What color do orange and purple make?
Orange and purple make russet (red-brown). Orange and purple share red, and between them hold all three primaries, so the mix is a warm reddish brown called russet.
Orange + purple = russet (red-brown)
Why orange and purple make russet (red-brown)
Orange and purple 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 purple toward purple. 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 purple on a screen
Tips for mixing orange and purple
- 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 purple 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 + 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 purple color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purple + red | red-violet (plum) | equal parts | #8A2E48 |
| Purple + yellow | brown (muddy gray-brown) | 2 purple : 1 yellow | #885056 |
| Purple + green | slate gray (dark gray-brown) | equal parts | #4A4F54 |
| Purple + blue | blue-violet (indigo) | equal parts | #3B3A9F |
| Purple + pink | orchid (light magenta-purple) | 2 purple : 3 pink | #B86CB9 |
| Purple + brown | plum brown (aubergine) | 2 purple : 1 brown | #6F3856 |
| Purple + black | deep purple (eggplant) | 2 purple : 1 black | #312632 |
| Purple + white | lavender (lilac) | 1 purple : 2 white | #D7A7E6 |
| Purple + gray | mauve (gray-purple) | 1 purple : 3 gray | #89768C |
Frequently asked questions
What color do orange and purple make?
Orange and purple make russet (red-brown) in paint (about #874847, mixed 2 orange : 3 purple). Orange and purple share red, and between them hold all three primaries, so the mix is a warm reddish brown called russet.
Is orange and purple the same in paint and on a screen?
Not exactly. Paint gives russet (red-brown) (about #874847 at 2 orange : 3 purple), while a 50/50 digital blend in a design tool gives #AB5B71, 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 purple 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.