How to mix

How to mix Indigo paint

Real pigment ratios for indigo (#4B0082) in acrylic, oil and watercolour. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Target colour

Indigo

#4B0082

Live mixer

Open this colour in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #4B0082. Change your brand, medium or palette and the recipe updates instantly.

Open in mixer

Recipes by medium

One default brand per medium. Open the mixer to swap in your own tubes.

Acrylic

Golden Heavy Body Acrylics

Mixed result

#264D53

1. Payne's Gray (PB29, PBk7)33%
2. Cerulean Blue, Chromium (PB36)33%
3. Phthalo Green (Yellow Shade) (PG36)17%
4. Sap Green Hue (PY150, PG36, PBk7, PR101)17%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

Oil

Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil Colour

Mixed result

#253638

1. Manganese Blue Hue (PB15,PG7)39%
2. Winsor Green (Yellow shade) (PG36)29%
3. Indian Yellow (PR101,PY139)16%
4. Permanent Green Deep (PG7,PW6,PY138)16%

Dry-down

Dries true to colour.

Watercolour

Daniel Smith Extra Fine

Mixed result

#202F33

1. Phthalo Green (Blue Shade) (PG7)100%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing indigo

Indigo is a very dark blue-violet, and the mistake is treating it as navy with a splash of purple, which usually isn't dark or saturated enough. Ultramarine darkened with a touch of a dioxazine or violet pigment gets closer to true indigo's depth than blue and black ever will. Keep the violet component small: indigo reads as blue first and purple second, not the other way round.

Related colours

More colours to try once you have indigo sorted.