Tubomix
Open the palette
On your phone

Point your phone’s camera at this code: Tubomix opens, ready to install.

The steps
EN
Report

How to mix terracotta paint

Terracotta is the colour of fired clay: an earthy red-orange, warmer than brown and duller than orange.

Terracotta

Ways to mix it

  1. This mix
    The colour

    Way 1

    very close · difference 1.9

    with earth colours

    • 4 parts Cadmium red medium PR108
    • 3 parts Yellow ochre PY42
    • 2 parts Titanium white PW6

    In practice: First Yellow ochre, then Titanium white, and last Cadmium red medium, a little at a time.

    Try it on the palette
  2. This mix
    The colour

    Way 2

    very close · difference 1.8

    with earth colours

    • 10 parts Hansa yellow light PY3
    • 1 part Quinacridone magenta PR122
    • 1 part Burnt sienna PBr7

    In practice: First Hansa yellow light, then Burnt sienna, and last Quinacridone magenta, a little at a time.

    Try it on the palette
  3. This mix
    The colour

    Way 3

    a visible difference · difference 4.3

    from the primaries

    • 6 parts Hansa yellow light PY3
    • 1 part Quinacridone magenta PR122

    In practice: First Hansa yellow light, then Quinacridone magenta, a little at a time.

    Try it on the palette
Get it with my own tubes

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 3 parts Titanium whiteWhite lightens but also cools and greys: a touch of yellow brings the warmth back.
  • DarkerAdd 1½ parts Burnt umberDarken with a dark colour of the same family rather than black, which kills the colour.
  • WarmerAdd 3 parts Cadmium yellow medium and 1½ parts Burnt siennaWarmer means towards yellow and orange.
  • CoolerAdd 1 part Quinacridone magentaCooler means away from yellow and orange: towards pink, blue or green.
  • DullerAdd a touch Ultramarine blue and ¾ part Yellow ochreIts opposite colour dulls a colour while keeping it alive; black dulls and darkens at once.

A tip

Burnt sienna is half the way there: warm it with a little red and yellow.

To understand why

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