To mix cadmium yellow (#F1C11C) in watercolor, use 96% Cadmium Yellow and 4% Burnt Sienna. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% 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
Cadmium Yellow
#F1C11C
Predicted dry result
87% match when dryMix to #ECBD10 while wet. It dries to about #D8AE11.
| Paint | Pigment | Share | 100 ml batch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadmium Yellow | PY35 | 96% | 96 ml |
| Burnt Sienna | PBr7 | 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 dense, opaque mid yellow. Bright, covering, warm-leaning. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #F1C11C in watercolor, using the same solver that powers the Chromilla mixer.
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. Cadmium Yellow
PY35
2. Burnt Sienna
PBr7
Cadmium Yellow and Burnt Sienna, in roughly a 96:4 ratio.
Start with Cadmium Yellow at about 96% as your watercolor base, then work in Burnt Sienna in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #F1C11C.
Mixing Cadmium Yellow yourself lets you approximate an expensive or hard to find tube from pigments you already own, match Cadmium Yellow 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.
Overshooting on Cadmium Yellow is the usual failure, add it in 5% steps and compare against the target between each pass.
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.
#FDDF8B
Not a confident recipe: the closest mix is 60% Titanium White, 37% Yellow Ochre and 3% Burnt Sienna, and chromilla's model predicts an 82% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
#D3A80B
3 parts Yellow Ochre to 1 part Cadmium Yellow. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
#FDBA41
12 parts Titanium White, 7 parts Cadmium Yellow and 1 part Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 87% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
#DDCA28
6 parts Cadmium Yellow, 4 parts Titanium White and 1 part Raw Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
Open the live mixer with Cadmium Yellow + watercolor pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.
Pigment mixing is subtractive, so small ratio changes matter. The mixer refines this recipe to your brand and updates on the fly.