What color do brown and white make?
Brown and white make light brown (beige, tan). White tints brown into light brown, tan, beige and taupe.
Brown + white = light brown (beige, tan)
Why brown and white make light brown (beige, tan)
Adding white makes a tint: the same hue, lighter and paler. Tints of brown keep its character but read softer and more pastel.
Paint mixes subtractively: each pigment absorbs part of the light, and the mix reflects only what both let through. That is why paint mixes get darker and duller as you add colors, while light mixes get brighter.
Change the ratio
Equal parts are only the middle of a range. More brown pulls the result toward brown, more white toward white. Mix a small test batch, note the parts you used, and scale up once you like it.
All three are mixed with the same spectral paint model. Dark paints are strong, so a little of them changes a mix a lot; light paints such as white and yellow need more parts to show.
Brown and white on a screen
Tips for mixing brown and white
- Start with the white and add the brown to it a little at a time. Darker colors overpower lighter ones quickly, so this way round wastes less paint.
- Mix thoroughly with a palette knife; streaks of unmixed brown or white change how the color reads from a distance.
- Let a test swatch dry before judging it. Acrylics usually dry a little darker, while watercolors dry lighter.
- Write down the ratio that works (for example 2 parts to 1) so you can mix the same color again.
- To match a color on screen, compare the paint swatch against the hex code here on a calibrated display, and remember print and paint cannot reach every screen color.
More brown color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown + red | reddish brown (rust) | 3 brown : 2 red | #8B3C29 |
| Brown + orange | burnt orange | equal parts | #A76427 |
| Brown + yellow | golden brown (ochre) | equal parts | #B8872F |
| Brown + green | olive (dark olive green) | 3 brown : 2 green | #58582D |
| Brown + blue | near black (dark slate) | equal parts | #38503D |
| Brown + purple | plum brown (aubergine) | 1 brown : 2 purple | #6F3856 |
| Brown + pink | rosy brown | equal parts | #AE734E |
| Brown + black | dark brown (espresso) | 2 brown : 1 black | #312C22 |
| Brown + gray | taupe | 1 brown : 2 gray | #89795D |
More white color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| White + red | pink | 3 white : 2 red | #FF8793 |
| White + orange | peach | 2 white : 1 orange | #FDD086 |
| White + yellow | pale yellow (cream) | 3 white : 1 yellow | #FDF59A |
| White + green | mint (pastel green) | 2 white : 1 green | #A4E0AE |
| White + blue | light blue (sky blue) | 3 white : 2 blue | #7CB7EB |
| White + purple | lavender (lilac) | 2 white : 1 purple | #D7A7E6 |
| White + pink | pale pink (baby pink) | 3 white : 2 pink | #FCCEE3 |
| White + black | gray | 3 white : 1 black | #888888 |
| White + gray | light gray (silver) | 4 white : 3 gray | #CBCBCB |
Frequently asked questions
What color do brown and white make?
Brown and white make light brown (beige, tan) in paint (about #D3AF82, mixed 2 brown : 3 white). White tints brown into light brown, tan, beige and taupe.
Is brown and white the same in paint and on a screen?
Not exactly. Paint gives light brown (beige, tan) (about #D3AF82 at 2 brown : 3 white), while a 50/50 digital blend in a design tool gives #BDA18F, because screens mix light rather than pigment.
How do I make the mix lighter or darker?
Add white to lighten it into a tint, black (a little at a time) to darken it into a shade, or gray to mute it. Changing the ratio of brown to white shifts the hue itself.
Mix any two colors
The color mixer blends up to five colors by weight in a spectral paint model, OKLab or linear light, and exports the steps.