What two colors make terracotta?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 6 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Alizarin Crimson. Raw Umber leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does terracotta 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 #B35437 is predicted to dry to about #A44C30. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for terracotta?

Chromilla uses #B25538 as the target for terracotta. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #A44C30.

Can I mix terracotta without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 6 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Alizarin Crimson.

How to mix

Terracotta paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for terracotta (#B25538) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix terracotta (#B25538) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 6 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% 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.

Terracotta 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	6 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Alizarin Crimson	90%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	6 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Alizarin Crimson	99%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	6 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Alizarin Crimson	90%	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

Terracotta

#B25538

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #B25538. 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

90% when dry

Wet mix

#B35437

1. Raw Umber (PBr7)45%
2. Titanium White (PW6)31%
3. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)24%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

99% when dry

Wet mix

#B35437

1. Raw Umber (PBr7)45%
2. Titanium White (PW6)31%
3. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)24%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

90% when dry

Wet mix

#B35437

1. Raw Umber (PBr7)45%
2. Titanium White (PW6)31%
3. Alizarin Crimson (PR83)24%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing terracotta

Terracotta is a warm, muted orange-red, close to the color of fired clay, and painters usually make it too clean and bright. A little of its complement, a blue-green, muted into the mix gets the dusty, earthy quality real terracotta has, rather than a saturated coral. Burnt sienna is often most of the answer here before you reach for red at all.

Exact single-medium recipes

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

Why the three mediums differ for terracotta

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 #A44C30.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #B35437.
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 #A44D35.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Terracotta in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Raw Umber	PBr7	6	45%	45 ml
Titanium White	PW6	4	31%	31 ml
Alizarin Crimson	PR83	3	24%	24 ml

Variations on Terracotta (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 Terracotta

#CD6D50

9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Terracotta

#983D20

3 parts Yellow Ochre, 2 parts Raw Umber and 1 part Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts a 93% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Terracotta

#B35246

35% Titanium White, 34% Alizarin Crimson and 31% Raw Umber. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Terracotta

#B3524B

7 parts Titanium White, 6 parts Burnt Umber and 4 parts Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Terracotta questions

What two colors make terracotta?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 6 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Alizarin Crimson. Raw Umber leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make terracotta paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter terracotta (#CD6D50) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 9 parts Titanium White, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 3 parts Burnt Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does terracotta 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 #B35437 is predicted to dry to about #A44C30. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for terracotta?: Chromilla uses #B25538 as the target for terracotta. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #A44C30.
Can I mix terracotta without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 6 parts Raw Umber, 4 parts Titanium White and 3 parts Alizarin Crimson.

Related colors

More colours to try once you have terracotta sorted.