What two colors make taupe?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black. Titanium White 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 taupe 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 #8A7D6B is predicted to dry to about #7F715E. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for taupe?

Chromilla uses #8B7E6A as the target for taupe. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #7F715E.

How to mix

Taupe paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for taupe (#8B7E6A) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix taupe (#8B7E6A) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black. 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.

Taupe 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	73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black	87%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black	98%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black	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

Taupe

#8B7E6A

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #8B7E6A. 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

#8A7D6B

1. Titanium White (PW6)73%
2. Burnt Umber (PBr7)17%
3. Ivory Black (PBk9)10%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

98% when dry

Wet mix

#8A7D6B

1. Titanium White (PW6)73%
2. Burnt Umber (PBr7)17%
3. Ivory Black (PBk9)10%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

88% when dry

Wet mix

#8A7D6B

1. Titanium White (PW6)73%
2. Burnt Umber (PBr7)17%
3. Ivory Black (PBk9)10%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing taupe

Taupe is a warm gray-brown, and the common mistake is picking either warm or gray and missing the other half, landing on plain brown or plain gray instead. A brown earth pigment (raw umber works well) mixed toward neutral with a touch of white and a hint of its complement gets both qualities into the same mix. Too much white too fast and taupe turns into flat beige instead of keeping its gray undertone.

Exact single-medium recipes

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

Why the three mediums differ for taupe

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 #7F715E.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #8A7D6B.
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 #7E7364.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Taupe in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	73%	73 ml
Burnt Umber	PBr7	17%	17 ml
Ivory Black	PBk9	10%	10 ml

Variations on Taupe (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 Taupe

#A39681

9 parts Viridian Green, 9 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 86% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Taupe

#736753

4 parts Titanium White, 2 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 91% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Taupe

#8E7C6B

76% Titanium White, 10% Ivory Black, 9% Cadmium Red and 5% 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 Taupe

#8E7C6B

76% Titanium White, 10% Ivory Black, 9% Cadmium Red and 5% Burnt Sienna. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Taupe questions

What two colors make taupe?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black. Titanium White 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 taupe paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter taupe (#A39681) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 9 parts Viridian Green, 9 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 86% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does taupe 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 #8A7D6B is predicted to dry to about #7F715E. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for taupe?: Chromilla uses #8B7E6A as the target for taupe. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #7F715E.

Related colors

More colours to try once you have taupe sorted.