What two colors make taupe?

Chromilla's oil recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black. Titanium White leads the mix. 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 taupe?

Chromilla uses #8B7E6A as the target for taupe. The oil recipe is predicted to dry to about #8A7D6B.

How to Mix Taupe in Oil

Quick answer

To mix taupe (#8B7E6A) in oil, use 73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 98% 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

Taupe

#8B7E6A

Predicted dry result

98% match when dry

Mix to #8A7D6B. It dries true to color.

Taupe in oil: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	73%	73 ml
Burnt Umber	PBr7	17%	17 ml
Ivory Black	PBk9	10%	10 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 gray-brown taupe that sits between warm and cool. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #8B7E6A 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. Titanium White
PW6
73%
2. Burnt Umber
PBr7
17%
3. Ivory Black
PBk9
10%

What colors make Taupe?

Titanium White, Burnt Umber, and Ivory Black, in roughly a 73:17:10 ratio.

How to make Taupe in oil

Start with Titanium White at about 73% as your oil base, then work in Burnt Umber and Ivory Black in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #8B7E6A.

Why mix Taupe instead of buying it

Mixing Taupe yourself lets you approximate an expensive or hard to find tube from pigments you already own, match Taupe 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. White cools and chalks a mix as you add it, so tint in small steps and stop before it goes pastel.

Variations on Taupe

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 Taupe

#A39681

9 parts Viridian Green, 9 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts a 97% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Taupe

#736753

4 parts Titanium White, 2 parts Burnt Umber and 1 part Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 97% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Taupe

#8E7C6B

76% Titanium White, 10% Ivory Black, 9% Cadmium Red and 5% Burnt Sienna. Chromilla's model predicts a 99% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Taupe

#8E7C6B

76% Titanium White, 10% Ivory Black, 9% Cadmium Red and 5% Burnt Sienna. Chromilla's model predicts a 99% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Taupe questions

What two colors make taupe?: Chromilla's oil recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black. Titanium White leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 98% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make taupe paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter taupe (#A39681) in oil, Chromilla mixes 9 parts Viridian Green, 9 parts Titanium White and 2 parts Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts a 97% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
What is the hex code for taupe?: Chromilla uses #8B7E6A as the target for taupe. The oil recipe is predicted to dry to about #8A7D6B.

Taupe in other mediums

Taupe in Acrylic: 73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black, predicted 87% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Taupe in Watercolor: 73% Titanium White, 17% Burnt Umber and 10% Ivory Black, predicted 88% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Compare acrylic, oil and watercolor for taupe

Get this recipe for your paint brand

Open the live mixer with Taupe + oil pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.

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Deep-dive guide

How to mix Taupe, 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

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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.