As of 2020 we have decided to no longer carry Kato clay. It is a wonderful brand of clay but the logistics of bringing it into Canada are no longer feasible.
We are currently proud to be carrying Cernit and Sculpey Premo and Souffle lines of polymer clay.
I will leave the Kato recipes here so you can try them with the other brands of clay if desired.
When you discover a wonderful custom blend, make a small sample chip (similar in size to a paint chip) and record the formula on the back. Then it’s simple to reproduce this exact color whenever you need it. Go one step further and create your own custom signature palettes; taking your creations to a new artistic level with your carefully chosen colors. Above all, have fun exploring the potent effect of color!
Here are color recipes to replicate some other commonplace polymer clay colors. Although they may not be an exact match, they are relatively similar. Special thanks to Donna Kato and Van Aken International.
Ecru (Premo) – blend 4 parts Kato White Polyclay with 2 parts Kato Brown Polyclay and 1 1/2 parts Kato Yellow Polyclay
Purple (Premo) – blend 4 parts Kato Violet Polyclay with 1/4 part Kato Red Polyclay
Orange (Premo) – blend 2 1/2 parts Kato Yellow Polyclay and 1 part Kato Orange Polyclay
Cadmium Red (Premo) – blend 2 parts Kato Red Polyclay and 1 part Kato Orange Polyclay
Ultramarine Blue (Premo) – blend 1 part Kato Ultra Blue Polyclay and 1 part Kato Violet Polyclay
Burnt Umber (Premo) – blend 4 parts Kato Brown Polyclay, 1 part Kato Red Polyclay and 1/2 part Kato Black Polyclay
Cobalt Blue (Premo) – blend 4 parts Kato Ultra Blue Polyclay and 1/2 part Kato White Polyclay
Sea Green (Premo) – blend 3 parts Kato Green Polyclay and 1 part Kato Blue Polyclay
Turquoise (Premo) – blend 2 parts Kato Turquoise Polyclay, 1/2 part Kato White Polyclay and 1/2 part Kato Green Polyclay
Green (Sculpey III) – blend 1 part Kato Blue, 2 1/8 parts Kato Green and 1/8 part Kato Black. (Thanks to Sheila Keay for this recipe)
Navy Blue (Sculpey III) – blend 2 parts Kato Ultra Blue Polyclay, 1/2 part Kato Black Polyclay and 1 part Kato Violet Polyclay
Terra Cotta (Sculpey III) – blend 3 parts Kato Brown Polyclay and 1 part Kato Red Polyclay
Teal (Sculpey III) – blend 5 parts Kato Turquoise Polyclay, 1/2 part Kato Black Polyclay and 1/4 part Kato Violet Polyclay
Mint (Sculpey III) – blend 2 parts Kato White Polyclay, 1 part Kato Green Polyclay and 1/2 part Kato Turquoise Polyclay
Cherry Red (Fimo) – blend 2 parts Kato Magenta Polyclay and 1 part Kato Red Polyclay
Caramel (Fimo) – blend 2 parts Kato Brown Polyclay and 1/2 part Kato Yellow Polyclay
Mandarin (Fimo) – blend 3 parts Kato Yellow Polyclay and 1 part Kato Orange Polyclay
The following two recipes are courtesy of Sheila Keay (thank you!)
Burnt Orange – blend 3 parts Kato Orange, 1 part Kato Brown and 1 part Kato Pearl
Medium Terra Cotta (lighter version of above terra Cotta) – blend 3 parts Kato Brown, 2 parts Kato Red and 2 parts Kato Orange.
And lastly, one of our personal favourites….. a gentle golden yellow – 1 part Kato Pearl Polyclay, 1/2 part Kato Yellow Polyclay, very small amount each of Kato Magenta and Gold Polyclays. The resulting blend produces a soft but distinct mica shift effect.
Recipes for Kato Color Concentrates
For dark colors such as Alizarin Crimson, a good starting point would be:
5 parts Kato Transclucent
1 part Concentrated Red
Small pinch Concentrated Blue
For a Navy color:
5 parts Kato Translucent
1 part Concentrated Blue
1/4 part Concentrated Red
1/4 part Concentrated Yellow
Pastel colors can be created by mixing a small amount of the Concentrated color into Kato White. You can create your own deep metallic colors by using a 50/50 mixture of a current Kato metallic color and Kato Translucent, then mix in a small amount of Kato Color Concentrate.
Because these colors have increased amounts of colored pigments, the possibility of hand staining increases. You may consider wearing protective gloves when mixing colors by hand.
Metallic Recipes using Color Concentrates
Images and recipes courtesy Tony Aquino
Metallic Turquoise
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1/2 part green concentrate
Metallic Green
1 part metallic (80% pearl & 20% gold)
1 part translucent
1/2 part green concentrate
Metallic Blue 1
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1/4 part blue concentrate & 1/4 part green concentrate
Metallic Blue 2
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1/2 part blue concentrate
Metallic Yellow
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1/2 part yellow concentrate
Metallic Orange
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1 part yellow concentrate & 1/32 (small speck) red concentrate
Metallic Red Orange
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1/4 part red concentrate & 1/4 part yellow concentrate
Metallic Red
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1/2 part red concentrate
Metallic Gold
1 part metallic gold
1 part translucent
1/2 part yellow concentrate
Metallic Gold Red
1 part metallic gold
1 part translucent
1/2 part red concentrate
Metallic Violet
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1/8 part blue concentrate & 1/8 part red concentrate
Metallic Black
1 part metallic pearl
1 part translucent
1 part concentrate mix (see below)
Metallic Gold Black
1 part metallic gold
1 part translucent
1 part concentrate mix (see below)
Concentrate mix (Black color)
equal parts yellow, red, blue and green concentrates