How to Mix Vermilion in Oil

A vivid, warm orange-red. Iconic in classical oil painting. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #D93A20 in oil, using the same solver that powers the Chromilla mixer.

Target

Vermilion

#D93A20

Mixed result

97% match

From these pigments

#D93C26

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
65%
2. Cadmium Red
PR108
35%

What colors make Vermilion?

Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red, in roughly a 65:35 ratio.

How to make Vermilion in oil

Start with Yellow Ochre at about 65% as your oil base, then work in Cadmium Red in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #D93A20.

Why mix Vermilion instead of buying it

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

Overshooting on Yellow Ochre is the usual failure, add it in 5% steps and compare against the target between each pass.

Get this recipe for your paint brand

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

Open in mixer

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.