What two colors make chestnut?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 6 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Ultramarine Blue. Cadmium Red leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does chestnut 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 #944434 is predicted to dry to about #883D2D. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for chestnut?

Chromilla uses #954535 as the target for chestnut. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #883D2D.

Can I mix chestnut without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 6 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Ultramarine Blue.

How to mix

Chestnut paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for chestnut (#954535) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix chestnut (#954535) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 6 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Ultramarine Blue. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% 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.

Chestnut 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	6 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Ultramarine Blue	92%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	6 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Ultramarine Blue	99%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	6 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Ultramarine Blue	91%	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

Chestnut

#954535

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #954535. 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

92% when dry

Wet mix

#944434

1. Cadmium Red (PR108)68%
2. Titanium White (PW6)21%
3. Ultramarine Blue (PB29)11%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

99% when dry

Wet mix

#944434

1. Cadmium Red (PR108)68%
2. Titanium White (PW6)21%
3. Ultramarine Blue (PB29)11%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

91% when dry

Wet mix

#944434

1. Cadmium Red (PR108)68%
2. Titanium White (PW6)21%
3. Ultramarine Blue (PB29)11%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing chestnut

Chestnut is a reddish-brown, warmer than a plain umber and less orange than rust, and the mistake is landing on one or the other instead of the middle ground. A burnt sienna as the base, with a small amount of a darker red-brown to deepen it, usually gets there faster than building up from red and black. Keep black out of it entirely if you can, chestnut wants warmth, not just darkness.

Why the three mediums differ for chestnut

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 #883D2D.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #944434.
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 #873F32.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Chestnut in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Cadmium Red	PR108	6	68%	68 ml
Titanium White	PW6	2	21%	21 ml
Ultramarine Blue	PB29	1	11%	11 ml

Variations on Chestnut (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 Chestnut

#AF5C4B

3 parts Burnt Umber, 3 parts Titanium White and 1 part Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Chestnut

#7B2E1F

4 parts Burnt Umber to 3 parts Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Chestnut

#95443A

5 parts Burnt Umber, 2 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Chestnut

#954344

4 parts Burnt Umber, 4 parts Alizarin Crimson, 3 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Viridian Green. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Chestnut questions

What two colors make chestnut?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 6 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Ultramarine Blue. Cadmium Red leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make chestnut paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter chestnut (#AF5C4B) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 3 parts Burnt Umber, 3 parts Titanium White and 1 part Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does chestnut 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 #944434 is predicted to dry to about #883D2D. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for chestnut?: Chromilla uses #954535 as the target for chestnut. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #883D2D.
Can I mix chestnut without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 6 parts Cadmium Red, 2 parts Titanium White and 1 part Ultramarine Blue.

Related colors

More colours to try once you have chestnut sorted.