How do you make coral paint lighter without losing the hue?

Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter coral (#FDA390) in acrylic: Chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does coral 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 #F67E66 is predicted to dry to about #E0715A. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for coral?

Chromilla uses #F0806A as the target for coral. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #E0715A.

Can I mix coral without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 7 parts Titanium White to 3 parts Cadmium Red.

How to Mix Coral in Acrylic

Quick answer

To mix coral (#F0806A) in acrylic, use 7 parts Titanium White to 3 parts Cadmium Red. 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.

Adjust for my paints

Target

Coral

#F0806A

Predicted dry result

88% match when dry

Mix to #F67E66 while wet. It dries to about #E0715A.

Coral in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	7	69%	69 ml
Cadmium Red	PR108	3	31%	31 ml

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: Tinting strength, Dry shift, Kubelka-Munk, Delta E (dE2000), Pigment code, Gamut.

A warm pink-orange coral. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #F0806A in acrylic, using the same solver that powers the Chromilla mixer.

Pigment recipe

Checked August 2026

Ratios calibrated for acrylic. Start with the dominant pigment, add the modifiers in the order below, and adjust in 5% steps to your target swatch.

1. Titanium White
PW6
69%
2. Cadmium Red
PR108
31%

What colors make Coral?

Titanium White and Cadmium Red, in roughly a 69:31 ratio.

How to make Coral in acrylic

Start with Titanium White at about 69% as your acrylic base, then work in Cadmium Red in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #F0806A.

Why mix Coral instead of buying it

Mixing Coral yourself lets you approximate an expensive or hard to find tube from pigments you already own, match Coral across paint brands whose factory tubes differ, and rebuild the exact color when you run out mid painting. The recipe above is the working starting point.

Common mistakes

White cools and chalks a mix as you add it, so tint in small steps and stop before it goes pastel.

Variations on Coral

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 Coral

#FDA390

Not a confident recipe: the closest mix is 6 parts Titanium White to 1 part Cadmium Red, and chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Coral

#D46752

5 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Burnt Sienna and 2 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.

Warmer Coral

#F07F70

72% Titanium White, 23% Cadmium Red and 5% Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Coral

#F07D7F

6 parts Titanium White, 1 part Cadmium Red and 1 part Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 86% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Coral questions

What two colors make coral?: In acrylic, Titanium White and Cadmium Red: 7 parts Titanium White to 3 parts Cadmium Red. 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 coral paint lighter without losing the hue?: Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter coral (#FDA390) in acrylic: Chromilla's model predicts an 84% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does coral 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 #F67E66 is predicted to dry to about #E0715A. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for coral?: Chromilla uses #F0806A as the target for coral. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #E0715A.
Can I mix coral without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 7 parts Titanium White to 3 parts Cadmium Red.

Coral in other mediums

Coral in Oil: 7 parts Titanium White to 3 parts Cadmium Red, predicted 97% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Coral in Watercolor: 7 parts Titanium White to 3 parts Cadmium Red, predicted 90% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Compare acrylic, oil and watercolor for coral

Get this recipe for your paint brand

Open the live mixer with Coral + acrylic pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.

Open in mixer

Deep-dive guide

How to mix Coral, the long version

Common mistakes, per-brand recipes, and the honest limits when the target sits outside what real paint can reach.

Read the guide

Technique guides for this color

Related mixing guides

Pigment mixing is subtractive, so small ratio changes matter. The mixer refines this recipe to your brand and updates on the fly.