How to Mix Orange Watercolor Paint

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Everyone knows that red plus yellow equals orange, but there’s a bit more to color mixing than that. Using certain reds and yellows will create vibrant oranges instead of muddy colors. Get easy tips for mixing orange watercolor paint in this tutorial.

I could spend hours mixing paint colors. The color mixtures never cease to amaze me. I love sharing what I’ve learned. Orange is one of the easiest colors to mix.

You might also be interested in learning how to mix purple watercolors or green watercolors.

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I’m using watercolors in this demo, but these mixing properties apply to all paint types.

Orange is admittedly one of the easier colors to mix. Since it is made from two warm colors (red and yellow), the results are more pleasing.

I used Cotman watercolor tubes to make a budget-friendly mixing palette, but I really love the Daniel Smith mixing set too.

Here are the colors I used:

• Cadmium Red Hue (warm)
• Gamboge Hue (warm)
• Permanent Rose (cool)
• Lemon Yellow (cool)
• *Ultramarine (warm)
• *Cerulean Blue Hue (cool)

I’ve included blue paint colors in case you need to mute your orange a bit. Since blue is the complementary color of orange, adding a drop of blue to a mixture will dull the color a bit. Be careful with it, though! Blue is very powerful, and it’s easy to turn your orange into green if you add too much.

Color Theory Basics

As I mentioned, red and yellow are both warm colors, but each shade can still lean warm or cool. Pinkish reds (like magentas) lean to the cool side, whereas warm reds (cadmiums) lean to the warm side.

The same can be seen in yellow paints. Some yellows lean more to the cool side (lemon yellow), and some lean more to the warm side (gamboge).

Blue sits opposite the color wheel, so it can be used to tone oranges down if necessary, as mentioned above.

Mixing Orange Watercolor Paint

Mixing reds with a warm yellow produces a more saturated color.

Warm red + warm yellow results in the cleanest, warmest red.

Cool red + cool yellow result in the weakest mixture.

To create red-orange, add more red. Yellow-orange is made by adding more yellow.

Try mixing every red and pink with every yellow you own to find your favorite combinations. Varying the amounts will vary the color range as shown below.

If you’re still getting muddy mixtures, check your paint label. Single pigment paints create the cleanest mixtures. Check your paint label to see how many pigments are included. If the label lists several pigments, they’re likely competing with each other.

How to Make Pastel Orange or Peach Tones

To make a lighter orange, use more water in your mixture. You can also mix in white or buff titanium. Keep in mind that these colors will create a slightly opaque mixture.

Light peach colors are also easy to mix. My favorite mixture uses Naples yellow and opera pink, which creates a gorgeous peach color.

Layer Paint Colors

If you’re not able to create an orange that you like, try layering paint. This is usually the best way to create beautiful colors.

I especially love this technique with a color like orange. Layering orange over a yellow base will make the painting appear to glow. It also gives it more depth and interest.

How to Make Muted Oranges

Since blue is the complementary color of orange, try mixing blues or purples with the mixture to tone it down a bit.

You can also try mixing brown with orange tones, such as raw sienna. For a dark color, try mixing in a tiny amount of Payne’s gray. Since it has a blue base, it will darken and mute the color.

More Color Mixing Tutorials to Read

Here are some of my favorite color mixing tutorials.

Purple isn’t my favorite color, so I don’t include it in my custom palette. Luckily, it’s very easy to mix purples.

Mixing green watercolors lets you create beautiful hues for landscapes and floral paintings.

Custom black mixtures have more depth than standard black paint. Plus, they’re very easy to mix.

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