How to Mix Pink Oil Paint
To mix pink with oil paint, combine 5 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Cadmium Red. Pink is red lightened with white. Which red you start from decides the pink: cadmium red gives a warm, salmon-leaning pink, while crimson or rose gives a cooler one.
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 Titanium White. It is the largest amount, so it is your base.
- Add 3 parts of Cadmium Red.
- 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 pink
The same recipe with more and more titanium white mixed in, by volume:
#EE9FA9
#F0AFB6
#F1BABF
#F2C9CB
#F4DEDD
Another way to mix pink
With Titanium White and Burnt Sienna: 5 parts Titanium White and 4 parts Burnt Sienna.
Tips for mixing reds and pinks
Reds are strong, and white changes them more than you expect: it cools them and pushes them toward pink. Add white gradually and compare against the color you are aiming for.
Questions
What colors make pink?
To mix pink with oil paint, combine 5 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Cadmium Red. You can also mix it from 5 parts Titanium White and 4 parts Burnt Sienna.
How do you make pink lighter?
Add titanium white a little at a time. Adding the same amount of white as the whole mix gives about #F2C9CB. 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 pink darker?
Add alizarin crimson or a little burnt umber. A tiny amount of green also darkens red, since green is its complement, but black tends to turn reds brown.