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How to Mix Skin Tone (Medium) in Acrylic

Quick answer

To mix skin tone (medium) (#C68A63) in acrylic, use 9 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% 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

Skin Tone (Medium)

#C68A63

Predicted dry result

87% match when dry

Mix to #C48A66 while wet. It dries to about #B37C5A.

Skin Tone (Medium) in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
PaintPigmentPartsShare100 ml batch
Titanium WhitePW6965%65 ml
Burnt UmberPBr7428%28 ml
Cadmium RedPR10817%7 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 mid-warm skin tone. Fills the gap between light and deep. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #C68A63 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. 1. Titanium White

    PW6

    65%

  2. 2. Burnt Umber

    PBr7

    28%

  3. 3. Cadmium Red

    PR108

    7%

What colors make Skin Tone (Medium)?

Titanium White, Burnt Umber, and Cadmium Red, in roughly a 65:28:7 ratio.

How to make Skin Tone (Medium) in acrylic

Start with Titanium White at about 65% as your acrylic base, then work in Burnt Umber and Cadmium Red in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #C68A63.

Why mix Skin Tone (Medium) instead of buying it

Mixing Skin Tone (Medium) yourself lets you approximate an expensive or hard to find tube from pigments you already own, match Skin Tone (Medium) 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 Skin Tone (Medium)

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 Skin Tone (Medium)

#E1A37B

81% Titanium White, 13% Raw Umber and 6% Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Skin Tone (Medium)

#AC724B

5 parts Burnt Umber to 4 parts Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Skin Tone (Medium)

#CA876D

8 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Cadmium Red and 2 parts Viridian Green. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Skin Tone (Medium)

#CA876D

8 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Cadmium Red and 2 parts Viridian Green. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Skin Tone (Medium) questions

What two colors make skin tone (medium)?
Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 9 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Cadmium Red. Titanium White leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make skin tone (medium) paint lighter without losing the hue?
Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter skin tone (medium) (#E1A37B) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 81% Titanium White, 13% Raw Umber and 6% Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Why does skin tone (medium) 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 #C48A66 is predicted to dry to about #B37C5A. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for skin tone (medium)?
Chromilla uses #C68A63 as the target for skin tone (medium). The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #B37C5A.
Can I mix skin tone (medium) without black?
Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 9 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Cadmium Red.

Skin Tone (Medium) in other mediums

  • Skin Tone (Medium) in Oil: 9 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Cadmium Red, predicted 98% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
  • Skin Tone (Medium) in Watercolor: 9 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Cadmium Red, predicted 88% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Compare acrylic, oil and watercolor for skin tone (medium)

Get this recipe for your paint brand

Open the live mixer with Skin Tone (Medium) + acrylic pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.

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Deep-dive guide

How to mix Medium Skin Tone, 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.