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

Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter salmon (#FEB4A1) 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 salmon 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 #F7937B is predicted to dry to about #E1846D. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.

What is the hex code for salmon?

Chromilla uses #F0937D as the target for salmon. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #E1846D.

Can I mix salmon without black?

Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 4 parts Titanium White to 1 part Cadmium Red.

How to Mix Salmon in Acrylic

Quick answer

To mix salmon (#F0937D) in acrylic, use 4 parts Titanium White to 1 part Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% 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

Salmon

#F0937D

Predicted dry result

89% match when dry

Mix to #F7937B while wet. It dries to about #E1846D.

Salmon in acrylic: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	4	80%	80 ml
Cadmium Red	PR108	1	20%	20 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 soft pink-orange salmon. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #F0937D 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
80%
2. Cadmium Red
PR108
20%

What colors make Salmon?

Titanium White and Cadmium Red, in roughly a 80:20 ratio.

How to make Salmon in acrylic

Start with Titanium White at about 80% as your acrylic base, then work in Cadmium Red in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #F0937D.

Why mix Salmon instead of buying it

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

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 Salmon

#FEB4A1

Not a confident recipe: the closest mix is 10 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 Salmon

#D57A65

61% Titanium White, 30% Cadmium Red and 9% Viridian Green. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Salmon

#F19284

82% Titanium White, 14% Cadmium Red and 4% Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Salmon

#F1908D

7 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Yellow Ochre and 1 part Alizarin Crimson. Chromilla's model predicts an 85% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Salmon questions

What two colors make salmon?: In acrylic, Titanium White and Cadmium Red: 4 parts Titanium White to 1 part Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make salmon paint lighter without losing the hue?: Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter salmon (#FEB4A1) 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 salmon 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 #F7937B is predicted to dry to about #E1846D. Dries slightly darker and a touch warmer.
What is the hex code for salmon?: Chromilla uses #F0937D as the target for salmon. The acrylic recipe is predicted to dry to about #E1846D.
Can I mix salmon without black?: Yes. Chromilla's acrylic recipe uses no black: 4 parts Titanium White to 1 part Cadmium Red.

Salmon in other mediums

Salmon in Oil: 4 parts Titanium White to 1 part Cadmium Red, predicted 97% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Salmon in Watercolor: 4 parts Titanium White to 1 part Cadmium Red, predicted 91% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Compare acrylic, oil and watercolor for salmon

Get this recipe for your paint brand

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

Open in mixer

Deep-dive guide

How to mix Salmon, 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.