencil marks with a waterproof ink pen. After a few minutes erase the leftover pencil marks.

Step 2:

We are now going to create a center circle and divide our circle into twelve sections. To create a center use another circular object that is smaller than the first one you used. Then place that object in the center of your first circle and using a pencil to trace around it.

Next, take your pencil and evenly divide your circle into twelve different sections. Look at the sketch below and get an idea of how far apart each section should be. Then take a ruler and begin drawing your lines. You will want to keep your lines at a slight angle to help you get all the way around your circle evenly. Now that the circle is divided into twelves, trace over all your pencil lines with a waterproof ink pen. Wait a few minutes then erase your pencil marks.

Here Is Where The Real Fun Begins!

Step 3:

Let’s begin painting! To start out we are going to paint every other section. This way the colors won’t bleed together. We are going to start with our primary and secondary colors. Here is the list of colors used in order, starting from the top section, skipping every other section, all the way around the circle. Cadmium yellow, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, winsor violet, ultramarine, and viridian. After your first layer is dry go back and create a second layer over each section.

Step 4:

Now let’s fill in the tertiary colors. Tertiary colors are combinations of secondary colors. Fill in each missing section using a combination of the paints on either side of the section. For example, our first blank section is in-between cadmium yellow and burnt sienna. Take an even amount of cadmium yellow and burnt sienna and mix the two together creating a yellow-orange. Once you have filled in all the tertiary colors wait until they dry then go back in with a second layer.

You Did It!

Great job at completing your very own color wheel! Not only will this color wheel help you in creating amazing color balanced paintings, but it will also help in mixing colors. If you would like to learn more about color theory click HERE. Please comment below letting me know what painting you are going to try to create using your color wheel as a guide. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, @reflectioncreatoin, and Pinterest.

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