How to Mix Olive Green in Watercolor
A muted yellow-green. The colour of dry foliage and worn uniforms. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #5C6B2E in watercolor, using the same solver that powers the Chromilla mixer.
Target
Olive Green
#5C6B2E
Mixed result
99% matchFrom these pigments
#5D6B2E
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. Burnt Sienna
PBr7
73%2. Titanium White
PW6
22%3. Phthalo Blue
PB15
5%
What colors make Olive Green?
Burnt Sienna, Titanium White, and Phthalo Blue, in roughly a 73:22:5 ratio.
How to make Olive Green in watercolor
Start with Burnt Sienna at about 73% as your watercolor base, then work in Titanium White and Phthalo Blue in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #5C6B2E.
Why mix Olive Green instead of buying it
Mixing Olive Green yourself lets you approximate an expensive or hard to find tube from pigments you already own, match Olive Green 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
That pigment is a very strong tinter, add it a touch at a time or it will swallow the mix. White cools and chalks a mix as you add it, so tint in small steps and stop before it goes pastel.
Get this recipe for your paint brand
Open the live mixer with Olive Green + watercolor pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.
Deep-dive guide
How to mix Olive Green, the long version
Common mistakes, per-brand recipes, and the honest limits when the target sits outside what real paint can reach.
Read the guideRelated mixing guides
Pigment mixing is subtractive, so small ratio changes matter. The mixer refines this recipe to your brand and updates on the fly.