How to Mix Teal Oil Paint
To mix teal with oil paint, combine 3 parts French Ultramarine and 1 part Cadmium Yellow Pale. Teal sits halfway between blue and green, and it is darker than turquoise. A strong blue with a small amount of yellow or a blue-green gets you there without white.
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 3 parts of French Ultramarine. It is the largest amount, so it is your base.
- 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 teal
The same recipe with more and more titanium white mixed in, by volume:
#1C7174
#449BA0
#61AFB4
#87C2C7
#BFDBDC
Another way to mix teal
With French Ultramarine, Viridian and Cadmium Yellow: 6 parts French Ultramarine, 2 parts Viridian and 1 part Cadmium Yellow.
Tips for mixing blues
Blues are strong tinters. Add them to the lighter color in small amounts, because it is much easier to add more blue than to rescue a mix that has gone too dark.
Questions
What colors make teal?
To mix teal with oil paint, combine 3 parts French Ultramarine and 1 part Cadmium Yellow Pale. You can also mix it from 6 parts French Ultramarine, 2 parts Viridian and 1 part Cadmium Yellow.
How do you make teal lighter?
Add titanium white a little at a time. Adding the same amount of white as the whole mix gives about #87C2C7. 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 teal darker?
Add a little more of the blue itself, or a speck of burnt umber. Umber is close to blue's complement, so it deepens the blue without turning it grey as fast as black does.