Mixing recipe
How to mix orange
Target
#F28C28
Recipe mixes to #F48C2A
A clean orange is Cadmium Yellow with the smallest amount of Cadmium Red: one part in twelve. Cadmium Red is far stronger than the yellow, and that single part is enough to go all the way from yellow to orange. Two tubes from a common box, and the match is within a ΔE.
The recipe
Step by step
Build the pile from the biggest, lightest component and work toward the strongest tinter. Check the pile against each swatch before moving on.
- Start with 11 parts Cadmium Yellowpile #FFD500
- Work in 1 part Cadmium Redpile #F48C2A
Another route
A part of white alongside the red lifts the orange a little and lands further off. Use it for orange in strong light or for a fruit's highlight side; the two-tube mix is the better match for the color itself.
What goes wrong
One part of red is a lot. Put out the yellow and add the red with a knife-tip, mixing fully each time, because a second part takes the pile to red-orange and there is no cheap way back. If the orange needs to be deeper, use more red rather than any earth, which turns it to burnt orange.
Related colors
Results vary with brand, lighting and medium. Acrylic dries a touch darker than it looks wet. Treat this as a mixing aid, not a lab instrument: it tells you which tubes to reach for and roughly in what proportion. Fine-tune the last stretch by eye.