Mix any colour from YOUR watercolour paints!
Muddy Waters helps you mix watercolor paints using real pigment behaviour, not digital approximations.
Many artists reach a point where color mixing becomes frustrating. You add more paint, adjust ratios, and still end up with muddy results. This app is designed to give you a clearer path forward.
Using scientific colour values and high end math, Muddy Waters focuses on how watercolor actually behaves, helping you make better mixing decisions using YOUR paints before committing pigment to paper.
Key features
• Mix colors using your own palette, not generic examples
• Explore how pigments combine, including non-linear behaviour
• Generate gradients to understand transitions between colors
• Match colors from images and find the closest achievable mix
• Identify the closest matching pigment in the library
• Save favourites for the next time you go shopping for art supplies
Images and barcodes are processed on your device. No photos are uploaded or stored externally. No personal data collected.
Designed for real painting decisions
Watercolour mixing is not predictable or linear. Lighting, dilution, paper colour, and pigment behaviour all affect the result. This app helps you navigate those variables so you can start with the right base colours.
Use your own paints
Build your palette from the pigments you actually own. The app works with your materials, not an idealised set from a book or tutorial.
Simple and focused
No accounts, no distractions. The app is designed to support your painting process without getting in the way.
Keep exploring
Nothing replaces hands-on experimentation, but with better guidance you can avoid common mixing mistakes and make more confident choices.
Muddy Waters is free to use with an 8-slot palette. Two optional upgrades unlock more:
Premium (one-time purchase) — unlocks palettes to hold any number of paints, in-app camera capture, and Backup & Restore so your palettes, favourites and Shopping List stay safe across devices.
Pro (monthly subscription) — adds the Palette Adviser (tells you which paints to swap for a stronger palette), the Light & Shadow engine, Paint Check (compare any paint against everything you already own before you buy), and unlimited palettes.
Ratings & Reviews
This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
v1.8.3 focused on expanding the Sennelier and A. Gallo ranges, with many new watercolours added to the library.
New colours across the range, including:
Greys and neutrals — Chinese White, Ivory Black, Sennelier Grey, Warm Grey.
Earths and browns — Van Dyck Brown, Gold Ochre, Burnt Umber.
Reds — Rose Madder, Cadmium Red Purple, Sennelier Red.
Blues — Prussian Blue, Indigo, Cerulean Blue, Cinereous Blue, Lapis Lazuli.
Greens — Turquoise Green, Green Earth, Olive Green, Bright Yellow Green.
Each new colour comes with its own reflectance spectrum, so it mixes and matches at full accuracy rather than from an approximation. Lightfastness is included wherever the manufacturer publishes a proper rating, and left blank rather than guessed when it isn't.
We have included a few bug fixes and it is now way easier to copy or move paints between palettes.
Happy Painting!
Version v1.8.3
The developer, STUART JOHN FRENCH, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
User Content
Usage Data
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
STUART JOHN FRENCH
Size
54.4 MB
Category
Graphics & Design
Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.