What Colors Make Orange? (70+ FREE Gorgeous Color Mixing Recipes!)

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Inquiring minds want to know, “What colors make orange”? If you’re thinking “Well, duh, that would be red and yellow” then you’re on the right track! But what about other colors – can they be combined to make this bright and cheerful hue?

As usual, I’ll be showing you everything. Even the hard fails are worth looking at and discussing when it comes to experimenting. And, in fact, I will show you some of my favorite combinations and a few mixes I came across during my research.

So grab your paint and brushes and get ready to mix things up, because we’re about to dive into the world of color theory and discover the many ways to make orange!

But Before We Begin…

  • Please be aware that your color mixes may vary from the ones shown in the experiments. This is due to several factors including using a different paint brand and display colors of devices. Screen colors can vary from one device to another due to pixels, display resolution, and other factors. When in doubt, experiment with what you have on hand
  • I am just an everyday artist without the equipment to properly weigh each “part” of paint used in the mixes. I just eyeball it so your results may slightly differ from those shown
  • I will list each recipe I make so you can feel free to add it to your own “recipe book”
  • Each recipe is created by using “parts”. A “part” can be any size, shape, or weight as long as each “part” is equal (or very close to it). For example, if you have $1 in one hand and $1 in the other that would be a 1:1 ratio. If you have a dollar bill in one hand and two dollar bills in the other that would be a 1:2 ratio, and so on.

All Colors Used In Experiments To Make Orange Paint

  • Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue (Liquitex Basics)
  • Cadmium Red Medium Hue (Liquitex Basics)
  • Yellow Oxide (Liquitex Basics)
  • Alizarin Crimson (Liquitex Professional)
  • Mars Orange (Arteza Premium)
  • Orange Yellow (Arteza Premium)
  • Titanium White (Golden)
  • Mars Black (Sennelier Abstract)
  • Ultramarine Blue (Liquitex Basics)
  • Phthalo Blue (Liquitex Basics)
  • Phthalo Green (Liquitex Basics)
  • Hooker’s Green (Sennelier Abstract)
  • Quinacridone Magenta (Liquitex Basics)
  • Neon Pink (Sennelier Abstract)
  • Burnt Sienna (Golden)
  • Burnt Umber (Liquitex Basics)

The Two Most Basic Colors That Make Orange

Okay, so, we’ve already talked about how red and yellow mixed will make orange but let’s take that one step further.

If you’ve been painting for a while you know that there are an overwhelming amount of different reds and yellows to choose from and guess what? With that many hues to choose from, you can make a ton of different oranges!

Let’s take a minute to explore a few popular red and yellow acrylic paint colors and see just how many different oranges we can come up with.

Paint Colors Used

Paint swatches showing Cadmium Yellow Medium mixed with Cadmium Red Medium and Alizarin Crimson and lightened with Titanium White.
Paint swatches of Cadmium Red Medium and Alizarin Crimson mixed with Yellow Oxide and lightened with Titanium White.

Recipes Created

  • 1 part Cad Red Medium to 1 part Cad Yellow Medium (Base Recipe)
  • 2 parts base recipe (above) to 1 part Titanium White
  • 1 part base recipe to 1 part Titanium White
  • 1 part base recipe to 2 parts Titanium White
  • 1 part Alizarin Crimson to 1 part Cad Yellow Medium (Base Recipe)
  • 2 parts base recipe to 1 part Titanium White
  • 1 part base recipe to 1 part Titanium White
  • 1 part base recipe to 2 parts Titanium White
  • 1 part Cad Red Medium to 1 part Yellow Oxide (Base Recipe)
  • 2 parts base recipe to 1 part Titanium White
  • 1 part base recipe to 1 part Titanium White
  • 1 part base recipe to 2 parts Titanium White
  • 1 part Alizarin Crimson to 1 part Yellow Oxide (Base Recipe)
  • 2 parts base recipe to 1 part Titanium White
  • 1 part base recipe to 1 part Titanium White
  • 1 part base recipe to 2 parts Titanium White

Experiment Notes

  1. The brighter the red the more vibrant the mixture will be
  2. A bright yellow will create a bright orange
  3. The Alizarin Crimson mixes make a more muted shade of orange
  4. The Alizarin Crimson and Yellow Oxide mix makes more of a reddish-orange so add the crimson slowly to the yellow
  5. The Cad Red Medium and Yellow Oxide mixture makes a great color to use in autumn-themed paintings

How To Make A Muted Orange Acrylic Paint Color

To make a muted orange color with acrylic paint, you can mix a bright or pure orange paint with a small amount of its complementary color, which is blue. This will create a more subdued and muted orange shade.

Complementary colors are colors that appear opposite of each other on the color wheel. For more info, check out my article on the color wheel.

I’ve also seen it said that using a neutral grey can also mute orange but we’ll see about that during our experiment.

Acrylic Paint Colors Used

Results of darkening Mars Orange by using Mars Black, Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, and Phthalo Blue.
Swatches by mixing grey (Titanium White and Mars Black), Ultramarine Blue, and Phthalo Blue with Orange Yellow.

Recipes Created

  • 1 part Mars Orange to 1 part Grey (Made with a 1:1 ratio of Titanium White and Mars Black)
  • 2 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Grey
  • 3 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Grey
  • 4 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Grey
  • 1 part Mars Orange to 1 part Ultramarine Blue
  • 2 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Ultramarine Blue
  • 3 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Ultramarine Blue
  • 4 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Ultramarine Blue
  • 1 part Mars Orange to 1 part Phthalo Blue
  • 2 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Phthalo Blue
  • 3 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Phthalo Blue
  • 4 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Phthalo Blue
  • 1 part Orange Yellow to 1 part Grey (Made with a 1:1 ratio of Titanium White and Mars Black)
  • 2 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Grey
  • 3 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Grey
  • 4 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Grey
  • 1 part Orange Yellow to 1 part Ultramarine Blue
  • 2 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Ultramarine Blue
  • 3 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Ultramarine Blue
  • 4 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Ultramarine Blue
  • 1 part Orange Yellow to 1 part Phthalo Blue
  • 2 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Phthalo Blue
  • 3 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Phthalo Blue
  • 4 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Phthalo Blue

Muted Orange Experiment Notes

  1. All of the recipes made are really dark which tells you that you only need to add a small amount of grey or blue to dull down the orange
  2. Most of the combinations create brown
  3. Mars Orange and Phthalo Blue make a very dark forest green
  4. Orange Yellow and Phthalo Blue create black at a 1:1 ratio
  5. The Titanium White in the grey mixture gives the resulting colors a dusty look but it does work (so that little tidbit of info found on the net was true)

What Happens When You Mix Green And Orange?

If you mix orange and green acrylic paint, you’ll end up with a brownish color. That said, the shades of both the orange and the green will give you different results as will the amount of each pigment used in the mixture. Let’s take a closer look.

Acrylic Paint Colors Used

Swatches made to see what happens when you mix green with Mars Orange paint.
Experimenting with green paint mixed with Orange Yellow.

Recipes Created

  • 1 part Mars Orange to 1 part Phthalo Green
  • 2 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Phthalo Green
  • 1 part Mars Orange to 2 parts Phthalo Green
  • 1 part Mars Orange to 1 part Hooker’s Green
  • 2 parts Mars Orange to 1 part Hooker’s Green
  • 1 part Mars Orange to 2 parts Hooker’s Green
  • 1 part Orange Yellow to 1 part Phthalo Green
  • 2 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Phthalo Green
  • 1 part Orange Yellow to 2 parts Phthalo Green
  • 1 part Orange Yellow to 1 part Hooker’s Green
  • 2 parts Orange Yellow to 1 part Hooker’s Green
  • 1 part Orange Yellow to 2 parts Hooker’s Green

Green And Orange Experiment Notes

  1. Most recipes create brown (for even more brown paint recipes see my brown color mixing recipe article)
  2. Mars Orange mixed with both greens at a 1:2 ratio (see above) make a very dark green
  3. Mars Orange and Phthalo Green (at a 1:2 ratio) create a dark forest green
  4. Mars Orange and Hooker’s Green (at a 1:2 ratio) create a dark olive green
  5. If you only have Phthalo Green and you want to paint a realistic landscape you can add an earthy orange (like Mars Orange) to tone down the vibrancy of Phthalo Green

For even more mixing fun, why not try a recipe from my mixing up green paint article?

What Orange Color Mixtures Make Peach And Coral?

Before we get into it, let’s talk a bit about the difference between peach and coral colors. The difference is subtle, but there are a few distinctions between the two.

Peach is a pale, light orange color often described as soft and delicate. It’s less saturated than coral and has a slight pink undertone.

On the flip side, coral is a brighter, more vibrant shade of reddish-orange and is thought to resemble the color of some ocean coral reefs. Coral is definitely more intense and bolder than peach, with a strong pinkish-red undertone.

Basically, the main difference between peach and coral is their saturation and undertones. Peach is a softer color with a pinkish undertone, while coral is a more vibrant color with a strong pinkish-red undertone.

Now, let’s take this info and do some color swatching so we can compare the two hues. In this experiment, we’re going to use the same hues of paint to make both peach and coral but we’ll play with the ratios to make the peach color more pale with pink undertones while the coral paint color will be more vibrant and have an undertone that leans more toward red.

We’ll also try using some unexpected paint colors to come up with peach and coral. And, if you find a new favorite coral paint color, take it for a test run by following along with my step-by-step tutorial on painting a piece of ocean coral.

Paint Colors Used

Mixing Cadmium Yellow Medium with two different reds, a magenta, and a neon pink to make Coral and then lightening it with Titanium White to make Peach.

Recipes Created

Each recipe was mixed with 2 parts Titanium White in an attempt to make a peach color

  • 1 part Quinacridone Magenta to 1 part Cadmium Yellow Medium
  • 2 parts Quin. Magenta to 1 part Cad Yellow Med
  • 1 part Quin. Magenta to 2 parts Cad Yellow Med
  • 1 part Neon Pink to 1 part Cadmium Yellow Medium
  • 2 parts Neon Pink to 1 part Cad Yellow Med
  • 1 part Neon Pink to 2 parts Cad Yellow Med
  • 1 part Alizarin Crimson to 1 part Cadmium Yellow Medium
  • 2 parts Alizarin Crimson to 1 part Cad Yellow Med
  • 1 part Alizarin Crimson to 2 parts Cad Yellow Med
  • 1 part Cadmium Red Medium to 1 part Cadmium Yellow Medium
  • 2 parts Cad Red Med to 1 part Cad Yellow Medium
  • 1 part Cad Red Med to 2 parts Cad Yellow Medium

Coral and Peach Paint Experiment Notes

  1. The Neon Pink combination was a complete fail
  2. All mixes of Quinacridone Magenta and Cadmium Yellow Medium make a beautiful base for coral
  3. The best peach colors come from mixing Cadmium Red Medium with Cadmium Yellow Medium

What Colors Make Orange Darker?

There are several ways to darken orange acrylic paint. You can mix it with black or a complimentary color (in this case, blue). You can also mix it with earthy browns, such as Burnt Sienna or Burnt Umber, and you can also use it as a wash.

To darken orange paint by creating a wash, you paint the darker color first, wait for it to dry, and then layer your orange over it. Let’s see what the results of each option.

Acrylic Paint Used

Swatch results from experimenting to see what colors make orange darker.

Recipes Created

  • 1 part Mars Black to 1 part Orange Yellow
  • 1 part Ultramarine Blue to 1 part Orange Yellow
  • 1 part Phthalo Blue to 1 part Orange Yellow
  • 1 part Burnt Sienna to 1 part Orange Yellow
  • 1 part Burnt Umber to 1 part Orange Yellow

Experiment Notes

  1. The washes were created by laying down the dark color first, letting it dry, and painting a wash of Orange Yellow over the top
  2. All colors worked to darken the orange paint
  3. Except for Burnt Sienna, it would be best to add small amounts of the darker colors to the orange slowly so you don’t overdo it and end up wasting paint
  4. The washes all worked but the results were less uniform than mixing the colors

Mixing Up Orange…Without Using Red Paint…?

So, what colors make orange if you don’t have any red paint? Is it even possible? Absolutely! If you have yellow and burnt sienna, you’re good to go. That said, the shade of orange created most likely won’t be a strong orange color but it can still make a beautiful variation that can be used in many ways.

It’s also rumored that you can make orange paint by mixing yellow with burnt umber but I’m skeptical. Let’s give it a shot and see what happens.

Acrylic Paint Colors Used

Swatches made by mixing different ratios of Cadmium Yellow Medium with Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber.

Recipes Created

  • 1 part Cadmium Yellow Medium to 1 part Burnt Sienna
  • 2 parts Cad Yellow Med to 1 part Burnt Sienna
  • 1 part Cad Yellow Med to 2 parts Burnt Sienna
  • 1 part Cadmium Yellow Medium to 1 part Burnt Umber
  • 2 parts Cad Yellow Med to 1 part Burnt Umber
  • 1 part Cad Yellow Med to 2 parts Burnt Umber

Experiment Notes

  1. Of the two, adding Burnt Umber to Cad Yellow Medium would take longer to create orange
  2. Since Burnt Sienna has a definite red undertone, it’s pretty easy to create an orange
  3. Both browns should be added a bit at a time until you’ve reached the desired shade of orange

Ideas For Adding Orange To Your Artwork

There are many ways you can incorporate orange acrylic paint into your artwork. Here are a few ideas:

  1. Use orange as an underpainting for your artwork. This can add warmth and depth to your piece. Underpaintings are especially cool when using loose painterly strokes as you’ll be able to see it peeking through, here and there.
  2. Use orange as an accent color to add pops of brightness to your artwork. This can help draw the viewer’s eye to specific areas of the piece.
  3. Experiment with different textures and techniques using orange paint. For example, you could use a palette knife to create thick, textured strokes of orange paint, or mix orange with a medium to create a glaze effect.
  4. Use orange to create a focal point in your artwork. By emphasizing certain areas with a bright, bold color like orange, you can create a dynamic and visually interesting composition.

One of my favorite ways to use orange is by painting a streaky background using Cadmium Yellow Medium and Quinacridone Magenta. I just add both to a large brush, at the same time, and start painting up and down the canvas without messing around with it too much. If you go over your paint strokes too often, you’ll end up blending the two completely and the result will be a flat orange background.

I also like using it, nice and thick, in unexpected ways. For example, let’s say you’re painting a still life of some red flowers. Instead of adding white to paint your highlights, try using orange instead.

Remember, these are just a few ideas to get you started, but for even more, check out the orange art examples featured in the Artmajeur web magazine. So good!

Mixing Up Orange Paint Take Away

Now that we’ve explored the question “What colors make orange,” it’s clear that there are many ways to create this vibrant hue. From mixing red and yellow to experimenting with complementary colors, there’s no shortage of fun and creative options to choose from.

Don’t be afraid to play with color and let your creativity run wild. The more you experiment, the more colors you’ll discover!

Keep on painting, keep on creating, and most importantly, keep on having fun!

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