How to mix paint to match a photo or a color you see
Open the reference on a calibrated screen or photograph it under neutral daylight, sample the exact pixel with a color picker to extract the hex, then mix the paint recipe for that hex. Chromilla's color extractor and camera tools handle steps 1–2; the mixer handles step 3.
Step-by-step
Capture under neutral light
Use daylight or a 5000–6500K bulb. Phone cameras lie under warm indoor lights — colors will shift orange.
Sample the exact pixel
Use Chromilla's Color Extractor or Area Sampler on the photo. Sample a small patch (10–20 pixels) to average out noise from JPEG compression.
Pick your brand and medium
Choose acrylic, oil or watercolour, then your brand (Golden, Liquitex, Winsor & Newton, etc.). Recipes are calibrated per brand.
Mix, dry, compare
Paint a small swatch, let it dry fully, then hold it next to the reference under the same light source you sampled in.
Sample a photo with the Color Extractor
Drop a photo into Chromilla and it returns the dominant colors plus the recipe for each.
Open Chromilla →Frequently asked questions
- Why does my mixed color look different from the photo?
- Three usual reasons: the screen isn't color-calibrated, the photo was shot under non-neutral light, or the paint hasn't fully dried. Acrylics in particular darken 10–15% as they dry.
- Can I match a color I see in real life?
- Yes — point your phone camera at the object and use Chromilla's camera sampler. It captures the live color and returns a mixing recipe immediately.