Color Matching Techniques

I imagine that there would be some variation depending on the type of paints used, but I would also think that the pigment itself would be more important than any of the other components of the paint (I.e., while latex, oil, enamel, acrylic, etc. are all different, at the end of the day, apple red is still apple red). Even if the program only gave you a general idea of what proportions of colors to mix, it'd be a good starting point that you could tweak along the way. Maybe I'm just looking at things from an over-simplified perspective.

Wouldn't it be diferant for every kind of paint though? Depending on what kind of pigment they use, the viscosity, and opaqueness

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of having the program on your own computer at home, rather than going to the paint department. I imagined inputting a hex code, or whatever, for the color you want to make, and then the program telling you what proportions you would need to mix in order to make it (I.e., two parts white, one part brown, one part yellow for a shade of flesh tone).

That's awesome!

Reaper has something like this on their site:

http://www.reapermini.com/PowerPalette/

I think the original poster needs to know that matching exact paint is difficult to do since factory paint and hobby paint are two different types, so you will have to mix paint to get something exact most times. Also, this above site is just an estimation of the paint color.

Also, will not find the exact paint based on the plastic color that has been molded because, well, it is not paint.

Those machines are made to identify the paint color and then mix a matching color using house paint. So unless you planning to use house paint then Id oupt just identifying the color will be much help.

I could be wrong, but I don't imagine that the type of paint would make too much of a difference. I would think that the pigment component of the paint is what's of primary importance in the analysis/matching process, not the binder or solvent, but, then again, I'm not a paint technician, so I'm just guessing here.

Yes but that's for house and building paint. I've never seen one of those machines for identifying/mixing model paint.

I was reading a mystery novel the other night, and the main character was working on restoring a theatre and the subject of matching paint came up. According to said book, you can bring a sample of any paint down to the paint department at a store and they can match it using computer software, so, even though the story was a work of fiction, I'm assuming said software actually exists. And, sure enough, a Google search confirms this:



This article also seems like it would be helpful:

It's mostly just a matter of trial-and-error for me. I usually just take out bottles of the basic components of the final color that I want to make (I.e., red and yellow for orange), and mix them together, a little at a time, until I get a good approximation of the hue I want, tweaking it as I go along. Another thing to keep in mind in that sometimes paint looks different when it dries than when it's wet. So, even if you get a "perfect" match, the hue may change a little after it dries and cures.

Ok but what about identifying the colour on the figure your trying to match to. Is there a way to do that?

What I find helpful is knowing the basics of how paints mix. Paints do not necessarily mix like colors should. Red and Blue doesn't always make purple when mixing paints, sometimes it makes brown. So knowing these things about whatever brand of paint you prefer can be very helpful.