PAINT & COLOUR MIXING
Paint Colour Mixer
Mix Colours & Explore What They Create
Choose two colours, adjust the mixing ratio, and preview an approximate result below.
This is a digital approximation of how these colours might combine. Real paint mixing depends on pigment, brand, opacity and other factors — see our Disclaimer.
How This Digital Preview Works
Screens create colour using red, green and blue light (an additive process), while physical paint uses pigments that mix subtractively. This tool uses a colour-mixing model designed to lean toward familiar paint-like results (for example, blue and yellow trending toward green) rather than simply averaging screen colours, which tends to produce muddy greys instead.
Even so, this remains a digital approximation, not a physically validated pigment simulation. Real paint mixing depends on the specific pigments, brand, opacity and ratios used. See our Disclaimer for more detail.
COLOUR MIXING CHART
Common Colour Mixing Combinations
These are well-known starting points from traditional colour theory. Actual results with real paint vary depending on the specific pigments and brand used.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
What Colours Make...?
What colours make green?
Mixing a blue and a yellow generally moves toward green. The particular shade of green depends on which blue and yellow pigments are used — a cooler blue tends to give a cleaner green, while a warmer blue can produce a more muted, olive-leaning green.
What colours make orange?
Mixing a red and a yellow generally moves toward orange. Using more yellow tends to create a lighter, warmer orange, while more red creates a deeper, redder orange.
What colours make purple?
Mixing a red and a blue generally moves toward purple or violet. The exact result depends heavily on the specific red and blue — some combinations lean more toward a reddish-purple, others toward a blue-violet.
What colours make pink?
Adding white to a red generally creates a lighter red, commonly seen as pink. The amount of white used changes how light or soft the pink appears.
How do you make brown?
Brown is commonly created by mixing complementary colours (such as a red and a green, or a blue and an orange) or by combining all three primary colours together. Adding a small amount of black or white can adjust the depth and warmth.
How do you make grey?
Grey is commonly created by mixing black and white together, or by combining complementary colours in careful proportions. The exact grey produced can lean warm or cool depending on the colours used.
How do you make skin tones with paint?
Skin tones are typically built from a base mix (often involving a red, a yellow and white) and then carefully adjusted with small amounts of other colours to reflect undertones. This is a nuanced, practice-based skill — our tool can offer a useful starting point, but matching a specific skin tone usually takes some hands-on adjustment.
MIXING RATIOS EXPLAINED
Understanding Mixing Ratios
1:1 — Equal Parts
An equal amount of each colour. This is a good, balanced starting point for most mixes.
2:1 — Two Parts First Colour
Twice as much of the first colour as the second, producing a result that leans more toward the first colour.
3:1 — Three Parts First Colour
A stronger lean toward the first colour, with the second colour used mainly to shift the tone slightly.
Keep in mind that different pigments have different strengths — some colours are far more concentrated than others, so identical ratios can still produce different-looking results depending on the paints used.
Digital Colour & Real Paint
Digital colour previews can differ from physical paint and printed output. For more detail on the limits of our colour tools, see our full Disclaimer.
PUT COLOUR INTO PRACTICE
Ready to Create Something?
Exploring colour is the first step. Put those ideas into practice with our growing collection of creative kits.
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COMMON QUESTIONS
Paint Colour Mixer FAQ
Is this an exact match for real paint mixing?
No. This tool provides a digital approximation designed to lean toward familiar paint-like results, but it is not a physically validated pigment simulation. Real paint mixing depends on the specific pigments, brand, opacity and technique used.
Can I use this for acrylics, watercolours or gouache?
Yes, as a general creative starting point — but different paint mediums behave differently. Watercolours are more translucent, acrylics dry to a different finish than they appear wet, and gouache has its own opacity characteristics, so always test a small amount of real paint before committing to a project.
Why does my real paint mix look different from the on-screen preview?
Screens display colour using light, while paint uses pigment. Differences in pigment strength, paint brand, surface, lighting and mixing technique can all affect your real-world result.
Does the mixing ratio affect colour intensity as well as hue?
Yes, changing the ratio shifts the preview toward whichever colour has the higher percentage, similarly to how using more of one paint than another shifts a real mix.