Green is the color of nature. You can see it everywhere, from trees, grass, and leaves. Green is calming, relaxing, and refreshing. It’s a versatile color that you can use in many different ways.
How to Make Green Quickly
The easiest way to make green is to mix blue and yellow together. Start with blue and slowly add yellow until you reach the desired hue.
Blue + Yellow = Green
You can make many different hues of green simply by changing the amount of blue or yellow!
It’s also possible to create many tints, shades, and tones. For those you’ll want to add white, black, and gray, respectively.
How to make different Green Hues
You can create different hues of green by adjusting the amount of blue and yellow you use. Start with an equal mix of blue and yellow. Add more blue or more yellow to change the color.
Green will have either yellow or blue undertones, depending on the proportion of each color. For example:
Green + Blue = Blue-Green
Adding blue to green creates blue-green hues. The more blue you add, the more blue undertones the green will have.
Green + Yellow = Yellow-Green
Starting with green, add yellow to create yellow-green hues. The more yellow you add, the more yellow undertones the green will have.
Green hues
Color | Name | HEX | RGB | CMYK |
Aqua | 00F8FF | 0, 248, 255 | 100, 3, 0, 0 | |
Aquamarine | 00FFAF | 0, 255, 175 | 100, 0, 31, 0 | |
Erin | 00FF57 | 0, 255, 87 | 100, 0, 66, 0 | |
Green | 00FF00 | 0, 255, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 0 | |
Bright Green | 57FF00 | 87, 255, 0 | 66, 0, 100, 0 | |
Spring Bud | AFFF00 | 175, 255, 0 | 31, 0, 100, 0 | |
Yellow | FFF800 | 255, 248, 0 | 0, 3, 100, 0 |
How to Make Light Green (Tints)
Add white to green and you’ll make it lighter. The amount of white will determine how light the green will be. The more white you add, the lighter it will be.
Mix green with white to create a lighter version of green.
With translucent materials like dyes and watercolor, you can add water instead of white. It works by diluting the color and making it lighter.
Green Tints
Color | Name | HEX | RGB | CMYK |
Green | 00FF00 | 0, 255, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 0 | |
Electric Lime | 24FF24 | 36, 255, 36 | 86, 0, 86, 0 | |
Luminous Green | 49FF49 | 73, 255, 73 | 71, 0, 71, 0 | |
Mint Green | 6DFF6D | 109, 255, 109 | 57, 0, 57, 0 | |
Pale Green | 92FF92 | 146, 255, 146 | 43, 0, 43, 0 | |
Light Mint | B6FFB6 | 182, 255, 182 | 29, 0, 29, 0 | |
Light Green | DBFFDB | 219, 255, 219 | 14, 0, 14, 0 |
How to Make Dark Green (Shades)
Add black to green to make it darker. This is called a shade. Add the black slowly so it doesn’t overpower the green. The more black you add, the darker the color will look.
Mix green and black to create a darker version of green.
You can also create a dark green color, by mixing black into a mixture of yellow and blue to give you a shade of green. The more black, the darker the shade.
Green Shades
Color | Name | HEX | RGB | CMYK |
Green | 00FF00 | 0, 255, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 0 | |
Kelly Green | 00DB00 | 0, 219, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 14 | |
Emerald Green | 00B600 | 0, 182, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 29 | |
Chartreuse | 009200 | 0, 146, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 43 | |
Deep Green | 006D00 | 0, 109, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 57 | |
Forest Green | 004900 | 0, 73, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 71 | |
Dark Green | 002400 | 0, 36, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 86 |
How to Make Muted Green (Tones)
Adding gray to green will make it more muted and less saturated. This is called a tone. Muted does not mean boring. You’ll see that tones are complex and fascinating colors.
Mix green with gray to create a muted green.
Adding gray makes green more muted and less saturated. The more gray you add, the more muted the color will be.
You can also make green tones by mixing green with its complementary color, which is red.
Mixing green with red will mute your green. The more red you add, the more muted the green will be.
Green Tones
Color | Name | HEX | RGB | CMYK |
Green | 00FF00 | 0, 255, 0 | 100, 0, 100, 0 | |
Jade | 12ED12 | 18, 237, 18 | 92, 0, 92, 7 | |
Fresh Green | 24DB24 | 36, 219, 36 | 84, 0, 84, 14 | |
Green Apple | 37C837 | 55, 200, 55 | 73, 0, 73, 22 | |
Fern | 49B649 | 73, 182, 73 | 60, 0, 60, 29 | |
Moss Green | 5BA45B | 91, 164, 91 | 45, 0, 45, 36 | |
Sage Green | 6D926D | 109, 146, 109 | 25, 0, 25, 43 |
Is Green Cool or Warm?
The temperature of a color is determined by its proximity to either red or blue. Blue is considered a cool color, and red a warm color.
Green is generally considered a cool color, as it is closer to blue on the color wheel.
However, the temperature of green can vary depending on the specific shade and its undertones.
How to Make Cool Green
Green naturally has cool undertones, but you can make it even cooler by adding more blue. In short, you can make your green cooler by adding blue to it.
How to Make Warm Green
To make a warmer green, add a small amount of yellow or red to the base green. Simply add either yellow or red to your green, using any supply of your choice.
How to Make the Opposite of Green
When looking at the color wheel, the opposite of green is red. While green is a composite color, red is a primary.
Red is a primary color, meaning that it isn’t made from other colors.
Even though red is a primary color, you can change how it looks by adding other colors to it. Starting with a bright red, add white to make it lighter, add black to make it darker, and add gray to reduce its saturation.
How to Make Vibrant Green
Mix together a warm yellow and a cool blue to get a vibrant green. Other yellows and blues will still make a green, but it will be somewhat muted.
To make a vibrant green, use pure, bright primary colors, which are nearer green to start with.
A warm yellow will tend towards blue, giving it a hint of green. In the same way, a cool blue will tend towards yellow, giving a tinge of green. Mixing them together will give you the perfect brilliant green.
What Two Colors Make Green
The harmonious blend of yellow and blue results in the creation of green. When these two colors are mixed, they create a distinct, vibrant hue we call green.
Yellow and blue make green when mixed together.
The yellow should be slightly more dominant than the blue. The exact hue will depend on how much of each color you use.
How to Mix Green with Dyes
Today it’s very easy to make green with all the art supplies at our disposal. Whether you’re using dyes, paints, food coloring, or pigment powder!
Tie-dye (fabric dyes)
The three primary tie-dye colors are turquoise, fuchsia, and yellow. You can mix them together to create new ones.
To make green for tie-dye, mix together an equal amount of turquoise and yellow fabric dye powder.
Place an equal amount of turquoise and yellow dye powder in a squeeze bottle. Then fill up the bottle with water and give it a good shake.
You’ll be left with a vibrant green color. You can test the color on a piece of paper towel and adjust it by adding more of either color, or add water to get a lighter green.
I’ve even got an article with many color recipes for tie-dye.
Food Coloring
Did you know you can mix food coloring dye? This edible type of dye can color beverages, cakes, icing, slime, and more.
The three primary colors in terms of food dye are called Red 40 (Allura Red), Yellow 5 (Tartrazine), and Blue 1 (Brilliant Blue).
To make green food coloring, mix together 5 parts blue for 5 parts yellow.
Start by placing 5 drops of yellow food coloring in a small bowl. Add in 5 drops of blue coloring, then mix together with a spoon. Adjust the color by adding more drops of either yellow or blue.
When you’re happy with the result, you can use your beautiful green in your frosting, batter, beverage, or more!
How to Mix Green with Paints
Acrylic paint
You can use acrylic paint, which is water based, for a variety of materials like canvas, plastic, glass, and metal.
You’ll find them in the form of a viscous liquid in either bottles, tubes, or jars.
For mixing green, cool yellows like lemon yellow or cadmium yellow light are best. Phthalo blue or cerulean blue can be used to achieve various shades of green.
Mix lemon yellow and phthalo blue to make green with acrylic paints.
Start by squeezing some yellow paint on your palette or in a small container. Add in a small amount of blue paint. Mix the two colors together with your palette knife or brush.
You can then adjust the color by adding more yellow or blue paint to achieve the desired green hue. You can even mix acrylic paint directly on the canvas while you are painting by adding one to the other with your brush.
The same recipe will work whether you’re using heavy body, fluid, gel, or paste acrylic paint. You can then use your green acrylic paint to color any object such as minis, models, and figurines.
Oil paint
Oil paints can be mixed straight out of the tube or you may change their consistency first with turpentine or other solvent.
To get green oil paint, mix together lemon yellow and phthalo blue.
Start by squeezing some lemon yellow paint on your palette or in a container. Add some phtalo blue next to it. Begin blending the colors slowly, and add more yellow or blue as needed.
Fabric paint
To make green fabric paint, you only need blue and yellow. They are both primary colors
To make green fabric paint, combine equal amounts of blue and yellow fabric paint.
In a small container, mix together blue and yellow paint until you achieve the desired shade of green. Adjust the color by adding more blue or yellow as needed.
Apply the green fabric paint to 100% cotton fabric, such as t-shirts, denim, or canvas shoes. After painting, use a hot iron to set the color on the fabric.
Fabric paints are generally made by combining acrylic paint with a fabric medium to give them the necessary properties. You can make your own by mixing acrylic paint with a fabric medium.
Watercolor
Watercolor, or aquarelle, is a type of paint made from finely ground pigment bound in gum arabic. Watercolor paints come in solid blocks or in tubes as a fluid paint.
Watercolors contain the same pigments as acrylic paints, but with a different binder.
Create green watercolor paint by mixing together phthalo blue and lemon yellow.
Watercolors can be thinned with water, producing the characteristic fluid effect on the canvas. Adjust the proportions of each color and the amount of water to achieve the desired shade of green.
Gouache
Gouache paint is similar to watercolor paint but contains an additional ingredient, lime powder, which makes it opaque rather than translucent.
To make green with gouache, mix equal amounts of phthalo blue and lemon yellow.
Start by squeezing some blue gouache paint onto your palette. Add some yellow paint next to it and blend the two together. You can also mix gouache directly on your canvas while painting.
How to mix Green with Mica Pigment Powder
Mica powder is a pigment made from finely ground quartz minerals. It has a shiny and shimmery appearance and can be used in various crafts such as soap making, candle making, cosmetics, epoxy resin, and glass.
To create green, mix blue and yellow mica powders together.
You can mix the powders in their dry form or mix them with their respective mediums first. This recipe also works for other pigment powders.
How to Mix Green with LED Lights
Mixing lights is accomplished using the RGB color model. In this model, red, green, and blue are combined to create white.
To make green light, simply use a green LED light.
Place a green light in the desired location, and the emitted light will appear green to the eye.
Alternatively, you can make green by starting with a white light and adding a green filter. The filter allows only green light to pass through while blocking other colors.
What is the Difference Between Lime and Green?
Lime and green are two colors that look similar, but there is a big difference between them. Here’s how to tell the two colors apart:
Lime is a light green color, while green is a darker, more saturated color.
Lime is also brighter than green, which makes it ideal for softer fabrics. Lime has a cool, crisp feel to it, while green is warmer and more lush.
What is the Difference Between Turquoise and Teal?
Turquoise and teal are two colors that share many attributes. But you can see a difference between them if you look closely. Here’s how to tell the two colors apart:
Turquoise is a blend of blue and green, with a higher concentration of blue. This makes it look lighter and more vibrant.
Teal, is also a blend of blue and green, but it has a more balanced mix of the two colors, resulting in a darker and more subdued hue.