How to mix brown paint
Brown is a dark, dull orange. Take it from earth colours, or make it from the primaries: orange (yellow and red) dulled with its opposite, blue.
Ways to mix it
This mix The colour Way 1
same colour · difference 0.3
- 3 parts Yellow ochre PY42
- 3 parts Burnt umber PBr7
- a touch Cadmium yellow medium PY35
This mix The colour Way 2
same colour · difference 0.5
- 9 parts Burnt sienna PBr7
- 2 parts Yellow ochre PY42
- a touch Titanium white PW6
This mix The colour Way 3
very close · difference 1.2
- 4 parts Hansa yellow light PY3
- 2 parts Cadmium red medium PR108
- 1 part Ultramarine blue PB29
The palette opens with this colour as the colour you want; the coach finds it with the tubes of your box.
Lighter, darker, warmer, cooler, duller
What to add to way 1, as the coach on the palette would tell you:
- LighterAdd ¾ part Titanium white and a touch Hansa yellow lightWhite lightens but also cools and greys: a touch of yellow brings the warmth back.
- DarkerAdd 4 parts Burnt umberDarken with a dark colour of the same family rather than black, which kills the colour.
- WarmerAdd ¾ part Cadmium yellow medium and ½ part Ultramarine blueWarmer means towards yellow and orange.
- CoolerAdd 1 part Quinacridone magenta and 2 parts Hansa yellow lightCooler means away from yellow and orange: towards pink, blue or green.
- DullerAdd 1½ parts Ultramarine blue and 4 parts Yellow ochreIts opposite colour dulls a colour while keeping it alive; black dulls and darkens at once.
A tip
For a brown that stays alive, leave the black out: darken it with ultramarine or burnt umber.
To understand why
Close colours
Computed from a common box: Titanium white, Hansa yellow light, Cadmium yellow medium, Cadmium red medium, Quinacridone magenta, Ultramarine blue, Phthalo blue, Yellow ochre, Burnt sienna, Burnt umber and Ivory black. Parts are by volume; a touch is about a quarter of a part. Your screen shows the colours close, not exact.
Print a mixing chart of these tubes (PDF)
All the colour recipes