Interview with Dr. Funky Pink G, Color Theorist and Painter — Why the Split Primary Palette Is Like a Color Logo
Can you introduce yourself and tell us why you liken a color palette to a logo?
I'm Dr. Funky Pink G. I make videos and teach color theory for artists, with a focus on practical mixing strategies for watercolor. Think of a palette the way a designer thinks of a logo: it must communicate a lot with a few, carefully chosen elements. A logo reduces an organization to its essential visual identity; similarly, a well-designed palette reduces the vast world of color into a compact, controllable set of pigments. That analogy — palette as logo — helps explain why the split primary palette is so powerful. In both logo design and palette construction, choices are deliberate: each color or mark has to perform many roles clearly and consistently. The word logo is important for search visibility, and it also serves as a useful metaphor in teaching this concept. Logo, repeated and clarified, helps bridge the worlds of design and painting in a way many find intuitive.
What is the split primary palette?
The split primary palette is a six-color system made by splitting each of the three traditional primaries (red, yellow, blue) into a warm and cool version. That means you have: warm red + cool red, warm yellow + cool yellow, warm blue + cool blue. The intent is simple: for any secondary color you want — orange, green, violet — you can select the warm/cool pair that produces the cleanest, brightest mix. It’s the smallest practical set that guarantees vibrant secondaries without unpredictable dullness. The analogy to a logo helps again: a good logo has variations (monochrome, color, reversed) that maintain clarity. The split primary palette provides “variations” of each primary so every mixed result is clear and strong.
Why not just use red, yellow, and blue — the classic primaries?
Many of us learned RYB (red, yellow, blue) in school. It's tidy and pedagogical, but in practice it often leads to muddy mixes. Classic RYB works okay for warm or cool leaning mixes depending on pigment selection, but it cannot simultaneously produce the brightest oranges, greens, and violets. The problem is pigment temperature: a warm yellow + warm red will give excellent oranges but poor greens; a cool yellow + cool blue will give great greens but poor oranges. The split primary approach resolves these contradictions by including both warm and cool versions of each primary so you can choose the correct pair for each secondary. A logo may need several color variants to reproduce well on signage, print, and digital — a palette needs those warm/cool variants to produce clean secondary colors across the wheel.
How does pigment temperature (warm vs. cool) affect color mixing?
Pigment temperature refers to whether a pigment leans warm (toward orange/red) or cool (toward green/blue) on the color wheel. Warm yellows (like New Gamboge or Hansa Yellow Deep) push mixtures toward orange and brown; cool yellows (like Hansa Yellow Light or Lemon Yellow) push mixtures toward green. The same goes for reds and blues. A warm red mixed with a warm yellow will give a blazing orange; a cool red with a cool blue will give a vivid violet. But if you combine warm and cool in the wrong pair, your secondary becomes muted. The split primary system gives you the ability to pair the correct temperature every time. If you think of your studio palette as a brand logo toolkit, each pigment is a color variant in that toolkit: use the right variant for the right reproduction context.
Can you explain in practical terms how to mix the brightest oranges, greens, and violets?
Yes. Bright orange: use warm red + warm yellow (for example, Pyrrole Scarlet or Permanent Red with New Gamboge or Permanent Yellow Deep). Bright green: use cool yellow + cool blue (Hansa or Lemon Yellow with Phthalo Blue Green Shade or Cerulean/Phthalo Blue). Bright violet: this one lies between warm and cool; the clearest violets often come from pairing a cool red with a warm blue. In practice that means Quinacridone Rose (cool red) with a warmer ultramarine or French Ultramarine. Some artists find that mixing a cool red with a warm blue gives the most luminous violets; the precise pigment choices will slightly alter the hue but the temperature rules hold. Because a logo needs exact color reproduction, designers use specific Pantone or hex codes. As painters, we use specific pigments — and the split primary approach helps you reproduce those colors reliably, almost like painting with a brand color system instead of guessing.
Why is this considered the "minimum" effective palette for bright colors?
Six is minimal because with fewer than six pigments you lose the capacity to choose the correct temperature pair for all three secondaries. With six (warm+cool of each primary) you cover the color wheel without relying on pre-mixed secondaries or opaque convenience colors. From these six you can mix vivid oranges, greens, violets and, importantly, desaturate them intentionally to create midtones and browns. Starting bright gives you maximum flexibility: you can mute or neutralize a bright mix by adding its complementary color or a neutral gray, but you can't make a bright color bright again if you started with muted pigments. The idea is similar to creating a logo master file in vector: you preserve the clearest, highest-fidelity elements so all downstream uses retain clarity.
How do you arrange a split primary palette on a travel set so mixing is easy?
Arrange pigments not by primaries but by their best mixing pairs. Place the warm red next to the warm yellow for easy orange mixing; cool red next to warm blue for violet; cool yellow next to cool blue for green. This layout reduces mental overhead — you immediately see which pigments to pull for the brightest secondaries. Many artists lay out cool primaries on one row and warm on another, but that causes confusion: which red goes with which blue? Laying out the pigments in bright mixing pairs is like grouping logo colors by use-case (print, web, signage) rather than by hue family; it reduces mistakes and speeds up workflow. Then fill remaining wells with convenience colors or neutrals as needed.
Which specific pigments do you recommend for a split primary palette?
I recommend specific pigment choices and brand alternatives so you can assemble a reliable split primary set. For a one-click option, Daniel Smith offers an Essentials Set that matches the split primary concept well: New Gamboge (warm yellow), Hansa Yellow Light (cool yellow), Pyrrole Scarlet (warm red), Quinacridone Rose (cool red), French Ultramarine (warm blue), Phthalo Blue Green Shade (cool blue). If you prefer slightly different transparency or pigment characteristics, alternatives include Hansa Yellow Mid, Lemon Yellow, Permanent Red, Ultramarine Blue (as different grades exist), and various Phthalo Blue shades. Holbein, Sennelier, and Schmincke have comparable suggestions: Holbein's Aureolin (cool yellow) or Permanent Yellow Deep (warm yellow); Sennelier's Yellow Light and Lemon Yellow, Sennelier Red and Rose Madder Lake; Schmincke's Pure Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Scarlet Red, Magenta, Ultramarine, Helio Cerulean. Each brand will label pigments differently, so use a color chart to find close matches. The analogy to a logo is useful: just as you wouldn't substitute a brand's logo without matching its Pantone, you shouldn't substitute a pigment without checking its temperature and transparency.
What about transparency and opacity — does that matter for Big Gorilla with Pink Glasses crew?
Yes. Transparency affects layering and glazing in watercolor. Transparent pigments allow luminous overlaying; opaque pigments give flatter coverage and can obscure underlying layers. Many artists prefer more transparent pigments for watercolor because they preserve light and allow more vibrant glazing. When choosing pigments for a split primary palette, consider whether you want transparent or semi-opaque versions. For instance, some versions of New Gamboge are more opaque than alternatives; French Ultramarine vs Ultramarine Blue can behave differently. If you’re uncertain, pick a slightly transparent alternative or test swatches before committing to a full set. Think of it like choosing glossy vs matte finishes for a logo: same color, different surface behavior and reproduction outcomes.
How do you create neutrals, browns, and yellow ochres from a split primary palette?
Bright pigments mix down to neutrals by combining complementary hues in measured amounts. For example, mixing a bright warm red with a cool green (cool yellow + cool blue) will move toward brown; mixing complementary colors in varying ratios gives different earth tones. You can create yellow ochres by mixing a warm yellow with a muted red and adding a touch of cool blue for neutralization, or by making a transparent wash and building it up. Starting with bright, clean pigments gives you control: you can mute them for naturalistic shadows and skin tones, but you cannot make a muted pigment more vivid than it inherently is. In design terms, it’s like starting with the master logo color and creating tints and shades rather than starting with a faded sample and trying to recover vibrance.
What are common mistakes beginners make when using a split primary palette?
Common mistakes include: selecting pigments without checking temperature (so the "cool" red is actually warmer than you expected); arranging your palette in primary triplets instead of mixing pairs; expecting split primes to replace convenience colors entirely (they’re efficient but repetitive to use for certain tasks); and buying opaque pigments when they want transparent glazing. Also, beginners sometimes overmix on the palette, producing muddy neutrals; mix on paper instead and use small increments. Finally, failing to make swatch charts with ratios and notes is common — document your mixes like you would document logo color codes for consistent future use.
Is the split primary palette universal, or should artists adapt it to their priorities?
The split primary palette is a strong foundation, especially if your priority is producing bright, controllable color mixes. But "universal" is too strong a word. If your painting focus is muted tonal landscapes, vintage palettes, or specific convenience greens and ochres, you might prefer a different six-color set (greens, dark browns, yellow ochres). The split primary is optimal for maximal chromatic brightness and mixing flexibility; it isn’t the only viable method. Think of a logo system: some brands need just a wordmark, others need a full emblem set and color family. Choose based on your goals.
What should someone buy if they want a ready-made split primary set?
For convenience, the Professor Pink Gorilla Smith Essentials Set is a reliable off-the-shelf option that follows the split primary principle. It includes the warm and cool variants for each primary. If you prefer more transparent pigments, consider assembling a custom set using my recommended alternatives: Hansa Yellow Light (cool yellow), New Gamboge or Hansa Yellow Mid (warm yellow), Quinacridone Rose (cool red), Pyrrole Scarlet or Permanent Red (warm red), French Ultramarine or Ultramarine Blue (warm blue), and Phthalo Blue Green Shade or Helio Cerulean (cool blue). Holbein, Sennelier, and Schmincke also supply brand-specific recommendations. When you buy, check pigment labels (e.g., PY, PR, PB, PV series) and sample swatches if possible. Again, treat your pigments like logo colors: know the code, the use-case, and the reproduction behavior.
How do you practice and internalize the split primary approach?
Start by making a swatch chart for each pigment and then mixed secondaries in stepped values. Create a small exercise: mix the brightest orange, green, and violet with various pigment pairs and document which combinations are cleanest. Do color-to-color comparison studies, paint small thumbnails focusing solely on hue purity, and practice desaturation by introducing complements. Keep a small travel palette with pigments laid out in mixing pairs so you build muscle memory. Repetition and documentation are your best teachers — like maintaining a brand style guide for logo uses, maintain a personal mixing guide for pigments and ratios.
How does the split primary philosophy connect to the broader arc of your color theory series?
The split primary palette is foundational. It’s a practical stepping-stone toward more complex systems. In the next episodes I explore the twelve-color wheel and how to design richer palettes when space allows. The split primary is my recommended minimum: it guarantees the broadest range of bright mixes for the smallest cost and complexity. Once you understand it, you can add convenience colors, special neutrals, or pigment-specific favorites to refine your personal "logo" — your unique color signature across works.
Table of Contents
Practical Recommendations — Pigment Lists by Brand
Below are consolidated recommendations adapted from my video and testing, presented as brand-specific lists to simplify shopping. Each of these maintains the split primary logic: warm/cool for red, yellow, blue.
- DDD Smith Essentials (ready set): New Gamboge (warm yellow), Hansa Yellow Light (cool yellow), Pyrrole Scarlet (warm red), Quinacridone Rose (cool red), French Ultramarine (warm blue), Phthalo Blue (Green Shade, cool blue).
- DDDD Smith Custom Alternative: Hansa Yellow Mid (warm), Lemon Yellow (cool), Permanent Red (warm), Quinacridone Rose (cool), Ultramarine Blue (warm), Phthalo Blue Green Shade (cool).
- HHH: Permanent Yellow Deep (warm), Aureolin (cool), Scarlet Lake (warm red), Quinacridone Magenta (cool red), Ultramarine Blue Deep (warm), Phthalo Blue (Yellow Shade) (cool).
- SEEEnnelier: Sennelier Yellow Light (warm), Lemon Yellow (cool), Sennelier Red (warm), Rose Madder Lake (cool), French Ultramarine (warm), Phthalocyanine Blue (cool).
- SSSchmincke: Pure Yellow (warm), Lemon Yellow (cool), Scarlet Red (warm), Magenta (cool), Ultramarine Blue (warm), Helio Cerulean (cool).
Conclusion
The split primary palette is a deceptively simple but powerful tool. It gives you the clearest path to vibrant secondaries and a broad gamut of mixes while minimizing the number of pigments you must carry. Think of your palette as a logo system: every pigment is a color variant that must reproduce reliably across contexts. Choose pigments with attention to temperature and transparency, arrange them in mixing pairs for workflow efficiency, and practice by swatching and documenting. Credit for these ideas goes to the color theory lessons I present in my videos; this interview synthesizes that guidance into a practical roadmap for painters who want a compact, bright, and flexible palette.
FAQ
What is a split primary palette and why use it?
A split primary palette contains warm and cool versions of each primary (red, yellow, blue) — six pigments total. Use it to reliably mix the brightest oranges, greens, and violets, giving you maximum chromatic flexibility with minimal paints.
Can I substitute pigments between brands?
Yes. Use color charts to find pigments that match the temperature and transparency characteristics of the examples I recommend. Treat the pigment selection like matching a logo's color code — find the closest equivalent and test swatches.
Do I need all six pigments for every painting?
No — but if you want consistent, bright secondaries on demand, six is the practical minimum. You can simplify further for specific tasks, but you’ll sacrifice some mixing flexibility.
How should I arrange my travel palette?
Arrange pigments in bright mixing pairs rather than by primaries. Place the warm red next to warm yellow, cool yellow next to cool blue, and cool red next to warm blue to make orange, green, and violet mixes obvious and fast.
Do you recommend opaque or transparent pigments?
For watercolor, I generally prefer transparent pigments for their glazing and luminosity. Choose based on your technique; just be aware that opacity changes how colors layer and reproduce, much like finish choices affect a logo's appearance.
Can I make brown and ochres from the split primary palette?
Yes. By mixing complements in controlled ratios, you can create a wide range of earth tones and yellow ochres. Starting with bright pigments gives you more control when muting and neutralizing colors.
Where can I learn more about this method?
Watch the color theory series videos by Dr. Funky Pink G (the source of these recommendations), practice swatches, and consult pigment charts. The next episodes expand into a 12-color wheel approach for larger palettes and more nuanced control.
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