What colors make pink?
Red and white make pink. Magenta and white give a cooler, brighter pink; add a touch of yellow for coral or salmon.
How to mix pink
Pink is a tint of red: red lightened with white. The red you start with decides the pink. A cool red or magenta gives bubblegum and fuchsia pinks, while a warm red gives coral and salmon.
Lighter, darker and muted pink
- Hot pink: use magenta or add a touch of purple.
- Pastel pink: add more white.
- Dusty pink: add a little gray or green.
- Coral or salmon: add a touch of yellow or orange.
Add darkening colors a little at a time: it is easy to darken a mix and hard to lighten it again. When you need a lot of a color, mix more than you think you need, because matching a batch later is difficult.
Pink in paint, print and light
There are three color-mixing models. Paint uses the traditional red, yellow and blue primaries. Printers use cyan, magenta and yellow (plus black). Screens mix red, green and blue light, and light adds up instead of absorbing. On a screen, pink is full red light with some green and blue, for example #FFC0CB.
| Model | Primaries | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| RYB (paint) | Red, yellow, blue | Painting, art education |
| CMY(K) (print) | Cyan, magenta, yellow (+ black) | Printing, many modern paint sets |
| RGB (light) | Red, green, blue | Screens, web and digital design |
Shades of pink to aim for
Named shades near pink. Each links to its hex, RGB and OKLCH values and the colors that go with it.
What pink makes with other colors
| Mix | Result | Ratio | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pink + red | rose red | equal parts | #EC4F5C |
| Pink + orange | coral (salmon) | 2 pink : 1 orange | #F3976A |
| Pink + yellow | peach (light orange) | equal parts | #F8B646 |
| Pink + green | grayish taupe | 2 pink : 1 green | #949E8F |
| Pink + blue | lavender (light purple) | 2 pink : 1 blue | #808EC2 |
| Pink + purple | orchid (light magenta-purple) | 3 pink : 2 purple | #B86CB9 |
| Pink + brown | rosy brown | equal parts | #AE734E |
| Pink + black | dusky gray-mauve | 2 pink : 1 black | #504C4F |
| Pink + white | pale pink (baby pink) | 2 pink : 3 white | #FCCEE3 |
| Pink + gray | dusty pink (dusty rose) | 3 pink : 2 gray | #C398AF |
More color mixing answers
- What colors make brown?Mix any two complementary colors: red and green, blue and orange, or yellow and purple. All three primaries together also make brown.
- What colors make purple?Red and blue make purple. For a brighter violet, mix magenta with blue or cyan; add white for lavender.
- What colors make green?Blue and yellow make green. Cyan and yellow give the brightest green; yellow and black give olive green.
- What colors make orange?Red and yellow make orange. More yellow gives amber; more red gives red-orange.
- What colors make red?In paint, red is a primary color and cannot be mixed from others. In print, magenta and yellow make red; on screens, red is a primary of light.
- What colors make blue?In paint, blue is a primary color and cannot be mixed. In print, cyan and magenta make blue; on screens, blue is a primary of light.
- What colors make yellow?Yellow is a primary color in paint and print and cannot be mixed. On screens, red and green light make yellow.
- What colors make black?Mix the three primaries, or two dark complementary colors such as ultramarine blue and burnt umber, to make a near-black.
- What colors make gray?Black and white make gray. For a richer gray, mix two complementary colors (blue and orange) and add white.
- What colors make teal?Blue and green make teal. Add a touch of black for dark teal or white for light teal.
- What colors make gold?Mix yellow with a little orange or red, then a touch of brown. Metallic gold needs a metallic or pearlescent medium.
- What colors make tan?Brown and white make tan. A little yellow keeps it warm; a touch of black makes it darker.
Frequently asked questions
What two colors make pink?
Red and white. See red and white for ratios.
How do you make hot pink?
Use magenta with a little white, or add a touch of purple to pink.
How do you make dusty pink?
Add a little gray, or a touch of green, to pink. See pink and gray.
Mix pink digitally
Blend colors by weight in a spectral paint model, OKLab or linear light, then copy the hex codes.