What two colors make ochre?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 3 parts Burnt Sienna, 1 part Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Titanium White. Burnt Sienna leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 86% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does ochre 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 #C87724 is predicted to dry to about #B76B1E. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for ochre?

Chromilla uses #CC7722 as the target for ochre. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #B76B1E.

Can I mix ochre without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 3 parts Burnt Sienna, 1 part Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Titanium White.

How to mix

Ochre paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for ochre (#CC7722) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix ochre (#CC7722) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 3 parts Burnt Sienna, 1 part Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts an 86% 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.

Ochre 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	3 parts Burnt Sienna, 1 part Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Titanium White	86%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	3 parts Burnt Sienna, 1 part Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Titanium White	98%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	3 parts Burnt Sienna, 1 part Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Titanium White	87%	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

Ochre

#CC7722

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #CC7722. 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

86% when dry

Wet mix

#C87724

1. Burnt Sienna (PBr7)61%
2. Cadmium Yellow (PY35)20%
3. Titanium White (PW6)19%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

98% when dry

Wet mix

#C87724

1. Burnt Sienna (PBr7)61%
2. Cadmium Yellow (PY35)20%
3. Titanium White (PW6)19%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

87% when dry

Wet mix

#C87724

1. Burnt Sienna (PBr7)61%
2. Cadmium Yellow (PY35)20%
3. Titanium White (PW6)19%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing ochre

Ochre is one of the few colors here you can often buy as a single tube, since yellow ochre is a real, common pigment, so the mistake is usually overcomplicating it by mixing from scratch when your own yellow ochre would get you there directly. If you are mixing it, a yellow with a touch of a red-brown gets closer than yellow with black, which just muddies it.

Why the three mediums differ for ochre

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 #B76B1E.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #C87724.
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 #B76D23.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Ochre in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Burnt Sienna	PBr7	3	61%	61 ml
Cadmium Yellow	PY35	1	20%	20 ml
Titanium White	PW6	1	19%	19 ml

Variations on Ochre (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 Ochre

#E79041

60% Titanium White, 31% Cadmium Yellow and 9% Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Ochre

#AD610F

9 parts Cadmium Yellow, 9 parts Burnt Sienna and 2 parts Raw Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Ochre

#D2713A

93% Yellow Ochre and 7% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Ochre

#D2713A

93% Yellow Ochre and 7% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Ochre questions

What two colors make ochre?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 3 parts Burnt Sienna, 1 part Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Titanium White. Burnt Sienna leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 86% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make ochre paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter ochre (#E79041) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 60% Titanium White, 31% Cadmium Yellow and 9% Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does ochre 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 #C87724 is predicted to dry to about #B76B1E. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for ochre?: Chromilla uses #CC7722 as the target for ochre. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #B76B1E.
Can I mix ochre without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 3 parts Burnt Sienna, 1 part Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Titanium White.

Related colors

More colours to try once you have ochre sorted.