Lighter Olive Drab
#827B4E
6 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Raw Umber and 1 part Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 98% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How to Mix Olive Drab in Oil
Quick answer
To mix olive drab (#6B6437) in oil, use 96% Yellow Ochre and 4% Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 96% 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.
Target
Olive Drab
#6B6437
Predicted dry result
96% match when dryMix to #6E6434. It dries true to color.
| 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 oil, using the same solver that powers the Chromilla mixer.
Pigment recipe
Checked August 2026
Ratios calibrated for oil. 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 oil
Start with Yellow Ochre at about 96% as your oil 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.
Darker Olive Drab
#554E21
7 parts Viridian Green, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Cadmium Yellow. Chromilla's model predicts a 99% 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 98% 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 99% 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 oil, Yellow Ochre and Ivory Black: 96% Yellow Ochre and 4% Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 96% 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 oil, Chromilla mixes 6 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Raw Umber and 1 part Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 98% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
- What is the hex code for olive drab?
- Chromilla uses #6B6437 as the target for olive drab. The oil recipe is predicted to dry to about #6E6434.
Olive Drab in other mediums
- Olive Drab in Acrylic: 96% Yellow Ochre and 4% Ivory Black, predicted 90% 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 + oil pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.
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.