How to Mix Chocolate Brown Oil Paint
To mix chocolate brown with oil paint, combine 5 parts Ivory Black, 4 parts Burnt Sienna and 1 part Cadmium Yellow Pale. Chocolate brown is a deep, warm brown. Burnt sienna darkened with black or blue keeps the red warmth that makes it read as chocolate rather than mud.
Opens the free browser simulator with these colors on the palette. Squeeze them out and blend with the palette knife.
Step by step
- Put down 5 parts of Ivory Black. It is the largest amount, so it is your base.
- Add 4 parts of Burnt Sienna.
- Add 1 part of Cadmium Yellow Pale.
- Blend with a palette knife, folding the paint over itself until no streaks of the separate colors remain.
- Pull a thin smear out to the side. Thin paint shows the true color better than a thick pile.
Lighter versions of chocolate brown
The same recipe with more and more titanium white mixed in, by volume:
#503222
#79564B
#906E65
#AA8D87
#CEBEBA
Another way to mix chocolate brown
With Ivory Black, Cadmium Red and Cadmium Lemon: 4 parts Ivory Black, 2 parts Cadmium Red and 1 part Cadmium Lemon.
Tips for mixing browns and neutrals
Browns are complementary mixes. If a brown looks too red, add a little green; too yellow, add a little violet or blue; too cold, add sienna.
Questions
What colors make chocolate brown?
To mix chocolate brown with oil paint, combine 5 parts Ivory Black, 4 parts Burnt Sienna and 1 part Cadmium Yellow Pale. You can also mix it from 4 parts Ivory Black, 2 parts Cadmium Red and 1 part Cadmium Lemon.
How do you make chocolate brown lighter?
Add titanium white a little at a time. Adding the same amount of white as the whole mix gives about #AA8D87. White also cools and softens a color, so you may need a touch more of the warm color in the recipe to keep the same character.
How do you make chocolate brown darker?
Add a little ultramarine or black. Ultramarine with a brown gives a deep, cool dark that still looks like color.