During our color mixing chart exploits, one fundamental question keeps coming up: “What colors make orange when mixed together?” The answer in this case is, happily, more straightforward than some of our other investigations.
As background, I am a teacher and artist named Lillie, and I enjoy hand-illustrating easy-to-follow lessons about color mixing. Most recently we learned the varied answers to, “What colors make green?”
What Two Colors Make Orange?
Let’s get right into the answer. The simplest response to what two colors make orange is: This secondary color is created by mixing the primary colors, red and yellow.
That said, there are several more complex ways to create different versions of orange that use other “ingredient” colors — as we also saw in our dive into “What colors make purple?” Let us explore them now…
What Colors Make Orange?
Though there's one straighforward and easy answer to what colors make orange (two primary colors, specifically), there are several other ways to make different versions of the vibrant secondary color.
Red and Yellow
The main way to make orange is to combine the primary colors, red and yellow, to form the secondary color. Those two colors are what creates the pure and most recognized version of orange.
Yellow and Pink
Since pink is just a red plus white, you can create a lighter orange by mixing yellow and pink. Why? Because Yellow + Pink = Yellow + Red + White = Orange + White = Lighter Orange.
Yellow and Orange
When you mix a primary color with the secondary color next to it on the color wheel, you get what's called an intermediate color or (by some definitions) a tertiary color. In this vein, if you mix yellow with orange, you get a light, bright yellowish-orange called amber.
Red and Orange
In another tertiary color mix, combining red plus orange yields the intense reddish-orange called vermilion.
Yellow and Purple
This one is a little bit of a stretch, but is possible. If you combine yellow with a very reddish purple (like fuchsia), it is possible to get a dusty orange color -- though usually the result is mauve or brown.
Brown and Yellow
Here's another difficult but possible option: If you combine yellow with a very reddish brown (almost maroon), you can get a brownish orange at times.
Pink and Orange
If you combine orange with pink, you get a pinkish-orange called salmon. Keep the ratio of pink low, and it still qualfies as a form of orange.
Orange and Black
Add a small amount of black to orange to produce different hues of the color. Don't add too much, though, or you'll head into brown color territory!
Orange Aura: Meaning
Moving away from art and paint colors, what about how to make the color orange in the 7 Chakra System about energy centers of the body? In this system, orange is the color of the Second or Sacral Chakra, just below the navel, and is connected with creativity and the senses.
Getting Creative…
As you can observe from that list, the answer to “What two colors make orange?” is: “Any two colors that roughly create red plus yellow.” For example, pink and yellow make a light orange (sometimes called “peach”), because pink is just red plus white, meaning that the combo is actually orange plus white.
Where things get difficult is when you try to make orange with any color combination that has blue in it (like yellow plus purple). Why is this? Because as we learned in “What Colors Make Brown?” adding the three primary colors (yellow, red, and blue) together creates brown.
This became evident in our investigation of “What does orange and blue make?” Basically, if we’re trying to make orange and some blue gets in the mix, the resulting orange will start to look dusty, muddy, or brown.
In other words, in very slim instances, you CAN create orange by what yellow and purple make — but only if the purple you’re using has lots of red and very little blue in it (given that red and blue make purple) — and even then, it will look dusty and is a bit of a force.
What Colors Make Orange, in Sum
I hope this tutorial on what colors make orange has been useful, as well as entertaining. Now you have a way to make the most useful color for your pumpkin drawing endeavors!
What color (or colour, if you’re British) question should I illustrate next? Do share!
Want more? Check out “What Colors Make Pink?” and a question that’s a riff off this article: “What is the opposite of orange?”
The author and artist, Lillie Marshall, is a National Board Certified Teacher of English who has been a public school educator since 2003, and an experienced Reiki practitioner since 2018. All art on this site is original and hand-drawn by Lillie. She launched DrawingsOf.com Educational Cartoons in 2020, building upon the success of her other sites, AroundTheWorldL.com (established 2009), TeachingTraveling.com (founded 2010), and ReikiColors.com. Subscribe to Lillie’s monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media to stay connected!
