Why does olive drab 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 #6E6434 is predicted to dry to about #665A2D. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for olive drab?

Chromilla uses #6B6437 as the target for olive drab. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #665A2D.

How to Mix Olive Drab in Acrylic

Quick answer

To mix olive drab (#6B6437) in acrylic, use 96% Yellow Ochre and 4% Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% 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

Olive Drab

#6B6437

Predicted dry result

90% match when dry

Mix to #6E6434 while wet. It dries to about #665A2D.

Olive Drab in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Share	100 ml batch
Yellow Ochre	PY43	96%	96 ml
Ivory Black	PBk9	4%	4 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 dull, military olive drab. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #6B6437 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. Yellow Ochre
PY43
96%
2. Ivory Black
PBk9
4%

What colors make Olive Drab?

Yellow Ochre and Ivory Black, in roughly a 96:4 ratio.

How to make Olive Drab in acrylic

Start with Yellow Ochre at about 96% as your acrylic base, then work in Ivory Black in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #6B6437.

Why mix Olive Drab instead of buying it

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

Reaching for more black to deepen it kills the chroma, add the dark modifier already in the recipe instead.

Variations on Olive Drab

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 Olive Drab

#827B4E

6 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Raw Umber and 1 part 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 Olive Drab

#554E21

7 parts Viridian Green, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Cadmium Yellow. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Olive Drab

#726136

11 parts Burnt Sienna, 7 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Olive Drab

#63673A

80% Yellow Ochre, 15% Ultramarine Blue and 5% Burnt Umber. Chromilla's model predicts a 91% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Olive Drab questions

What two colors make olive drab?: In acrylic, Yellow Ochre and Ivory Black: 96% Yellow Ochre and 4% Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make olive drab paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter olive drab (#827B4E) in acrylic, Chromilla mixes 6 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Raw Umber and 1 part 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 olive drab 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 #6E6434 is predicted to dry to about #665A2D. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for olive drab?: Chromilla uses #6B6437 as the target for olive drab. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #665A2D.

Olive Drab in other mediums

Olive Drab in Oil: 96% Yellow Ochre and 4% Ivory Black, predicted 96% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Olive Drab in Watercolor: 96% Yellow Ochre and 4% Ivory Black, predicted 93% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Get this recipe for your paint brand

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

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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.