PaintwellPaint mixing, from the tubes you own

How to mix tan paint

The recipes below come from Paintwell's pigment model, worked out from the real tube paints named, in oil and in acrylic. Percentages are by volume of paint on the palette.

Tan
#c2a27a
Oil, any brand
  • 69%Bismuth Yellow Winsor & Newton
  • 31%Winsor Violet Dioxazine Winsor & Newton
Very close match
Winsor & Newton oil
  • 83%Flake White Hue
  • 13%Transparent Brown Oxide
  • 4%Winsor Orange Red Shade
Very close match
Gamblin oil
  • 79%Naples Yellow Hue
  • 21%Asphaltum
Very close match
Acrylic, any brand
  • 53%Naples Yellow Deep Amsterdam
  • 47%Brilliant Purple Liquitex
Very close match
Golden acrylic
  • 80%Titan Buff
  • 14%Burnt Sienna
  • 6%Carbon Black
Very close match
Liquitex acrylic
  • 78%Light Portrait Pink
  • 11%Raw Umber
  • 11%Yellow Oxide
Very close match

How to get there

Put out the Bismuth Yellow first: it is 69% of the mix.

Add the Winsor Violet Dioxazine a little at a time, mixing fully between additions. The smaller shares are usually the stronger paints, and it is far easier to add more than to take it back.

Because tan is a light color, work the darker paints into the lighter one, never the other way around, or you will end up mixing a pile far bigger than you need.

Every brand's version of a pigment is a little different, which is why the recipes change from brand to brand. If you own other tubes, Paintwell works the recipe out from those instead.

Match any color from your own photo

Take a photo of your reference, tap any color, and Paintwell gives you the recipe from the paints you actually own. Then point your camera at your mix and it tells you which way you're off.

Related colors

BeigeKhakiBrownChocolate brownTaupeGrayCharcoal graySlate gray