What two colors make maroon?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 10 parts Alizarin Crimson, 6 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Ultramarine Blue. Alizarin Crimson leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does maroon 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 #6F1E2A is predicted to dry to about #671B24. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for maroon?

Chromilla uses #6E1F2A as the target for maroon. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #671B24.

Can I mix maroon without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 10 parts Alizarin Crimson, 6 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Ultramarine Blue.

How to mix

Maroon paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for maroon (#6E1F2A) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix maroon (#6E1F2A) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 10 parts Alizarin Crimson, 6 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Ultramarine Blue. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% 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.

Maroon 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	10 parts Alizarin Crimson, 6 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Ultramarine Blue	95%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	10 parts Alizarin Crimson, 6 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Ultramarine Blue	99%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	10 parts Alizarin Crimson, 6 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Ultramarine Blue	94%	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

Maroon

#6E1F2A

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #6E1F2A. 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

95% when dry

Wet mix

#6F1E2A

1. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)57%
2. Yellow Ochre (PY43)37%
3. Ultramarine Blue (PB29)6%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

99% when dry

Wet mix

#6F1E2A

1. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)57%
2. Yellow Ochre (PY43)37%
3. Ultramarine Blue (PB29)6%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

94% when dry

Wet mix

#6F1E2A

1. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)57%
2. Yellow Ochre (PY43)37%
3. Ultramarine Blue (PB29)6%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing maroon

Maroon and burgundy get confused constantly because they're close in hue, but maroon sits warmer and browner. The common mistake is using the same recipe for both: maroon usually wants a touch more yellow-earth influence, a raw sienna or burnt umber, where burgundy wants more blue-violet. If your maroon keeps drifting toward burgundy, you're likely darkening with a cool pigment instead of a warm one.

Exact single-medium recipes

Straight-to-the-ratio versions of maroon in each medium, from the Chromilla mix library.

Why the three mediums differ for maroon

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 #671B24.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #6F1E2A.
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 #651C29.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Maroon in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Alizarin Crimson	PR83	10	57%	57 ml
Yellow Ochre	PY43	6	37%	37 ml
Ultramarine Blue	PB29	1	6%	6 ml

Variations on Maroon (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 Maroon

#87363F

6 parts Yellow Ochre, 5 parts Alizarin Crimson, 4 parts Viridian Green and 1 part Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts a 94% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Maroon

#550316

93% Alizarin Crimson and 7% Ultramarine Blue. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Maroon

#6E211A

5 parts Alizarin Crimson, 3 parts Viridian Green and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Maroon

#6C1F38

53% Alizarin Crimson, 42% Viridian Green and 5% Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts a 94% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Maroon questions

What two colors make maroon?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 10 parts Alizarin Crimson, 6 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Ultramarine Blue. Alizarin Crimson leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make maroon paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter maroon (#87363F) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 6 parts Yellow Ochre, 5 parts Alizarin Crimson, 4 parts Viridian Green and 1 part Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts a 94% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does maroon 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 #6F1E2A is predicted to dry to about #671B24. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for maroon?: Chromilla uses #6E1F2A as the target for maroon. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #671B24.
Can I mix maroon without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 10 parts Alizarin Crimson, 6 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Ultramarine Blue.

Related colors

More colours to try once you have maroon sorted.