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

Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter cream (#FFF8EA) in acrylic: Chromilla's model predicts an 81% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Why does cream 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 #F8F5DD is predicted to dry to about #E2DDC5. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for cream?

Chromilla uses #F5EAD6 as the target for cream. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #E2DDC5.

Can I mix cream without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 97% Titanium White and 3% Yellow Ochre.

How to Mix Cream in Acrylic

Quick answer

To mix cream (#F5EAD6) in acrylic, use 97% Titanium White and 3% Yellow Ochre. 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.

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Target

Cream

#F5EAD6

Predicted dry result

88% match when dry

Mix to #F8F5DD while wet. It dries to about #E2DDC5.

Cream in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	97%	97 ml
Yellow Ochre	PY43	3%	3 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 off-white cream. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #F5EAD6 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
97%
2. Yellow Ochre
PY43
3%

What colors make Cream?

Titanium White and Yellow Ochre, in roughly a 97:3 ratio.

How to make Cream in acrylic

Start with Titanium White at about 97% as your acrylic base, then work in Yellow Ochre in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #F5EAD6.

Why mix Cream instead of buying it

Mixing Cream yourself lets you approximate an expensive or hard to find tube from pigments you already own, match Cream 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 Cream

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 Cream

#FFF8EA

Not a confident recipe: the closest mix is 97% Titanium White and 3% Yellow Ochre, and chromilla's model predicts an 81% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Cream

#DBD0BC

93% Titanium White, 4% Burnt Umber and 3% Viridian Green. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Cream

#F8E9D7

Not a confident recipe: the closest mix is 97% Titanium White and 3% Burnt Umber, and chromilla's model predicts a 79% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Cream

#F8E9D7

Cream questions

What two colors make cream?: In acrylic, Titanium White and Yellow Ochre: 97% Titanium White and 3% Yellow Ochre. 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 cream paint lighter without losing the hue?: Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter cream (#FFF8EA) in acrylic: Chromilla's model predicts an 81% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does cream 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 #F8F5DD is predicted to dry to about #E2DDC5. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for cream?: Chromilla uses #F5EAD6 as the target for cream. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #E2DDC5.
Can I mix cream without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 97% Titanium White and 3% Yellow Ochre.

Cream in other mediums

Cream in Oil: 97% Titanium White and 3% Yellow Ochre, predicted 88% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Cream in Watercolor: 97% Titanium White and 3% Yellow Ochre, predicted 88% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Compare acrylic, oil and watercolor for cream

Get this recipe for your paint brand

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

Open in mixer

Deep-dive guide

How to mix Cream, 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.