What color do red and gray make?
Red and gray make dusty red (muted rose). Gray lowers red’s saturation without changing its hue, giving a tone: dusty red, muted rose or faded brick.
Red + gray = dusty red (muted rose)
Why red and gray make dusty red (muted rose)
Adding gray makes a tone: the same hue, less saturated. Tones of red 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 red pulls the result toward red, 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.
Red and gray on a screen
Tips for mixing red 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 red 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 red color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red + orange | red-orange (vermilion) | equal parts | #E74627 |
| Red + yellow | orange | 2 red : 3 yellow | #FA7A30 |
| Red + green | brown | equal parts | #60463A |
| Red + blue | purple | equal parts | #483A4B |
| Red + purple | red-violet (plum) | equal parts | #8A2E48 |
| Red + pink | rose red | equal parts | #EC4F5C |
| Red + brown | reddish brown (rust) | 2 red : 3 brown | #8B3C29 |
| Red + black | dark red (maroon) | 4 red : 1 black | #602B30 |
| Red + white | pink | 2 red : 3 white | #FF8793 |
More gray color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 + purple | mauve (gray-purple) | 3 gray : 1 purple | #89768C |
| 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 red and gray make?
Red and gray make dusty red (muted rose) in paint (about #A4464D, mixed equal parts). Gray lowers red’s saturation without changing its hue, giving a tone: dusty red, muted rose or faded brick.
Is red and gray the same in paint and on a screen?
Not exactly. Paint gives dusty red (muted rose) (about #A4464D at equal parts), while a 50/50 digital blend in a design tool gives #B76660, 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 red 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.