What color do purple and gray make?
Purple and gray make mauve (gray-purple). Gray tones purple down into mauve, heather and dusty purple.
Purple + gray = mauve (gray-purple)
Why purple and gray make mauve (gray-purple)
Adding gray makes a tone: the same hue, less saturated. Tones of purple look muted and sophisticated, and they are easy to pair with other colors.
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 purple pulls the result toward purple, more gray toward gray. 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.
Purple and gray on a screen
Tips for mixing purple and gray
- 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 purple or gray 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 purple color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purple + red | red-violet (plum) | equal parts | #8A2E48 |
| Purple + orange | russet (red-brown) | 3 purple : 2 orange | #874847 |
| 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 |
More gray color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gray + red | dusty red (muted rose) | equal parts | #A4464D |
| Gray + orange | tan (muted orange) | equal parts | #AC843A |
| Gray + yellow | khaki (muted yellow) | equal parts | #B6B240 |
| Gray + green | sage (gray-green) | 2 gray : 1 green | #688C6E |
| Gray + blue | slate blue (blue-gray) | 2 gray : 1 blue | #5A7D8F |
| Gray + pink | dusty pink (dusty rose) | 2 gray : 3 pink | #C398AF |
| Gray + brown | taupe | 2 gray : 1 brown | #89795D |
| Gray + black | dark gray (charcoal) | 2 gray : 1 black | #3C3C3C |
| Gray + white | light gray (silver) | 3 gray : 4 white | #CBCBCB |
Frequently asked questions
What color do purple and gray make?
Purple and gray make mauve (gray-purple) in paint (about #89768C, mixed 1 purple : 3 gray). Gray tones purple down into mauve, heather and dusty purple.
Is purple and gray the same in paint and on a screen?
Not exactly. Paint gives mauve (gray-purple) (about #89768C at 1 purple : 3 gray), while a 50/50 digital blend in a design tool gives #7D5F90, 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 purple to gray 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.