Paint Recipe Finder
Pick any color and get the paint tubes and ratios that mix it — like a real recipe, built on subtractive RYB paint mixing.
Fourteen common acrylic & oil tubes — the general studio set. Switch palettes to search limited sets.
How This Paint Mixing Tool Works
Pick any color on screen — a photo's sage wall, a denim blue, an old-master brown — and the tool searches combinations of real tube colors until it finds blends that land close to your target. Each recipe lists the tubes, their proportions in parts, and a match score.
Mixes are computed in RYB (Red-Yellow-Blue) space, the subtractive model that approximates pigment behavior: combinations get darker and duller as more tubes join, the way paint does. Contrast that with the Color Mixer, which blends two colors interactively, and the Color Converter, which just translates formats. Here the question is reversed: not "what does this mix make?" but "what do I mix to get this?"
Reading a recipe
- Tube names are common acrylic and oil colors (Hansa Yellow Light, Phthalo Blue, Quinacridone Rose…). If your brand lacks one, choose the nearest hue on its chart and match transparency: transparent Phthalo and opaque Cerulean are not interchangeable.
- Parts are proportions, not drops. One part can be a pea or a walnut, as long as every part is measured the same way. Mix your target at 10× the smallest part so small errors stay visible.
- The match score (ΔE) is CIEDE2000 color difference. Below about 2.5 the screen mix and your paint will read as the same color side by side; 2.5–6 is the same family with a visible shift; above that the color is outside what paint can reach.
Why screen mixes cannot guarantee paint
Real pigments are not ideal primaries. Two tubes that look identical on a swatch card — say Cadmium Red Light and Pyrrole Red — can make very different greens when yellow joins them. The RYB model captures the broad subtractive behavior artists expect (red plus green makes brown, not grey), but pigment chemistry always keeps some veto power. Use recipes as a confident starting point, then tune by eye: a touch of the complement to dull, white to cool and lighten, yellow ochre to warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate are the paint recipes?
Each recipe is scored with CIEDE2000, the standard color-difference measure. Recipes at ΔE below about 2.5 are visually very close; below about 6 they read as the same color family side by side. Screen colors cannot fully predict wet paint — pigments, opacity, and wet-to-dry shifts always differ between brands — so mix a small test batch before committing to a full canvas.
Which paints do the recipes refer to?
The recipes name common acrylic and oil paint tube colors such as Titanium White, Hansa Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green, Yellow Ochre, and Burnt Sienna. Tube names are not standardized between brands, so pick the closest hue on the manufacturer's color chart and check whether the paint is transparent or opaque, since transparency changes how a mix reads.
Why does my mixed paint look different from the screen?
Three common reasons. First, screen colors are light-emitting and paint reflects light, so very bright or saturated colors on screen simply have no paint equivalent. Second, real pigments are not the idealized primaries of a mixing model, and two paints with similar swatches can behave very differently when blended. Third, most paints shift darker as they dry, especially earth colors and alizarins. Mix a ten-centimeter test swatch, let it dry, and compare it in the light you will work in.
What is RYB color mixing?
RYB (Red-Yellow-Blue) is the traditional subtractive color model taught in art schools. Unlike RGB, where mixing light makes brighter results, mixing pigment absorbs more light and darkens toward a deep brown-grey. This tool converts your target color into RYB mixing space, searches combinations of tube colors, and reports the blends that land closest to the target.
Color Mixing Guide Poster
A vibrant printed reference chart for your studio or classroom.
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