What color do orange and brown make?
Orange and brown make burnt orange. Brown darkens and deepens orange into burnt orange, rust and cinnamon.
Orange + brown = burnt orange
Why orange and brown make burnt orange
Brown is a dark, dull orange, so orange and brown behave like orange mixed with a darkened orange: the result is earthier and darker than either bright color alone.
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 orange pulls the result toward orange, more brown toward brown. 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.
Orange and brown on a screen
Tips for mixing orange and brown
- Start with equal amounts on the palette, mix one small test patch, then adjust with the color you want more of.
- Mix thoroughly with a palette knife; streaks of unmixed orange or brown 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 orange color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange + red | red-orange (vermilion) | equal parts | #E74627 |
| Orange + yellow | yellow-orange (amber) | equal parts | #F8A221 |
| Orange + green | olive green | equal parts | #638431 |
| Orange + blue | dull gray-green (neutral) | 1 orange : 2 blue | #276155 |
| Orange + purple | russet (red-brown) | 2 orange : 3 purple | #874847 |
| Orange + pink | coral (salmon) | 1 orange : 2 pink | #F3976A |
| Orange + black | dark brown | 3 orange : 2 black | #383627 |
| Orange + white | peach | 1 orange : 2 white | #FDD086 |
| Orange + gray | tan (muted orange) | equal parts | #AC843A |
More brown color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown + red | reddish brown (rust) | 3 brown : 2 red | #8B3C29 |
| 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 + white | light brown (beige, tan) | 2 brown : 3 white | #D3AF82 |
| Brown + gray | taupe | 1 brown : 2 gray | #89795D |
Frequently asked questions
What color do orange and brown make?
Orange and brown make burnt orange in paint (about #A76427, mixed equal parts). Brown darkens and deepens orange into burnt orange, rust and cinnamon.
Is orange and brown the same in paint and on a screen?
Not exactly. Paint gives burnt orange (about #A76427 at equal parts), while a 50/50 digital blend in a design tool gives #B46325, 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 orange to brown 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.