What two colors make van dyke brown?

Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 77% Burnt Umber, 13% Ivory Black and 10% Cadmium Red. Burnt Umber leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

What is the hex code for van dyke brown?

Chromilla uses #3E2A1C as the target for van dyke brown. The watercolor recipe is predicted to dry to about #38271C.

How to Mix Van Dyke Brown in Watercolor

Quick answer

To mix van dyke brown (#3E2A1C) in watercolor, use 77% Burnt Umber, 13% Ivory Black and 10% Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% 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

Van Dyke Brown

#3E2A1C

Predicted dry result

95% match when dry

Mix to #3E2A1C while wet. It dries to about #38271C.

Van Dyke Brown in watercolor: tube ratios, and ml for a 100 ml batch
Paint	Pigment	Share	100 ml batch
Burnt Umber	PBr7	77%	77 ml
Ivory Black	PBk9	13%	13 ml
Cadmium Red	PR108	10%	10 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 very deep, warm brown. Historic favorite for shadow and hair. This guide gives you the pigment ratios that land on #3E2A1C 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. Burnt Umber
PBr7
77%
2. Ivory Black
PBk9
13%
3. Cadmium Red
PR108
10%

What colors make Van Dyke Brown?

Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, and Cadmium Red, in roughly a 77:13:10 ratio.

How to make Van Dyke Brown in watercolor

Start with Burnt Umber at about 77% as your watercolor base, then work in Ivory Black and Cadmium Red in the order above. Adjust in 5% steps until the swatch reads #3E2A1C.

Why mix Van Dyke Brown instead of buying it

Mixing Van Dyke Brown yourself lets you approximate an expensive or hard to find tube from pigments you already own, match Van Dyke Brown 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

Reaching for more black to deepen it kills the chroma, add the dark modifier already in the recipe instead.

Variations on Van Dyke Brown

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 Van Dyke Brown

#543F30

4 parts Viridian Green to 1 part Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts a 96% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Darker Van Dyke Brown

#291709

5 parts Alizarin Crimson, 4 parts Cadmium Yellow and 3 parts Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 94% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Warmer Van Dyke Brown

#3F291F

8 parts Cadmium Red, 5 parts Yellow Ochre and 3 parts Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Cooler Van Dyke Brown

#3F291F

8 parts Cadmium Red, 5 parts Yellow Ochre and 3 parts Ivory Black. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.

Van Dyke Brown questions

What two colors make van dyke brown?: Chromilla's watercolor recipe uses 3 tubes rather than two: 77% Burnt Umber, 13% Ivory Black and 10% Cadmium Red. Burnt Umber leads the mix. Chromilla's model predicts a 95% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
How do you make van dyke brown paint lighter without losing the hue?: Re-balance the mix instead of only adding white. For a lighter van dyke brown (#543F30) in watercolor, Chromilla mixes 4 parts Viridian Green to 1 part Cadmium Red. Chromilla's model predicts a 96% dry match against the target, scored against its own color model, not a measured paint-out.
What is the hex code for van dyke brown?: Chromilla uses #3E2A1C as the target for van dyke brown. The watercolor recipe is predicted to dry to about #38271C.

Van Dyke Brown in other mediums

Van Dyke Brown in Acrylic: 77% Burnt Umber, 13% Ivory Black and 10% Cadmium Red, predicted 97% dry match by Chromilla's color model.
Van Dyke Brown in Oil: 77% Burnt Umber, 13% Ivory Black and 10% Cadmium Red, predicted 100% dry match by Chromilla's color model.

Get this recipe for your paint brand

Open the live mixer with Van Dyke Brown + watercolor pre-loaded and calibrate to your tubes.

Open in mixer

New to browns? See what colors make brown, in plain terms.

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.