What two colors make burnt sienna?

Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 4 parts Yellow Ochre, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 2 parts Cadmium Red. Yellow Ochre leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 93% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

What is the hex code for burnt sienna?

Chromilla uses #8A3B21 as the target for burnt sienna. The watercolor recipe is predicted to dry to about #7E3823.

Can I mix burnt sienna without black?

Yes. Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses no black: 4 parts Yellow Ochre, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 2 parts Cadmium Red.

How to Mix Burnt Sienna in Watercolor

Quick answer

To mix burnt sienna (#8A3B21) in watercolor, use 4 parts Yellow Ochre, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 2 parts Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts a 93% 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

Burnt Sienna

#8A3B21

Predicted dry result

93% match when dry

Mix to #8A3D24 while wet. It dries to about #7E3823.

Burnt Sienna in watercolor: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Yellow Ochre	PY43	4	44%	44 ml
Burnt Umber	PBr7	3	34%	34 ml
Cadmium Red	PR108	2	22%	22 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 rich earthy red-brown. The workhorse warm earth for skin, wood, and shadow. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #8A3B21 in watercolor, using the same solver that powers the Chromilla mixer.

Pigment recipe

Checked August 2026

Ratios calibrated for watercolor. 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
44%
2. Burnt Umber
PBr7
34%
3. Cadmium Red
PR108
22%

What colors make Burnt Sienna?

Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, and Cadmium Red, in roughly a 44:34:22 ratio.

How to make Burnt Sienna in watercolor

Start with Yellow Ochre at about 44% as your watercolor base, then work in Burnt Umber and Cadmium Red in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #8A3B21.

Why mix Burnt Sienna instead of buying it

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

Variations on Burnt Sienna

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 Burnt Sienna

#A45238

7 parts Burnt Umber, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 4 parts Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts a 91% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Burnt Sienna

#712406

6 parts Cadmium Yellow, 4 parts Alizarin Crimson and 1 part Ultramarine Blue. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Burnt Sienna

#8B382F

8 parts Burnt Umber, 3 parts Alizarin Crimson and 2 parts Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts a 91% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Burnt Sienna

#8B3832

7 parts Burnt Umber, 4 parts Alizarin Crimson and 2 parts Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts a 93% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Burnt Sienna questions

What two colors make burnt sienna?: Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 4 parts Yellow Ochre, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 2 parts Cadmium Red. Yellow Ochre leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 93% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make burnt sienna paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter burnt sienna (#A45238) in watercolor, Chromilla mixes 7 parts Burnt Umber, 5 parts Cadmium Red and 4 parts Titanium White. Chromilla's model predicts a 91% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
What is the hex code for burnt sienna?: Chromilla uses #8A3B21 as the target for burnt sienna. The watercolor recipe is predicted to dry to about #7E3823.
Can I mix burnt sienna without black?: Yes. Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses no black: 4 parts Yellow Ochre, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 2 parts Cadmium Red.

Burnt Sienna in other mediums

Burnt Sienna in Acrylic: 4 parts Yellow Ochre, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 2 parts Cadmium Red, predicted 94% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Burnt Sienna in Oil: 4 parts Yellow Ochre, 3 parts Burnt Umber and 2 parts Cadmium Red, predicted 98% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Get this recipe for your paint brand

Open the live mixer with Burnt Sienna + watercolor pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.

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Pigment mixing is subtractive, so small ratio changes matter. The mixer refines this recipe to your brand and updates on the fly.