What two colors make mustard yellow?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 5 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow. Raw Umber 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 mustard yellow 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 #BF9A2F is predicted to dry to about #AF8B28. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for mustard yellow?

Chromilla uses #C29A2E as the target for mustard yellow. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #AF8B28.

Can I mix mustard yellow without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 5 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow.

How to mix

Mustard Yellow paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for mustard yellow (#C29A2E) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix mustard yellow (#C29A2E) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 5 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow. 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.

Mustard Yellow 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	5 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow	87%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	5 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow	98%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	5 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow	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

Mustard Yellow

#C29A2E

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #C29A2E. 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

#BF9A2F

1. Raw Umber (PBr7)45%
2. Titanium White (PW6)36%
3. Cadmium Yellow (PY35)19%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

98% when dry

Wet mix

#BF9A2F

1. Raw Umber (PBr7)45%
2. Titanium White (PW6)36%
3. Cadmium Yellow (PY35)19%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

88% when dry

Wet mix

#BF9A2F

1. Raw Umber (PBr7)45%
2. Titanium White (PW6)36%
3. Cadmium Yellow (PY35)19%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing mustard yellow

Mustard is yellow pulled toward brown and green at the same time, and most painters only pull it toward one or the other, landing on a plain gold or a dull olive instead. A small amount of both a red-brown and a green-black earth pigment, added to a strong yellow, gets the double shift right. Go slowly: mustard turns to olive green fast if the darkening pigment overwhelms the yellow.

Exact single-medium recipes

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

Why the three mediums differ for mustard yellow

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 #AF8B28.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #BF9A2F.
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 #AF8E2D.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Mustard Yellow in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Raw Umber	PBr7	5	45%	45 ml
Titanium White	PW6	4	36%	36 ml
Cadmium Yellow	PY35	2	19%	19 ml

Variations on Mustard Yellow (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 Mustard Yellow

#DCB34C

10 parts Yellow Ochre to 1 part Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Mustard Yellow

#A6821E

2 parts Cadmium Yellow to 1 part Raw Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Mustard Yellow

#CE9334

95% Yellow Ochre and 5% Burnt Sienna. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Mustard Yellow

#B4A131

94% Yellow Ochre and 6% Viridian Green. Chromilla's model predicts an 86% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Mustard Yellow questions

What two colors make mustard yellow?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 5 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow. Raw Umber 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 mustard yellow paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter mustard yellow (#DCB34C) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 10 parts Yellow Ochre to 1 part Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does mustard yellow 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 #BF9A2F is predicted to dry to about #AF8B28. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for mustard yellow?: Chromilla uses #C29A2E as the target for mustard yellow. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #AF8B28.
Can I mix mustard yellow without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 5 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Yellow.

Related colors

More colours to try once you have mustard yellow sorted.