Paint Color Mixer

Subtractive Color Mixing

Physical paint mixing is subtractive — pigments absorb (subtract) certain wavelengths of light. This tool simulates subtractive mixing by blending colors in a perceptually uniform color space, producing results closer to what you would see when mixing actual paint on a palette.

1. Pick colors — Choose two or more colors using the color pickers or enter hex values directly.
2. Set ratios — Use the sliders to control how much of each color goes into the mix (like adding more or less of a paint).
3. Mix — The tool converts each color to a perceptual color model, performs a weighted blend based on your ratios, and converts back to a displayable color.
4. Brand match — The mixed result is compared against a curated database of popular paint brand colors to find the closest named matches.

Color Values Explained

• HEX: A six-digit hexadecimal code used on screens (e.g., #4A7C3F).
• RGB: Red, Green, Blue channel values (0–255 each).
• HSL: Hue (0–360°), Saturation (0–100%), Lightness (0–100%) — an intuitive way to describe color.
• CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (Black) — the model used by printers and paint systems.

Tips

• Start with lighter colors and add darker ones gradually — dark pigments dominate quickly.
• Mixing complementary colors (e.g., red + green) produces muted, brownish tones.
• Add white to lighten (tint) or black to darken (shade) any mixed result.
• Real paint results depend on pigment chemistry; this tool provides a close visual approximation.