What is PaintMaker
PaintMaker is an online service that makes it possible to mix Artist Colors (Paints) from RGB color values.
When painting there are many situations, where it can be a great help to get an idea about which colors to use and in what amount.
Often the light conditions aren’t good enough to mix paint, or you have to work fast and with larger amounts of paint.
PaintMaker is useful both for abstract painting and naturalistic painting, whether you work with great precision or with a looser approach.
PaintMaker can easily be used in other professions as well, such as conservation work, graphic design, or while studying the nature of colors and paint.
Both acrylic, oil and gouache can be used in the system.
The color mixer is a unique tool to experiment with painting techniques and practice color theory.
How to use PaintMaker
PaintMaker is surprisingly simple to use. With just 4 steps you will have the desired color mixed and ready for use.
Find A Color
Step 1
Insert the RGB color manually or use the built-in colorpicker in PaintMaker to find a specific color.
Calculate
Step 2
Click 'Calculate Recipes' and let our servers do the leg work. When done, the servers will return up to three different recipes for the targeted color.
Mix
Step 3
Use either one of the recipes to mix the targeted color on your palette.
Paint
Step 4
Start painting.
These are, of course, the default steps, but since we're dealing a complicated conversion from screen colors to artist colors,
it's important that the setup is correct before the calculations can be performed.
The first and most important option is the selection of the paint set and paint tubes.
You must select the same paint set brand as you intend to paint with before you begin to use PaintMaker.
PaintMaker only works because it has been meticulously calibrated to work with specific artist color sets.
Additionally you can set options like daylight, the unit of measurement, as well as level adjustment of the colors.
We will add more documentation for these options soon, but if you have any questions regarding any of the PaintMaker
options, please consult the articles on our old site, or contact us via mail.
Supported Paint Sets
Below are the current list of paint sets that have been added to PaintMaker so far, followed by a list of sets that we are currently
working on adding.
Please read the FAQ, if you wish to learn more about how we select new sets.
Current supported paint sets
- Gamblin Conservation
- Golden Heavy Body Acrylic
- Golden Matte Fluid Acrylic
- Liquitex Heavy Body
- Maimeri Polycolor
- Rembrandt Extra-Fine Artists' Oil
- Schmincke Norma Professional Oil
- Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic
- Winsor & Newton Designer's Gouache
- Royal Talens Van Gogh Oil
- Daler Rowney Georgian Oil
- Winsor & Newton Artist's Oil
- Vallejo Acrylic Studio
- Winsor & Newton Artisan
- Maimeri Polycolor
- Winsor & Newton Professional Acrylics
- Daler Rowney System 3
- Schmincke Primacryl
- Schmincke Artist's Acrylics
- Grumbacher Pre-tested Professional Oil
Check out this gallery if you would like to see some examples of paintings painted the with the assistance of PaintMaker
News & Questions
Latest News
view previous newsFrequently Asked Questions
Where can I find all the guides, info and articles that were previously available in the menu?
All the content from our old site can still be accessed via the 'Archive' link in the navigation bar. It is our intention to slowly migrate everything to this new platform, but at the moment we wish to focus entirely on PaintMaker and making it completely stable and as enjoyable to use as possible.
What is the difference between the trial version and the paid version?
The trial version works in the same way as the paid version but with a very limited set of colors in each paint set.
Your settings will only be kept for the current session in trial. If you close your browser or use PaintMaker on
another device, your settings will be reset.
There are no time limit for using the trial version.
To use the paid version of PaintMaker, you must have an account.
With the paid version you will have access to all colors and features of PaintMaker, and your settings will be synched to your account.
Read below to learn more about the benefits of having an account.
Why do I need an account?
As a member you will have access to all the colors in all paint sets. Your settings will be remembered between sessions and across platforms. The account itself is free, but you will have to purchase new recipes credits whenever you run out. You can buy as many recipe credits as you like with one payment, and since it's not a subscription-based service, you can set your own pace on when to use your credits. You can see your current number of recipe credits in the top right corner of the PaintMaker page.
How do you decide what paint sets to add next?
We are constantly working on adding new paint sets to PaintMaker.
So far we've been adding these sets in an arbitrary manner, but for future sets we would love to hear your input and
add sets based on our users preferences. Please send us a mail, telling us which sets you would like to see in PaintMaker.
Please note that adding new paint sets takes months and can be quite expensive, so even the most popular sets
may not show up right away.
Can I request a specific paint set that's not on the 'upcoming' list?
Sure, all request are welcome.
Why does it take so long time to add new sets?
Each color has to be painted in a series of very precise measured samples. That takes between 2 and 5 months depending on the size of the set.
These samples have to dry to the point where the pigment doesn't move anymore. That takes approximately 3 month for acrylics and 12 month for oils.
When the samples are completely dry they have to be measured with a spectrophotometer. The collected data then have to be calculated and prepared for the system. That takes a month.
And finally we have to test the new set in PaintMaker to see if the mixed colors are right. That takes another two weeks.
It is a slow process, but it is worth the effort.