What two colors make naples yellow?

Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 62% Titanium White, 34% Yellow Ochre and 4% 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 naples yellow paint lighter without losing the hue?

Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter naples yellow (#FEE3A9) in watercolor: Chromilla's model predicts an 83% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

What is the hex code for naples yellow?

Chromilla uses #E5C88A as the target for naples yellow. The watercolor recipe is predicted to dry to about #D0B880.

Can I mix naples yellow without black?

Yes. Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses no black: 62% Titanium White, 34% Yellow Ochre and 4% Burnt Umber.

How to Mix Naples Yellow in Watercolor

Quick answer

To mix naples yellow (#E5C88A) in watercolor, use 62% Titanium White, 34% Yellow Ochre and 4% 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

Naples Yellow

#E5C88A

Predicted dry result

89% match when dry

Mix to #E3C889 while wet. It dries to about #D0B880.

Naples Yellow in watercolor: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Share	100 ml batch
Titanium White	PW6	62%	62 ml
Yellow Ochre	PY43	34%	34 ml
Burnt Umber	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 soft, opaque creamy yellow. Historically loved for skin and stone. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #E5C88A 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
62%
2. Yellow Ochre
PY43
34%
3. Burnt Umber
PBr7
4%

What colors make Naples Yellow?

Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, and Burnt Umber, in roughly a 62:34:4 ratio.

How to make Naples Yellow in watercolor

Start with Titanium White at about 62% as your watercolor base, then work in Yellow Ochre and Burnt Umber in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #E5C88A.

Why mix Naples Yellow instead of buying it

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

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 Naples Yellow

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 Naples Yellow

#FEE3A9

Not a confident recipe: the closest mix is 93% Titanium White and 7% Burnt Sienna, and chromilla's model predicts an 83% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Naples Yellow

#CBAE71

7 parts Titanium White, 1 part Raw Umber and 1 part Burnt Umber. Chromilla's model predicts a 92% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Naples Yellow

#EEC48C

4 parts Titanium White to 1 part Burnt Sienna. Chromilla's model predicts an 86% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Naples Yellow

#DBCD8B

12 parts Titanium White, 2 parts Burnt Sienna and 1 part Viridian Green. Chromilla's model predicts an 89% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Naples Yellow questions

What two colors make naples yellow?: Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 62% Titanium White, 34% Yellow Ochre and 4% 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 naples yellow paint lighter without losing the hue?: Lighten in small steps and compare against the target each time. Chromilla's palette struggles with a lighter naples yellow (#FEE3A9) in watercolor: Chromilla's model predicts an 83% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
What is the hex code for naples yellow?: Chromilla uses #E5C88A as the target for naples yellow. The watercolor recipe is predicted to dry to about #D0B880.
Can I mix naples yellow without black?: Yes. Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses no black: 62% Titanium White, 34% Yellow Ochre and 4% Burnt Umber.

Naples Yellow in other mediums

Naples Yellow in Acrylic: 62% Titanium White, 34% Yellow Ochre and 4% Burnt Umber, predicted 87% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Naples Yellow in Oil: 62% Titanium White, 34% Yellow Ochre and 4% Burnt Umber, predicted 98% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Get this recipe for your paint brand

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

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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.