Principles and Complete Formulas for Paint Color Mixing

Aug 10 , 2025

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In the realm of paint, topcoat color mixing holds a pivotal role. When users select a color from a color card and confirm the specific color code, our color-mixing specialists set out to craft that precise and exquisite shade. To grasp the essence of color-mixing formulas, we must first start with the most fundamental primary colors in nature.

The human eye is most sensitive to red, green, and blue. Functioning like a three-color receiver system, it can perceive most colors through the mixture of red, green, and blue in varying proportions. Similarly, most monochromatic lights can be broken down into these three primary colors. This forms the core principle of colorimetry, known as the three-primary-color principle. Color holographic display, a 3D color image transmission technology, operates on this principle: by mixing red, green, and blue light in appropriate ratios, most colors in nature can be replicated—earning these three the title of "primary colors of light." Thus, the recording and reproduction of colors in a color hologram essentially boil down to the recording and reproduction of these three primary colors. In short, any light can be created by blending red, green, and blue light in different proportions, leading to two key conclusions:

1. Any light color in nature can be formed by mixing the three primary light colors in varying proportions.

2. The three primary colors are mutually independent; no single light color can be composed of the other two.

If the three-primary-color principle remains unclear, you can refer directly to the paint color-mixing formulas below:

· Red mixed with yellow yields orange;

· Red mixed with blue creates purple;

· Yellow mixed with blue produces green.

Red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors of pigments, while orange, purple, and green are secondary colors. Blending secondary colors results in various shades of gray, each with a distinct color (e.g., blue-gray, purple-gray, yellow-gray).

A detailed breakdown of basic color-mixing combinations is as follows:

1. Red + Yellow = Orange
(More red with less yellow = red-orange; less red with more yellow = yellow-orange; equal parts red and yellow = pure orange.)

2. Yellow + Blue = Green
(Grass green: more yellow, less blue; dark green: more blue, less yellow; medium green: equal parts yellow and blue.)

3. Red + Blue = Purple
(Red-purple: more red, less blue; blue-purple: more blue, less red.)

4. Orange + Yellow = Orange-yellow

5. Orange + Red = Orange-red

6. Green + Yellow = Yellow-green

7. Red + Yellow + Blue = Brown

8. Orange + Purple = Red-gray

9. Orange + Green = Yellow-gray

10. Green + Purple = Blue-purple

11. Green + Blue = Blue-green

12. Red + White = Pink

Extended color combinations:

· Vermilion + a small amount of black = Coffee

· Sky blue + yellow = Grass green, tender green

· Sky blue + black + purple = Light blue-purple

· Grass green + a small amount of black = Dark green

· Sky blue + black = Light gray-blue

· Sky blue + grass green = Teal

· White + red + a small amount of black = Ochre red

· Sky blue + a small amount of black = Inky blue

· White + yellow + black = Dark brown

· Rose red + a small amount of black = Dark red

· Red + yellow + white = Skin tone for figures

· Rose red + white = Pink rose

· Blue + white = Pink blue

· Yellow + white = Beige

· Rose red + yellow = Bright red, vermilion, orange, rattan yellow

· Orange = Lemon yellow + rose red

· Earth yellow = Lemon yellow + pure black + rose red

· Pink purple = Pure white + pure purple

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Eric

Vice Chairman of the Coatings and Adhesives Association
Senior New Materials R&D Engineer
Bachelor of Engineering
General Manager
Professional Experience: With 10 years of experience in the fine chemical industry, the team has served over 10,000 clients. Committed to providing one-stop fine chemical services for global clients and helping them optimize the selection of chemical materials.

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