What two colors make warm gray?

Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 9 parts Titanium White, 1 part Ivory Black and 1 part Burnt Umber. Titanium White leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does warm gray 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 #8F8578 is predicted to dry to about #84786A. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for warm gray?

Chromilla uses #8F8578 as the target for warm gray. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #84786A.

How to mix

Warm Gray paint in acrylic, oil and watercolor, compared

Real pigment ratios for warm grey (#8F8578) in acrylic, oil and watercolor. The recipes below come straight from Chromilla’s mixer, calibrated to real manufacturer paint data.

Quick answer

To mix warm gray (#8F8578) in acrylic (oil and watercolor are compared below), use 9 parts Titanium White, 1 part Ivory Black and 1 part Burnt Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% 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.

Warm Gray 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	9 parts Titanium White, 1 part Ivory Black and 1 part Burnt Umber	88%	Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
Oil	9 parts Titanium White, 1 part Ivory Black and 1 part Burnt Umber	100%	Dries true to color.
Watercolor	9 parts Titanium White, 1 part Ivory Black and 1 part Burnt Umber	89%	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

Warm Grey

#8F8578

Live mixer

Open this color in the mixer

The Chromilla mixer is pre-loaded with #8F8578. 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

88% when dry

Wet mix

#8F8578

1. Titanium White (PW6)81%
2. Ivory Black (PBk9)10%
3. Burnt Umber (PBr7)9%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

oil

Pigment recipe

100% when dry

Wet mix

#8F8578

1. Titanium White (PW6)81%
2. Ivory Black (PBk9)10%
3. Burnt Umber (PBr7)9%

Dry-down

Dries true to color.

watercolour

Pigment recipe

89% when dry

Wet mix

#8F8578

1. Titanium White (PW6)81%
2. Ivory Black (PBk9)10%
3. Burnt Umber (PBr7)9%

Dry-down

Dries slightly darker and a touch cooler.

Common mistakes when mixing warm gray

Warm gray isn't black and white with a little brown added, it's a gray built from complementary colors (a red and a green, or an orange and a blue) mixed close to neutral, then lightened with white. That approach keeps the gray lively instead of chalky. Black-and-white grays read as flat and lifeless next to a true color-mixed gray, even at the same value.

Exact single-medium recipes

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

Why the three mediums differ for warm gray

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 #84786A.
oil dries true to color in Chromilla's model, so the oil mix is predicted to dry to #8F8578.
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 #837A70.
In watercolor the paper is the white, so lighter versions come from adding water rather than white paint.

Acrylic recipe in detail

Warm Gray in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	9	81%	81 ml
Ivory Black	PBk9	1	10%	10 ml
Burnt Umber	PBr7	1	9%	9 ml

Variations on Warm Gray (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 Warm Gray

#A89D90

88% Titanium White, 7% Burnt Umber and 5% Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Warm Gray

#776E61

5 parts Titanium White, 1 part Ivory Black and 1 part Burnt Umber. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Warm Gray

#918479

84% Titanium White, 10% Ivory Black and 6% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Warm Gray

#918479

84% Titanium White, 10% Ivory Black and 6% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warm Gray questions

What two colors make warm gray?: Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 9 parts Titanium White, 1 part Ivory Black and 1 part Burnt Umber. Titanium White leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make warm gray paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter warm gray (#A89D90) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 88% Titanium White, 7% Burnt Umber and 5% Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does warm gray 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 #8F8578 is predicted to dry to about #84786A. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for warm gray?: Chromilla uses #8F8578 as the target for warm gray. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #84786A.

Related colors

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