How to Mix Olive Green Oil Paint
To mix olive green with oil paint, combine 5 parts Cadmium Orange and 2 parts French Ultramarine. Olive green is really a yellow pushed toward green and then dulled. A warm yellow or orange with a little blue gets you there, because the orange already carries the red that greys the green down.
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 Cadmium Orange. It is the largest amount, so it is your base.
- Add 2 parts of French Ultramarine.
- 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 olive green
The same recipe with more and more titanium white mixed in, by volume:
#736B30
#9D924D
#B2A664
#C6BB85
#DED8BA
Another way to mix olive green
With Cadmium Yellow Pale and Ivory Black: 2 parts Cadmium Yellow Pale and 1 part Ivory Black.
Tips for mixing greens
Greens from a blue and a yellow are only as clean as the two colors you start with. A cool lemon yellow and a green-leaning blue give bright greens; a warm yellow and ultramarine give softer, more natural ones.
Questions
What colors make olive green?
To mix olive green with oil paint, combine 5 parts Cadmium Orange and 2 parts French Ultramarine. You can also mix it from 2 parts Cadmium Yellow Pale and 1 part Ivory Black.
How do you make olive green lighter?
Add titanium white a little at a time. Adding the same amount of white as the whole mix gives about #C6BB85. 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 olive green darker?
Add a little more of the blue, or a touch of a red such as alizarin crimson. Red is green's complement, so it darkens and dulls the green without making it look dirty the way black can.