What color do red and yellow make?
Red and yellow make orange. Red and yellow are two of the three painter’s primaries, and together they make the secondary color orange. Add more yellow for amber and marigold, more red for red-orange.
Red + yellow = orange
Why red and yellow make orange
Red and yellow 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 red pulls the result toward red, more yellow toward yellow. 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 yellow on a screen
Tips for mixing red and yellow
- 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 yellow 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 + 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 |
| Red + gray | dusty red (muted rose) | equal parts | #A4464D |
More yellow color mixes
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow + orange | yellow-orange (amber) | equal parts | #F8A221 |
| Yellow + green | yellow-green (chartreuse) | 2 yellow : 1 green | #9DC930 |
| Yellow + blue | green | equal parts | #4D954A |
| Yellow + purple | brown (muddy gray-brown) | 1 yellow : 2 purple | #885056 |
| Yellow + pink | peach (light orange) | equal parts | #F8B646 |
| Yellow + brown | golden brown (ochre) | equal parts | #B8872F |
| Yellow + black | olive green | 2 yellow : 1 black | #5B5D36 |
| Yellow + white | pale yellow (cream) | 1 yellow : 3 white | #FDF59A |
| Yellow + gray | khaki (muted yellow) | equal parts | #B6B240 |
Frequently asked questions
What color do red and yellow make?
Red and yellow make orange in paint (about #FA7A30, mixed 2 red : 3 yellow). Red and yellow are two of the three painter’s primaries, and together they make the secondary color orange. Add more yellow for amber and marigold, more red for red-orange.
Is red and yellow the same in paint and on a screen?
Not exactly. Paint gives orange (about #FA7A30 at 2 red : 3 yellow), while a 50/50 digital blend in a design tool gives #F0862E, 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 yellow shifts the hue itself.
What other colors make orange?
Red and yellow make orange. More yellow gives amber; more red gives red-orange. See what colors make orange.
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.