Mixing recipe
How to mix tan
Target
#D2B48C
Recipe mixes to #CDAF8E
Tan is a pale warm brown. White carries the value, Yellow Ochre gives it the yellow-brown of tanned leather, and one part of Burnt Umber takes the ochre's brightness down so it reads as tan rather than buff.
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 8 parts Titanium Whitepile #F6F6F4
- Work in 3 parts Yellow Ochrepile #EDC998
- Work in 1 part Burnt Umberpile #CDAF8E
Another route
Swapping the Burnt Umber for a part of Ivory Black gives a cooler, greener tan, about a point and a half further off. It suits worn canvas or faded leather. The umber version is warmer and the better match for most things called tan.
What goes wrong
After the ochre goes in the pile is a bright buff, and the umber is what makes it tan. Add it in halves; a full part straight in can overshoot to a mid brown, and because the mix is mostly opaque white and ochre it takes a lot more white to come back. If the tan looks pink, there is too much umber and the fix is more ochre.
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.