What two colors make burnt orange?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber. Titanium White leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does burnt orange look different when acrylic dries?

Acrylic binder looks milky while wet and clears as it dries, so the dried film reads darker. Chromilla's model applies a 10% value shift for acrylic, so the wet mix #CA6C50 is predicted to dry to about #B96146. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for burnt orange?

Chromilla uses #CB6D51 as the target for burnt orange. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #B96146.

Can I mix burnt orange without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber.

How to mix

Burnt Orange paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for burnt orange (#CB6D51) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix burnt orange (#CB6D51) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out. Chromilla is a web-based paint color mixer that turns any color, from a photo, the camera or a hex code, into exact paint-tube ratios for acrylic, oil and watercolor, using Kubelka-Munk pigment mixing and aiming at the color after it dries.

Burnt Orange in acrylic, oil and watercolor, side by side (dry match by Chromilla's color model, not a measured paint-out)
Medium	Tubes and parts	Predicted dry match	Drying
Acrylic	9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber	87%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber	99%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber	88%	Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

How we calculated this: Kubelka-Munk pigment mixing, then a per-medium dry shift, scored with CIEDE2000. Method and accuracy benchmark. Last checked August 2026.

Terms used here: Dry shift, Value, Kubelka-Munk, Delta E (dE2000), Transparency, Pigment code, Tint.

Target color

Burnt Orange

#CB6D51

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #CB6D51. Change your brand, medium or palette and the recipe updates instantly.

Open in mixer

Recipes by medium

Checked August 2026

Generic pigment ratios, the same ones the Chromilla mixer solves for. Open the mixer to swap in your own brand and tubes.

acrylic

Pigment recipe

87% when dry

Wet mix

#CA6C50

1. Titanium White (PW6)51%
2. Cadmium Red (PR108)31%
3. Burnt Umber (PBr7)18%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

99% when dry

Wet mix

#CA6C50

1. Titanium White (PW6)51%
2. Cadmium Red (PR108)31%
3. Burnt Umber (PBr7)18%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

88% when dry

Wet mix

#CA6C50

1. Titanium White (PW6)51%
2. Cadmium Red (PR108)31%
3. Burnt Umber (PBr7)18%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing burnt orange

Burnt orange is orange darkened and dulled, not orange with black added, which is the mistake that kills it fastest. Black pulls warm oranges toward gray-brown in a way that reads as dirty rather than rich. A burnt sienna, or a small amount of the orange's complement (blue), gets a darker, warmer result that still reads as orange, just burnt.

Why the three mediums differ for burnt orange

acrylic carries a 10% value shift on drying in Chromilla's model (dries slightly darker and a touch warmer), so the acrylic mix is predicted to dry to #B96146.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #CA6C50.
watercolor carries a 8% value shift on drying in Chromilla's model (dries slightly darker and a touch cooler), so the watercolor mix is predicted to dry to #B9634C.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Burnt Orange in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	9	51%	51 ml
Cadmium Red	PR108	5	31%	31 ml
Burnt Umber	PBr7	3	18%	18 ml

Variations on Burnt Orange (acrylic)

Each variation is its own target (lighter and darker move OKLCH lightness by 0.08; warmer and cooler turn the hue 12 degrees toward red or blue), solved fresh.

Lighter Burnt Orange

#E68669

76% Titanium White, 15% Alizarin Crimson and 9% Cadmium Yellow. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Burnt Orange

#B0553A

35% Cadmium Red, 34% Burnt Umber and 31% Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Burnt Orange

#CC6B5D

9 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Alizarin Crimson and 3 parts Raw Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Burnt Orange

#CC6A63

8 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Alizarin Crimson and 2 parts Raw Umber. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Burnt Orange questions

What two colors make burnt orange?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber. Titanium White leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make burnt orange paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter burnt orange (#E68669) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 76% Titanium White, 15% Alizarin Crimson and 9% Cadmium Yellow. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does burnt orange look different when acrylic dries?: Acrylic binder looks milky while wet and clears as it dries, so the dried film reads darker. Chromilla's model applies a 10% value shift for acrylic, so the wet mix #CA6C50 is predicted to dry to about #B96146. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for burnt orange?: Chromilla uses #CB6D51 as the target for burnt orange. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #B96146.
Can I mix burnt orange without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber.

Related colors

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