Color Mixing Guide

Some brands of air-dry clay can be purchased pre-colored, but many are available as white (or off-white) only.  These can be pre-tinted or painted after curing.  Just about anything that has pigment in it can be used to pre-tint air-dry clays.  That includes acrylic paints, oil paints, pigment powders, pastel chalks, food coloring pastes and similar products.  Just add a little color into some clay and knead until mixed in.  It may sound like extra work, but it's actually quite handy to be able to mix your own colors as needed.  

Experiments with Coloring Air-Dry Clay

There are 2 main types of air-dry clays....those that are pre-colored and those that are not.  Most of the clays that are not pre-colored are white or off-white in color. (A few are terra cotta or gray.)   The question of what to use to pre-tint the "white-only" clays comes up quite often (the alternative is to paint after cured).  

The answer is:  Just about anything soluble!