What color do orange and green make?
Orange and green make olive green. Orange (red + yellow) and green (blue + yellow) share a lot of yellow, so the mix is an olive green or khaki; the touch of red in the orange dulls it.
Orange + green = olive green
Why orange and green make olive green
Orange and green are two thirds of the way around the color wheel from each other. When both are primaries they make the secondary color between them; when both are secondaries they share one primary and together contain all three, so the mix turns earthy and dark.
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 green toward green. 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 green on a screen
Tips for mixing orange and green
- 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 green 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 + 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 + brown | burnt orange | equal parts | #A76427 |
| 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 green color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green + red | brown | equal parts | #60463A |
| Green + yellow | yellow-green (chartreuse) | 1 green : 2 yellow | #9DC930 |
| Green + blue | blue-green (teal) | equal parts | #1B6C56 |
| Green + purple | slate gray (dark gray-brown) | equal parts | #4A4F54 |
| Green + pink | grayish taupe | 1 green : 2 pink | #949E8F |
| Green + brown | olive (dark olive green) | 2 green : 3 brown | #58582D |
| Green + black | dark green (hunter green) | 2 green : 1 black | #2A372C |
| Green + white | mint (pastel green) | 1 green : 2 white | #A4E0AE |
| Green + gray | sage (gray-green) | 1 green : 2 gray | #688C6E |
Frequently asked questions
What color do orange and green make?
Orange and green make olive green in paint (about #638431, mixed equal parts). Orange (red + yellow) and green (blue + yellow) share a lot of yellow, so the mix is an olive green or khaki; the touch of red in the orange dulls it.
Is orange and green the same in paint and on a screen?
Not exactly. Paint gives olive green (about #638431 at equal parts), while a 50/50 digital blend in a design tool gives #A08933, 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 green 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.