What two colors make cool gray?

Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 6 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Ultramarine Blue and 1 part Burnt Umber. Titanium White leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

What is the hex code for cool gray?

Chromilla uses #7C858F as the target for cool gray. The watercolor recipe is predicted to dry to about #6D7B88.

Can I mix cool gray without black?

Yes. Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses no black: 6 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Ultramarine Blue and 1 part Burnt Umber.

How to Mix Cool Gray in Watercolor

Quick answer

To mix cool gray (#7C858F) in watercolor, use 6 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Ultramarine Blue and 1 part Burnt Umber. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% 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

Cool Grey

#7C858F

Predicted dry result

89% match when dry

Mix to #788692 while wet. It dries to about #6D7B88.

Cool Gray in watercolor: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Parts	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	6	53%	53 ml
Ultramarine Blue	PB29	4	38%	38 ml
Burnt Umber	PBr7	1	9%	9 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 with a soft blue lean. The color of overcast light. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #7C858F 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. Titanium White
PW6
53%
2. Ultramarine Blue
PB29
38%
3. Burnt Umber
PBr7
9%

What colors make Cool Gray?

Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, and Burnt Umber, in roughly a 53:38:9 ratio.

How to make Cool Gray in watercolor

Start with Titanium White at about 53% as your watercolor base, then work in Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #7C858F.

Why mix Cool Gray instead of buying it

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

White cools and chalks a mix as you add it, so tint in small steps and stop before it goes pastel.

Variations on Cool Gray

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 Cool Gray

#949DA8

71% Titanium White, 24% Ultramarine Blue and 5% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Cool Gray

#656E77

5 parts Titanium White, 3 parts Ultramarine Blue and 1 part Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 90% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Cool Gray

#7E848F

56% Titanium White, 36% Ultramarine Blue and 8% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Cool Gray

#7E848F

56% Titanium White, 36% Ultramarine Blue and 8% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cool Gray questions

What two colors make cool gray?: Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 6 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Ultramarine Blue and 1 part Burnt Umber. Titanium White leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make cool gray paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter cool gray (#949DA8) in watercolor, Chromilla mixes 71% Titanium White, 24% Ultramarine Blue and 5% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts an 88% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
What is the hex code for cool gray?: Chromilla uses #7C858F as the target for cool gray. The watercolor recipe is predicted to dry to about #6D7B88.
Can I mix cool gray without black?: Yes. Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses no black: 6 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Ultramarine Blue and 1 part Burnt Umber.

Cool Gray in other mediums

Cool Gray in Acrylic: 6 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Ultramarine Blue and 1 part Burnt Umber, predicted 88% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Cool Gray in Oil: 6 parts Titanium White, 4 parts Ultramarine Blue and 1 part Burnt Umber, predicted 95% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Get this recipe for your paint brand

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

Open in mixer

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.