Flexible Triad Cool Reds: Mixing Crimson, Rose and Magenta

Quick answer

Use the six cool reds in Flexible Triad: Cool Reds as a ready-made mixing range: start with the mid-tone, then adjust toward deep crimson or bright magenta by mixing adjacent colors. Keep mixes simple—two or three colors—and test on a spare surface before applying to the miniature.

Step-by-step cool red mixing process

1. 1. Pick your base mid-tone: Choose the middle color of the six as your starting point. This is your anchor for crimson, rose, or magenta mixes. Common mistake: starting with the darkest or lightest color, which forces you to correct the value later and can muddy the mix. Checkpoint: the base should look like a neutral cool red, neither purple nor orange.
2. 2. Shift toward crimson for depth: Add a small amount of the darkest cool red to your base to create a deep crimson. Mix gradually—dark colors are strong. Common mistake: adding too much dark at once, which kills saturation and makes the mix look flat. Checkpoint: the mix should still read as red, not brown or black.
3. 3. Brighten toward rose or magenta: Add a touch of the brightest cool red (magenta-leaning) to your base to create rose or bright magenta tones. Use a clean brush and add in small increments. Common mistake: over-brightening, which pushes the color into pink and loses the red identity. Checkpoint: stop when the mix matches your reference for rose or magenta.
4. 4. Test the mix on a spare surface: Paint a stripe on a primed spare base or plastic card and let it dry. Acrylics dry slightly darker and more saturated than they look wet. Common mistake: judging the mix wet on the palette, then finding it too bright or dark on the model. Checkpoint: the dried test stripe should match your intended final color.
5. 5. Apply to the miniature in thin layers: Load your brush lightly and build up the color in two or three thin coats rather than one thick coat. This preserves detail and lets you adjust the hue between layers. Common mistake: flooding the surface, which obscures sculpted detail and creates tide marks. Checkpoint: each layer should be dry before adding the next.
6. 6. Adjust with glazes, not heavy mixes: If the final color needs a nudge, use a thin glaze of one triad color rather than mixing a new batch. Glazes tint gradually and keep the underlying mix visible. Common mistake: repainting the whole area with a new mix, which can create patchy coverage. Checkpoint: glazes should be thin enough to see the previous layer through them.

Product facts

• Flexible Triad: Cool Reds: Flexible Triad: Cool Reds contains six 18ml Warpaints Fanatic acrylic paints ranging from deep and dark to bright and light. This self-contained range lets you mix crimson, rose, and magenta tones without needing separate bottles, and the 18ml dropper bottles make it easy to dispense consistent amounts for repeatable mixes.