From creating a tranquil bedroom atmosphere to adding a touch of depth and drama to the living room, green is an incredibly versatile color.
It offers a wide range of soft, calming tones in addition to rich, classic hues. Make a dramatic statement with a jade or malachite green that contrasts stunningly with other jewel tones … or use a traditional shade like hunter green, which exudes elegant elegance, especially when accented with classic millwork and molding.
Green is also a great option for brands that want to suggest themes of growth, nature, health & wellness, or environmental friendliness.
While there are endless variations of green that you can purchase, you also have the option to go DIY and make your own personalized green color.
The Quick Version
Mix yellow and blue paints or pigments to make green. (If you’re using the CYM or CYMK color wheel, commonly used for inks, mix cyan and yellow.) Adjust the ratios to create warmer greens (more yellow) or cooler greens (more blue). In digital art, which uses the RGB model of additive light mixing, green is a primary color.
What Colors Make Green?
You can create the color green with just two other colors: the primary colors yellow and blue. By adjusting the proportion of yellow to blue or by including additional colors, you can alter the hue or temperature of green. The initial hue of the yellow and blue you combine will also affect the final result.
Start by blending very basic forms of blue and yellow. Consider matching the primary colors for blue and yellow, from the RYB color wheel. To obtain a nice medium shade that is comparable to the green found on a color wheel, you might need to experiment a little with the ratio.
If you want to play about with your shades without introducing new colors, you can try a bit less yellow than blue for a colder, darker version of green, or a little less blue for a warmer, lighter variation.
If you’re using the CMY color wheel (cyan, magenta, yellow) then combine cyan and yellow for green.
How to Make Green (Step-by-Step)
Green is one of the few colors you actually can mix from scratch in paint. Yellow and blue combine to make green, and the specific green you end up with depends entirely on which yellow and which blue you start with. The basic process:
- Pick your blue. Phthalo blue (cool, intense) makes the cleanest greens. Cobalt blue gives a softer mid-green. Ultramarine blue (warm, slightly violet) tends to produce muddier greens because it carries some red.
- Pick your yellow. Cadmium yellow (warm) makes earthier, slightly olive greens. Hansa or lemon yellow (cool) gives brighter, cleaner greens. Match a cool blue with a cool yellow for the cleanest result.
- Start with equal parts. A roughly 1:1 mix of blue and yellow gives you a balanced mid-green. From there, you adjust.
- Push warmer with more yellow. Add yellow in small increments to shift toward yellow-green, lime, and chartreuse.
- Push cooler with more blue. Add blue gradually to shift toward forest, hunter, and pine greens.
- Lighten with white, not by adding more yellow. White produces clean tints (mint, sage, pastel green). More yellow shifts the hue toward chartreuse rather than lightening.
- Darken with a tiny amount of red, black, or burnt umber. Red is green’s complement, so a small dab desaturates green toward earthy olive tones. Burnt umber gives warmer dark greens. Black gives clean dark greens but kills saturation if you use too much.
- Test on a swatch before committing. Greens shift more dramatically as they dry than most colors. Mix small, swatch it, let it dry, decide.
On screen, green is a primary color in RGB, so it’s set directly: #00FF00 for pure green. Lower the green channel to darken, raise the red and blue channels equally to lighten toward gray-green. In CMYK printing, green is a secondary made from cyan plus yellow inks, with more cyan pushing toward teal and more yellow pushing toward chartreuse.
Mixing Different Shades of Green
Once you have a base green, you can reach nearly every green-adjacent hue by adjusting which yellow and blue you mix, plus small additions of red, white, or black. Each shade below has a recipe you can mix today, plus the closest hex code if you need to match it digitally.
How to Make Forest Green
Forest green is a deep, slightly cool green that reads like evergreen foliage. Mix forest green by combining phthalo blue with cadmium yellow in roughly a 2:1 ratio, then add a small amount of black or burnt umber to deepen. For a more muted forest, add a tiny touch of cadmium red.
How to Make Olive Green
Olive green is a warm, dulled green with brown undertones. Mix olive by starting with a basic green (phthalo blue + cadmium yellow), then adding a small amount of cadmium red and a tiny touch of yellow ochre. The red dulls the green toward brown while the ochre keeps the warmth. Used heavily in military, fashion, and earthy palettes.
How to Make Sage Green
Sage green is a soft, muted, slightly gray-green. Mix sage by combining phthalo green with a generous amount of white and a small amount of gray (white plus black). For a warmer sage, add a tiny touch of yellow ochre. Sage works well in beauty, wellness, hospitality, and modern home palettes.
How to Make Mint Green
Mint green is a light, slightly cool green with a soft, fresh quality. Mix mint by combining phthalo green with a generous amount of white, in roughly a 1:5 ratio. For a warmer mint, add a tiny amount of yellow. For a cooler mint, add a touch of cyan. Common in beauty, food, and pastel branding.
How to Make Lime Green
Lime green is a bright, vivid green with a strong yellow lean. Mix lime by combining cadmium yellow with phthalo green in roughly a 3:1 ratio, then a small amount of white to brighten. For a more saturated lime, use Hansa yellow as the base. Lime works well in energetic, sporty, and tropical palettes.
How to Make Dark Green
Dark green covers the deep, rich greens used in luxury, hospitality, and vintage design. Mix dark green by combining phthalo blue with cadmium yellow (heavy on the blue) and a small amount of black, in roughly 4:1:1 ratio. For a cleaner dark green, use ultramarine instead of black to avoid graying.
How to Make Hunter Green
Hunter green is a deep, slightly muted green named after the traditional color worn by hunters. Mix hunter green by combining phthalo blue with cadmium yellow plus a small amount of burnt umber. The umber dulls the saturation while keeping the warmth. Used in collegiate athletics, classical interiors, and outdoor brands.
How to Make Emerald Green
Emerald green is a vibrant, jewel-toned green with a slightly cool lean. Mix emerald by combining phthalo green with a small amount of phthalo blue, then a touch of white to brighten. The result reads saturated and rich, like the gemstone. Common in luxury, jewelry, and premium brand palettes.
How to Make Kelly Green
Kelly green is a bright, slightly warm green named after Irish heritage. Mix Kelly green by combining phthalo green with cadmium yellow in roughly a 2:1 ratio. For a cleaner Kelly, use a cool yellow (Hansa or lemon) as the base. Used heavily in sports, retail, and energetic brand palettes.
How to Make Chartreuse
Chartreuse is a bright yellow-green sitting halfway between yellow and green on the color wheel. Mix chartreuse by combining cadmium yellow with phthalo green in roughly a 4:1 ratio. The result reads warm and almost neon. Used in modern, edgy, and high-fashion palettes.
How to Make Lincoln Green
Lincoln green is a deep, slightly muted medium-green named after the dyed wool from Lincoln, England, traditionally associated with Robin Hood. Mix Lincoln green by combining a warm yellow (cadmium) with a warm blue (cobalt or ultramarine), then adding a small amount of black or dark blue to dull and deepen the color.
How to Make Pastel Green
Pastel green is a soft, light, slightly cool green. Mix pastel green by combining phthalo green with a generous amount of white, in roughly a 1:4 ratio. For a slightly warmer pastel, add a tiny touch of cadmium yellow. Popular in spring, baby products, and minimalist UI.
How to Make Yellow-Green
Yellow-green is a warm, bright, slightly neon green that sits closer to yellow than chartreuse does. Mix yellow-green by combining lemon yellow with phthalo green in roughly a 5:1 ratio. For more brightness, add a touch of white. For depth, add a tiny amount of cadmium orange.
How to Make Light Green
Light green is the broad family of pale greens. The simplest recipe is any base green plus white, with the ratio depending on how light you want to go. For a softer light green, start with sage or mint as the base. The closest hex code for a generic light green is #90EE90.
Quick Reference: Green Mixing Cheat Sheet
Every green shade above in one extractable table. Save it, copy it, paste it wherever you need it.
| Shade | Hex | Mixing Recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Forest Green | #228B22 | Phthalo Blue + Cadmium Yellow (2:1) + small Black |
| Olive Green | #556B2F | Basic Green + small Cadmium Red + tiny Yellow Ochre |
| Sage Green | #87AE73 | Phthalo Green + lots of White + small Gray |
| Mint Green | #98FF98 | Phthalo Green + lots of White (1:5) |
| Lime Green | #32CD32 | Cadmium Yellow + Phthalo Green (3:1) + tiny White |
| Dark Green | #006400 | Phthalo Blue + Yellow + Black (4:1:1) |
| Hunter Green | #355E3B | Phthalo Blue + Yellow + small Burnt Umber |
| Emerald Green | #50C878 | Phthalo Green + small Phthalo Blue + tiny White |
| Kelly Green | #4CBB17 | Phthalo Green + Cadmium Yellow (2:1) |
| Chartreuse | #7FFF00 | Cadmium Yellow + Phthalo Green (4:1) |
| Lincoln Green | #195905 | Cadmium Yellow + Cobalt Blue + small Black |
| Pastel Green | #77DD77 | Phthalo Green + lots of White (1:4) |
| Yellow-Green | #ADFF2F | Lemon Yellow + Phthalo Green (5:1) |
| Light Green | #90EE90 | Any Base Green + lots of White |
Why Your Green Mix Goes Wrong
Green is uniquely sensitive because it sits between two primaries that each carry their own undertones. The four most common problems and how to fix them:
- Your green looks muddy or olive. One of your primaries had red in it. Ultramarine blue carries a touch of red, and cadmium yellow leans warm. Together they produce muddy olives. Switch to phthalo blue or cobalt for a cooler blue, and Hansa or lemon yellow for a cleaner yellow. The cooler the primaries, the cleaner the green.
- Your green looks too yellow or too blue. Your ratio is off. Add a small amount of the missing primary back in. Yellow shifts faster than blue, so add yellow in tiny amounts when balancing.
- Your green looks washed out. Too much white, or the base green was already low-saturation. Restart with phthalo green or a clean phthalo-blue + Hansa-yellow mix, and add white in smaller amounts. If you’ve already gone too pale, add a small dab of pure phthalo green back in to recover.
- Your green won’t read as a specific shade (forest, sage, etc.). Most named greens require an extra ingredient beyond yellow + blue. Forest green needs blue plus a deepening agent. Sage needs gray. Olive needs red. Check the recipe table above and add the missing component.
In digital design, green is hue 120° in HSL. Drift toward 90° pulls toward chartreuse and lime. Drift toward 150° pulls toward teal and emerald. Saturation below 50% reads muted (sage, olive). Lightness above 75% reads pastel (mint, light green).
FAQs
Got questions about what colors make green or how to create a stronger green pigment? Here’s what you need to know.
What two colors make green in paint?
Yellow and blue make green in paint. Start with equal parts for a basic green, then adjust by adding more yellow or more blue.
How do you make green with printing inks?
Mix cyan and yellow to make green in CMYK printing. Add more cyan for a cooler, deeper green, or more yellow for a warmer, brighter green.
What makes green on screens or with light?
Green is a primary color of light in RGB. Screens create green light directly, not by mixing other colors of light.
Why does my green look muddy?
You likely mixed colors that contain red, which cancels green. Use cleaner primaries, add small amounts, and mix on a clean palette.
What colors make sage green?
Sage green is made by combining phthalo green with a generous amount of white plus a small amount of gray (white mixed with black). For a warmer sage, add a tiny touch of yellow ochre. The closest hex code is #87AE73.
What colors make forest green?
Forest green is made by combining phthalo blue with cadmium yellow in roughly a 2:1 ratio, then adding a small amount of black or burnt umber to deepen the color. For a more muted forest, add a tiny touch of cadmium red. The closest hex code is #228B22.
What colors make mint green?
Mint green is made by combining phthalo green with a generous amount of white, in roughly a 1:5 ratio of green to white. For a warmer mint, add a tiny amount of yellow. For a cooler mint, add a touch of cyan. The closest hex code is #98FF98.
What colors make dark green?
Dark green is made by combining phthalo blue with cadmium yellow (heavy on the blue), then adding a small amount of black, in roughly 4:1:1 ratio. For a cleaner dark green, use ultramarine in place of black. The closest hex code is #006400.
How do I make olive green?
Olive green is made by starting with a basic green (yellow + blue), then adding a small amount of cadmium red and a tiny touch of yellow ochre. The red dulls the green toward brown while the ochre keeps the earthy warmth. The closest hex code is #556B2F.
Can I mix green from natural materials?
Yes. Spinach, parsley, nettles, and chlorophyll make natural green dyes. However, they are less stable than synthetic pigments and may fade faster.
Putting It Into Practice
The color green can be produced through mixing blue and yellow, and by tinting with white or shading with black. Green itself comes in many different tones, and is often seen as a color that links to health, growth, and environmental friendliness. Try with several variations of the available greens, or use the guidelines provided to develop your own unique palette. To preview a mix digitally first, drop yellow and blue into the color mixer and adjust the ratio.
Whatever artistic endeavor you have in mind, we hope you’ve discovered some inspiring color combinations and design ideas here to try out.