Hi Lucy- Thanks for your question--the darkest dark you can get with this palette is by mixing Rembrandt Permanent Red Medium with Rembrandt Ultramarine Blue. Brands are important because many Ultramarines aren't dark enough for my use. The combination of those two pigments, when applied opaquely, will give you a very dark value. There really is no absolute black in nature, so I've found that I don't need anything darker than that. Just be sure you haven't contaminated the mix with any other colors or the value will go up and it won't be dark enough- keep your brushes clean! Hope that helps!
