What two colors make crimson?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 46% Alizarin Crimson, 29% Titanium White and 25% Cadmium Red. Alizarin Crimson leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

How do you make crimson paint lighter without losing the hue?

Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter crimson (#FA3D53) in acrylic: Chromilla's model predicts a 79% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does crimson 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 #C93B44 is predicted to dry to about #B8353B. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for crimson?

Chromilla uses #DC143C as the target for crimson. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #B8353B.

Can I mix crimson without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 46% Alizarin Crimson, 29% Titanium White and 25% Cadmium Red.

How to mix

Crimson paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for crimson (#DC143C) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix crimson (#DC143C) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 46% Alizarin Crimson, 29% Titanium White and 25% Cadmium Red. That falls short: Chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out. Try the mixer with your own tubes. 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.

Crimson 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	46% Alizarin Crimson, 29% Titanium White and 25% Cadmium Red	84%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	46% Alizarin Crimson, 29% Titanium White and 25% Cadmium Red	90%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	46% Alizarin Crimson, 29% Titanium White and 25% Cadmium Red	84%	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

Crimson

#DC143C

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #DC143C. 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

84% when dry

Wet mix

#C93B44

1. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)46%
2. Titanium White (PW6)29%
3. Cadmium Red (PR108)25%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

90% when dry

Wet mix

#C93B44

1. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)46%
2. Titanium White (PW6)29%
3. Cadmium Red (PR108)25%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

84% when dry

Wet mix

#C93B44

1. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)46%
2. Titanium White (PW6)29%
3. Cadmium Red (PR108)25%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing crimson

Crimson is a cool, slightly blue-leaning red, and the mistake is starting from a warm red (a cadmium, say) and trying to cool it down, which usually just dulls it. Starting from a naturally cool red pigment (an alizarin or quinacridone crimson) gets there directly, since you're not fighting the pigment's own undertone. Warm reds and cool reds behave differently enough in a mix that swapping the base pigment solves more problems than adjusting ratios does.

Why the three mediums differ for crimson

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 #B8353B. It is the weakest fit here: chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #C93B44.
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 #B83641. It is the weakest fit here: chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Crimson in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Share	100 ml batch
Alizarin Crimson	PR83	46%	46 ml
Titanium White	PW6	29%	29 ml
Cadmium Red	PR108	25%	25 ml

Variations on Crimson (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 Crimson

#FA3D53

Not a confident recipe: the closest mix is 2 parts Titanium White, 1 part Alizarin Crimson and 1 part Cadmium Red, and chromilla's model predicts a 79% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Crimson

#B31330

3 parts Yellow Ochre to 2 parts Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Crimson

#DC1C15

8 parts Cadmium Red to 1 part Burnt Sienna. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Crimson

#D9125E

Not a confident recipe: the closest mix is 3 parts Alizarin Crimson to 2 parts Titanium White, and chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Crimson questions

What two colors make crimson?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 46% Alizarin Crimson, 29% Titanium White and 25% Cadmium Red. Alizarin Crimson leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make crimson paint lighter without losing the hue?: Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter crimson (#FA3D53) in acrylic: Chromilla's model predicts a 79% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does crimson 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 #C93B44 is predicted to dry to about #B8353B. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for crimson?: Chromilla uses #DC143C as the target for crimson. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #B8353B.
Can I mix crimson without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 46% Alizarin Crimson, 29% Titanium White and 25% Cadmium Red.

Related colors

More colours to try once you have crimson sorted.