Most difficult color.

[pkess]

White and black are easy. However, maroon and a true purple are difficult.
I think the secret to painting white and black are to not use white and black for your base colors. For Black, I start with a dark blue, brown, green, purple, etc. This allows you to shade with a "true" black. Same for the highlights, use anything other then white and you will get numerous variations of black. Often times, I will paint on my base black and let it dry. Then add shadows and highlights. It is much easier to keep the paint looking "black" this way.
The same concept applies to white. Start with something other then a "pure" white. I use Tit white mixed with a dab of another color: Mars Yellow, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, MArs Red/Chrome Oxide Green, Sepia, etc. The mix won't look "white" on your palette but it will on the figure. Just add more of this tint color for the shadows. For the highlights, I use pure Tit. White blended in wet in wet. For the most extreme highlights, paint on Tit White after everything else is dry.

 

[Wlas]

Phil is 100% right about white and black.
Roc I'm with you on green....I tend to shy away from a subject if green is the dominant color. Let me know how the chrome green works out, Roc.
Oh, another beast before I forget....British Crimson!

 

[Patrick Kirk]

Great tip Phil...I am getting ready to paint a white uniform and am eager to give this a try...I'll shoot you some WIP pics, ok? Would have never thought about using Sepia in a mix for white...I guess the key is just a litte dab of Sepia, right?

All the best, my friend

Patrick

 

[Einion]

Black is a snap if, as Phil recommends, you be sure to reserve your actual black paint for the extreme shadows only.

White is physically difficult to paint well because it has the most possible latitude in value, as well as being achromatic, so, for a clean subject, you have to be very careful to paint as meticulously as you're able to get the transitions as smooth as poss. A dirty white's so much easier

Yellows are IMO unquestionably the hardest colour to paint realistically. One, yellow paints are all relatively transparent, which doesn't do us any favours because of how thinly we paint. Two, there is no single colour available that is a mixing complement for yellows, so making neutrals must involve at least a three-colour mix, unlike most other colours when only two will often do.

Einion

 

[Lou Masses]

Einion, what about purple/violet? It seems to work well for shadows.

 

[Roc]

Hey Lou, you are right, violet and purple does work extremely well, I use them all the time.



Roc.

 

[Lou Masses]

Great topic Roc.

THe more I read, the more I find myself saying "yeah, that one too"

 

[Le Lancier]

I dislike shading and highlighting whites, reds yellows and blacks. And looking throughout the answers on this great topic, I'm pleased to see I'm not alone