Quick answer
Red + yellow make orange. Use a warm red (cadmium red light) with a warm yellow (cadmium yellow) for the brightest result. More yellow gives amber and marigold, and more red gives red-orange. For burnt orange add burnt sienna or a touch of blue, for peach add white, and for terracotta mix burnt sienna with a little orange.
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The brightest orange: warm red + warm yellow
Orange lies between red and yellow, and the cleanest oranges come from a red and a yellow that both already lean toward it: a warm red such as cadmium red light or pyrrole orange-red, and a warm yellow such as cadmium yellow medium. Neither one contains any blue, orange's complement, so nothing in the mixture dulls it.
Compare that with a cool red such as alizarin crimson or quinacridone magenta, plus a cool lemon yellow.
The crimson leans toward blue and the lemon leans toward green, so together they carry a hint of blue that softens the orange into a coral or salmon. That isn't wrong. It's often exactly what you want for flowers, skin or sunsets. It's just less fiery.
Try it: Mix an orange
Open full mixer →Ratios: from yellow-orange to red-orange
Yellow is usually weaker than red in tinting strength, so start with the yellow and add red to it a little at a time. Roughly equal parts of cadmium red light and cadmium yellow medium give a true orange. Three parts yellow to one part red gives a marigold yellow-orange, and two parts red to one part yellow gives a red-orange. Small additions of red change the mix quickly, so work in small steps and keep a little of each stage on the palette for comparison.
Tip: If you only have a cool red and a cool yellow, a tube of cadmium orange or pyrrole orange is a worthwhile addition. Mixing a vivid orange from biased primaries will always be a compromise.
Orange mixing chart
From light to deep. Ratios are parts by volume, and the swatches are model estimates.
| Shade | Result | Mix |
|---|---|---|
| Marigold / amber | Golden yellow-orange | Cadmium red 1 : cadmium yellow 3 |
| Pure orange | Bright orange | Cadmium red 1 : cadmium yellow 1 |
| Red-orange | Hot, reddish orange | Cadmium red 2 : cadmium yellow 1 |
| Peach | Soft peach | Orange 1 : white 3 (+ a touch of red) |
| Burnt orange | Rusty burnt orange | Orange 2 : burnt sienna 1 |
| Terracotta | Earthy clay orange | Burnt sienna 2 : orange 1 |
Peach, terracotta and burnt orange
- Peach and apricot: orange plus white. White cools and softens orange, so add a touch of yellow if the peach turns chalky or pinkish.
- Burnt orange: orange plus a little burnt sienna. That deepens it while keeping it warm.
- Terracotta and rust: burnt sienna with some orange, or orange toned down with a speck of ultramarine, its complement. Add more blue and the mixture moves toward brown, since brown is essentially a dark, muted orange.
- Earthy orange: yellow ochre plus a warm red, or burnt sienna plus cadmium yellow. These are lovely for autumn leaves, fur and warm skin tones.
Orange in acrylic, oil and watercolor
- Acrylic: cadmium and pyrrole oranges are opaque and cover well, which makes them great for bold, flat shapes. Transparent oranges, such as quinacridone burnt orange, are better for glazes over a dried layer.
- Oil: opaque cadmium oranges sit forward in the picture. Transparent earth oranges such as burnt sienna can be glazed for glowing autumn light. Orange and white mixtures can turn chalky, so keep a little pure orange in the lit areas.
- Watercolor: the paper is your white, so pale apricots come from dilution. Try letting a warm red drop into a wet yellow wash and blend on the paper. It gives soft, natural transitions that suit fruit, flowers and sunsets.
Whatever the medium, orange is a strong attention-grabber. Small areas of it against blues and blue-greys can carry a whole painting.
Darkening orange without losing it
Adding black to orange tends to produce a dull olive-brown, because black behaves like a very dark, muted blue in mixtures. To keep a shadowed orange rich, use burnt sienna or burnt umber, or a small amount of ultramarine for a cooler shadow. A touch of the deeper red, such as alizarin crimson, keeps shadows warm and glowing. See shadows without black for the full method.
Recipes by medium
Proportions are starting points in parts by volume. Pigment strength varies by brand, so add strong colors gradually. The swatches are computed with Pigmento's pigment-mixing model and are approximations.
Pure orange
1 Cadmium Red Light + 1 Cadmium Yellow Medium (parts). Bright and opaque. Add red to the yellow, not the other way around.
Marigold
1 Cadmium Red Light + 3 Cadmium Yellow Medium (parts). A sunny yellow-orange for flowers and highlights.
Peach
1 Cadmium Orange + 3 Titanium White (parts). Add a speck of yellow if the tint looks chalky or pink.
Red-orange
2 Cadmium Red Light + 1 Cadmium Yellow Medium (parts). Warm and intense. It's the color of many sunset passages.
Burnt orange
2 Cadmium Orange + 1 Burnt Sienna (parts). Deep, warm and natural. Good for autumn foliage.
Terracotta
2 Burnt Sienna + 1 Cadmium Orange (parts). Earthy and solid, for pots, roofs and clay.
Bright orange
1 Cadmium Red Light + 2 Lemon Yellow (parts). Fresh and clean. Dilute for pale apricot washes.
Coral
1 Quinacridone Magenta + 2 Cadmium Yellow Medium (parts). Softer than a cadmium orange, and it glazes beautifully.
Autumn orange
1 Burnt Sienna + 2 Cadmium Yellow Medium (parts). A warm, earthy orange for leaves and sunlit ground.
Paints used in this lesson
Shop links coming soon- Cadmium Red Light
- Cadmium Yellow Medium
- Cadmium Orange
- Titanium White
- Burnt Sienna
- Lemon Yellow
- Quinacridone Magenta
Student-grade paints work for every recipe here. Single-pigment artist paints mix cleaner and stronger. We may add affiliate links to paint sets later, and they will be clearly marked.
Frequently asked questions
What two colors make orange?
Red and yellow. For the brightest orange, use a warm red (cadmium red light, pyrrole orange-red) with a warm yellow (cadmium yellow medium). A cool red with a lemon yellow gives a softer coral or salmon.
How do you make burnt orange?
Mix orange with a little burnt sienna, or tone orange down with a tiny amount of ultramarine blue. Keep the additions small so the color stays warm.
How do you make peach color?
Add orange to white a little at a time. Because white cools orange, a touch of yellow helps keep the peach warm and fresh.
Why does my orange look dull?
Usually one of the paints leans toward blue, as alizarin crimson and lemon yellow do, or black or too many pigments were added. Use a warm red and a warm yellow and keep the mix to two paints.
How do you make orange darker without black?
Add a tiny amount of ultramarine blue (orange's complement) or some burnt sienna or burnt umber. Blue darkens and calms the orange, and the earths make it rustier. Black tends to make orange look muddy and olive.
How do you make terracotta color?
Start with burnt sienna and warm it with a little orange or cadmium red. Add a touch of white for a lighter, sun-baked clay, or a speck of blue to mute it.