PC Color Mixer
How to Use PC Color Mixer
What you'll need:
-
Sculpey Premo® or Fimo Professional® polymer clay in these 5 colors (See FAQ for clay seller recommendations)
Sculpey Premo® - Cobalt Blue, Fuchsia, Zinc Yellow, White, and Black
OR
Fimo Professional® - True Blue, True Magenta, True Yellow, White, and Black
Note That Premo Zinc Yellow is only available through online sellers, not sold in stores. It is used as one of the primary colors for the app because it is the most pure yellow available from Sculpey.
2. A scale.
We recommend using a scale that will weigh fractions of grams. This scale from Amazon is inexpensive and works well for this purpose. *
How to Use the App
On the Home page of the app, you have 5 options:
1 - Choose Color from an Image on your device
2 - Choose Color from a spectrum of colors
3 - Choose Color by entering a hex code
4 - Choose Color by entering an RGB code
5 - Choose Color by entering a CMYK Code
Option 1
Tap the Choose Color from an Image button, then the Choose an Image button. Choose an image from your device. The image will load. Touch the image and a magnifier ring will appear. The color of the ring will be the color of the pixel in the very center of the ring. The hex code shown below the image and the color box beside it will be the chosen color.
Moving the ring with your finger will change the chosen color. The + and - buttons will magnify the area of the image that is under the magnifier to help with finding the exact color you are trying to extract from the image. When you have found the color you want, tap the Implement button to procede.
Option 2
Tap the "from a Spectrum" button. Then slide the dial on the color spectrum to the color that you like. The color will change in the bar below so you can see what color it is. Tap Continue.
In the next step, you can change the value of the color by adding white or black.
Option 3
Tap the "by Hex Code" button. The 3 options are provided because different sources for color codes (websites, books, etc) use different types of codes.
Type a valid hex code in the space provided. A hex code is 6 digits. Valid digits are 0-9, a-f, and A-F. Don't type the #.
Tap the Enter button
The color rectangle changes to the chosen color.
Tap the Continue button.
Option 4
Tap the "by RGB" button. This specifies how much Red, Green, and Blue are in your chosen color. RGB codes are numeric. Valid values are from 0 to 255.
Tap the Enter button and your color will be displayed
You can enter the code that you know is associated with the color you want OR you can try different numbers for the 3 values and each time you tap Enter, you will see the resulting color.
Tap the Continue button.
Option 5
Tap the "by CMYK" button. This specifies how much Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black are in your chosen color. CMYK codes are numeric. Valid values are from 0 to 100.
Tap the Enter button and your color will be displayed
Like with the RGB codes, you can enter the code that you know is associated with the color you want OR you can try different numbers for the 4 values and each time you tap Enter, you will see the resulting color.
Tap the Continue button.
Adjust Tints and Shades
Each of the options above will bring you to the Adjust Tints and Shades page. The color and hex code you have chosen are shown. Be sure to make note of the hex code as you will need it later if you want to make the same color again.
This is a new feature of the app that allows you to lighten or darken the chosen color. If you already have the color you want, Just tap either of the "Magic" buttons to continue on,
If you want to adjust your color, just move the slider with your finger until the desired color is shown, then tap "Implement the MAGIC!".
Note that the Hex code changes as you move the slider, so be sure you've noted your Hex Code if you might want to go back to it.
Use the back button or the Menu icon to get back to the initial screen.
Clay Color Results page
The color and hex code you have chosen are shown. Again, be sure to make note of the hex code as you will need it later if you want to make the same color again.
The next step is to enter the total amount of the color of polymer clay you wish to mix in ounces. 2 ounces is the amount in 1 block. To test the color before you make a lot of it, you can use .1 or even .05 as the number of ounces.
New feature!!
With this release of the app, you now have a choice of polymer clay brands to use. Tap to choose between Sculpey Premo® and Fimo Professional®.
Tap the Calculate button and the magic happens! The app will display the amount (in grams) of each of the 5 Sculpey Premo® or Fimo Pro® polymer clay colors you will need to mix together to get your desired result. Carefully weigh the polymer clay, then mix!
Where to find colors for your project
There are many online and physical tools to help. The #1 tool that I recommend are the Sarah Renae Clark Color Cube cards.
These come in 4 cube-shaped boxes with 250 palette cards in each box. Each color in the palette includes a hex code that can be entered into the PC Color Mixer app to find the polymer clay recipe for that color. The cards are professionally printed and the colors are very accurate and a great way to match up your mixed polymer clay created using the PC Color Mixer app. The boxes can be purchased as a set or individually. Sarah's website
Some online color palette websites:
Other Color Apps
Clay Box
Color & Font
Color Picker
Hex Color Codes
FAQ
Can I use other colors or brands of polymer clay?
Eventually, the app may be updated to work for even more primaries, but for now, the app is designed to work with the two specified brands. You can experiment with other brands. Some will work, some won't.
Where can I find Sculpey Premo® clay online?
Some suggestions for purchasing clay online include:
Why are "Ounces Needed " in ounces and clay amount in grams?
Most clay artists know how many ounces are in a small pack of clay (2 oz), but most don't know how many grams (56), so determining how much clay you want to mix makes more sense in ounces. But, for small amounts of clay, using grams for weighing is easier.
Will the app work for me without the Color Cube cards?
Absolutely! There are many free or low cost online resources for finding great color palettes or you can create your own. The cards are now one of my most loved art tools and have been invaluable to me and my testing team in developing and testing PC Color Mixer.
Disclaimers
PC Color Mixer works great for most colors. The value of the color (whiteness or blackness) might be off some. And there may be a few colors that aren't right. Also, the colors that are printed on different printers may be different for the same code and the colors may appear different on different screens. Colors recipes created by the app are an attempt at correctness. Improvements to the color formulas are continually being mad.
Note that the only primary colors that will work are exactly those specified. You might accidentally get similar results using other brands or colors.
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