If you want to make purple (or any other hue that’s missing from your markers, colored pencils, or paints) you’ll need to understand some basics about color theory. This includes the color wheel, and how to add black to deepen a color or add white to lighten it.
Below, we cover what colors make purple and how to create lots of beautiful variations of this color. The custom colors generated here can be used in any design project.
The Quick Version
Purple is made by mixing red and blue paint in the RYB (Red, Yellow, Blue) color model. If you’re using inks and the CMY (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) color model, make purple by mixing cyan and magenta. Adjust ratios for warmer or cooler purples. Add white for tints, black for shades, and gray or a touch of yellow to mute or lighten your purple.
Creating colors for digital art? Mix blue and red light for purple (usually with a higher proportion of blue than red).
Purple sits between red and blue on the RYB color wheel, where red, yellow, and blue are the three primary colors. Combining any two primaries gives you a secondary color: red plus blue makes purple, blue plus yellow makes green, and yellow plus red makes orange. For a deeper look at how the wheel works, see the full color wheel guide.
What Colors Make Purple?
By combining the colors blue and red, we create purple. The precise hue of purple you achieve is totally up to you and totally dependent on the proportions of red and blue you use. A different purple can be achieved by adding more of either red or blue to the mix.
In the RYB color model, purple can only be made by combining blue and red, although other tones of purple may be achieved by adding additional hues. For instance, you can get a paler shade of purple by adding gray, yellow, or white to your blue-red blending. If you want a deeper purple color, try adding some black to your red and blue combination.
If you’re using inks, then you’ll be using the CMY color model (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow). In this case, combining magenta and cyan produces purple.
The term “purple” is commonly used to describe any shade that falls between blue and red on the color wheel.
How to Make Purple (Step-by-Step)
Purple is one of the more finicky colors to mix because the wrong red and blue produce muddy brown instead of clean purple. The key is picking primaries that don’t carry hidden complementary undertones. The basic process:
- Pick a cool, magenta-leaning red. Quinacridone magenta or alizarin crimson work. Avoid cadmium red, which leans warm (carries yellow), because yellow is purple’s complement and will gray out the mix.
- Pick a warm, red-leaning blue. Ultramarine blue is the standard. Avoid phthalo blue and cobalt, which lean green (carry yellow). Same problem: hidden yellow muddies the result.
- Start with equal parts. A 1:1 mix of quinacridone magenta and ultramarine gives a balanced violet-purple. From there, you adjust.
- Push toward red-purple with more magenta. Add magenta gradually to shift toward magenta, plum, mauve, and burgundy.
- Push toward blue-purple with more blue. Add ultramarine to shift toward indigo, royal purple, and violet.
- Lighten with white for tints. Pure purple plus white moves toward lavender, lilac, and orchid. Add white in small amounts since purple desaturates quickly.
- Darken with a tiny amount of black or burnt umber. Black darkens cleanly. Burnt umber gives a warmer, deeper purple. Avoid yellow at all costs (it’s the complement).
- Test on a swatch before committing. Purple shifts more between wet and dry than most colors, especially in oils.
On screen, purple is a tertiary color in RGB. For pure purple set red and blue channels to 128 with green at 0 (#800080). For violet (closer to blue), drop the red channel and raise the blue (#7F00FF). For magenta-purple, raise both red and blue to high values. In CMYK printing, purple is made by combining cyan and magenta (with more magenta pushing red-purple, more cyan pushing violet).
Mixing Different Shades of Purple
Once you have a base purple, you can reach nearly every purple-adjacent hue by adjusting the red-to-blue ratio plus small additions of white, black, or gray. 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 Royal Purple
Royal purple is a deep, slightly cool purple with a regal, jewel-like quality. Mix royal purple by combining ultramarine blue with quinacridone magenta in roughly a 2:1 ratio, then a tiny amount of black to deepen. The blue-leaning balance gives it the classic ‘royal’ character. The closest hex code is #7851A9.
How to Make Lavender
Lavender is a soft, light purple with a slightly cool, slightly gray cast. Mix lavender by starting with a basic purple (ultramarine + quinacridone magenta) and adding a generous amount of white, in roughly a 1:6 ratio. For an even softer lavender, add a tiny touch of gray. Common in spring branding, beauty, and pastel palettes. The closest hex code is #E6E6FA.
How to Make Lilac
Lilac is a slightly warmer, slightly more saturated cousin of lavender. Mix lilac by combining quinacridone magenta with ultramarine blue plus a generous amount of white, in roughly 1:1:5 ratio with magenta slightly higher. The result has more pink in it than lavender. The closest hex code is #C8A2C8.
How to Make Plum
Plum is a deep, slightly warm purple with hints of red-brown. Mix plum by combining quinacridone magenta with ultramarine in roughly a 3:1 ratio, then a small amount of burnt umber to deepen and warm. For a darker plum, add a tiny touch of black. Common in fashion, hospitality, and editorial palettes. The closest hex code is #8E4585.
How to Make Magenta
Magenta is a vivid, slightly red-leaning purple, technically a primary color in CMYK. Mix magenta by combining quinacridone magenta with a small amount of pure white and a tiny touch of cadmium red. To approximate true magenta from scratch, use a high-chroma quinacridone magenta as the base. The closest hex code is #FF00FF.
How to Make Violet
Violet is a blue-leaning purple. While ‘pure’ spectral violet can’t be reproduced perfectly with pigments (it’s a single short-wavelength color outside the RYB system), you can approximate it by mixing ultramarine blue with quinacridone magenta in roughly a 3:1 ratio, then adding a small amount of white to brighten. The closest hex code is #7F00FF.
How to Make Indigo
Indigo is a deep, dark blue-purple traditionally produced from the Indigofera plant. Mix indigo by combining ultramarine blue with quinacridone magenta in roughly a 4:1 ratio, then a small amount of black to deepen. Indigo sits between blue and violet on the wheel and reads more blue than purple. The closest hex code is #4B0082.
How to Make Mauve
Mauve is a soft, dusty, slightly grayed purple. Mix mauve by combining a basic purple with a small amount of gray (white plus black) and a generous amount of white, in roughly 1:0.5:4 ratio. The gray dulls the saturation while the white lightens. Common in vintage, beauty, and sophisticated brand palettes. The closest hex code is #E0B0FF.
How to Make Wisteria
Wisteria is a soft, mid-tone purple named after the climbing flower. Mix wisteria by combining ultramarine blue with quinacridone magenta plus a generous amount of white, in roughly 1:1:3 ratio. The result is gentle, slightly cool, and reads as a ‘designer’ purple. The closest hex code is #A87DC2.
How to Make Bright Purple
Bright purple is a high-saturation, slightly red-leaning purple used for vivid graphic design. Mix bright purple by combining a high-chroma quinacridone magenta with phthalo blue (yes, phthalo here despite its green lean, it’s so saturated that the result stays clean if balanced), in roughly 2:1 ratio. For maximum brightness, use highest-chroma pigments and avoid white or black. The closest hex code is #BE03FD.
How to Make Dark Purple
Dark purple covers the deep aubergine and eggplant range. Mix dark purple by combining ultramarine with quinacridone magenta plus a generous amount of black, in roughly 2:2:1 ratio. For a richer dark purple, use burnt umber instead of black to add warmth. Common in luxury, hospitality, and formal palettes. The closest hex code is #35063E.
How to Make Light Purple
Light purple is the broad family of pale purples between lavender and lilac. Mix light purple by combining a basic purple with a generous amount of white, in roughly 1:5 ratio. For a softer light purple, add a tiny touch of gray. The closest hex code is #CBC3E3.
How to Make Rebecca Purple
Rebecca purple is a specific shade (CSS named color #663399) commemorating Rebecca Meyer, daughter of CSS pioneer Eric Meyer. Mix Rebecca purple by combining ultramarine blue with quinacridone magenta in roughly a 1:1.5 ratio plus a small amount of black. Notably balanced, neither too red nor too blue. The closest hex code is #663399.
How to Make Dark Violet
Dark violet is a saturated, deeper version of violet leaning more blue than red. Mix dark violet by combining ultramarine blue with quinacridone magenta in roughly a 2.5:1 ratio plus a small amount of black. Avoid white, which would shift it back toward standard purple. The closest hex code is #9400D3.
Quick Reference: Purple Mixing Cheat Sheet
Every purple shade above in one extractable table. Save it, copy it, paste it wherever you need it.
| Shade | Hex | Mixing Recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Purple | #7851A9 | Ultramarine + Quinacridone Magenta (2:1) + tiny Black |
| Lavender | #E6E6FA | Basic Purple + lots of White (1:6) |
| Lilac | #C8A2C8 | Magenta + Ultramarine + lots White (1:1:5, mag higher) |
| Plum | #8E4585 | Quinacridone Magenta + Ultramarine (3:1) + Burnt Umber |
| Magenta | #FF00FF | Quinacridone Magenta + tiny Cadmium Red + tiny White |
| Violet | #7F00FF | Ultramarine + Magenta (3:1) + small White |
| Indigo | #4B0082 | Ultramarine + Magenta (4:1) + small Black |
| Mauve | #E0B0FF | Basic Purple + Gray + lots White (1:0.5:4) |
| Wisteria | #A87DC2 | Ultramarine + Magenta + lots White (1:1:3) |
| Bright Purple | #BE03FD | Quinacridone Magenta + Phthalo Blue (2:1) |
| Dark Purple | #35063E | Ultramarine + Magenta + Black (2:2:1) |
| Light Purple | #CBC3E3 | Basic Purple + lots of White (1:5) |
| Rebecca Purple | #663399 | Ultramarine + Magenta (1:1.5) + small Black |
| Dark Violet | #9400D3 | Ultramarine + Magenta (2.5:1) + small Black |
Mixing Purple in Different Mediums
The same red-plus-blue logic applies across mediums, but the practical execution shifts depending on whether you’re working with acrylic, oil, watercolor, or digital.
Acrylic Paint
Acrylics dry darker than they appear wet, by a noticeable amount. Mix purple slightly lighter than your target, since the mix will deepen as the water evaporates. Use a wet palette to slow drying time so you can adjust before the paint sets. Acrylics blend smoothly but lift poorly once dry, so commit fully before the next layer.
Oil Paint
Oils give you the cleanest, most saturated purples because the binder is transparent and pigments sit suspended without graying out. Quinacridone magenta plus ultramarine produces a vivid mix in oils that can be hard to achieve in acrylics. The tradeoff is dry time (days, not minutes), but you can keep adjusting for hours.
Watercolor
Watercolor purples can shift dramatically as they dry. Wet pigments look saturated; dry pigments look 30-50% lighter and cooler. Mix and test a small swatch on the same paper, let it dry fully, then commit. Avoid mixing on the palette and instead let the colors blend on the paper for the most vibrant purples.
Digital (RGB)
In design tools, set the red and blue channels and leave green at zero for cleanest purples. Pure purple is #800080 (R=128, B=128, G=0). For violet, raise blue and lower red (#7F00FF). For lavender, raise everything but keep red and blue equal (#E6E6FA). The HSL hue value for purple sits between 270° and 300°.
Purple vs Violet: What’s the Difference?
Purple and violet are often used interchangeably, but they’re technically different colors. Understanding the distinction helps you describe colors more precisely and pick the right hex code for your design.
Violet
Violet is a spectral color, meaning it corresponds to a specific wavelength of light (around 380 to 450 nanometers, the shortest wavelength humans can see). You see violet in rainbows and prisms because it’s part of the visible light spectrum. Violet sits closer to blue on the color wheel and tends to read cooler than purple.
Purple
Purple is not a spectral color. It doesn’t correspond to a single wavelength of light. Instead, your brain creates the perception of purple when red and blue cone cells fire together without much green. This is why purple feels ‘invented’ and why it sits between blue and red on the color wheel rather than at a fixed wavelength.
Practical Difference
If you’re picking colors and trying to decide between purple and violet, the simple rule is: violet leans blue, purple leans red. Compare the hex codes. Pure purple is #800080 (equal red and blue). Pure violet is closer to #7F00FF (much more blue). When in doubt, sample both and pick the one that fits the mood you want.
Why Purple Doesn’t Appear in a Rainbow
A rainbow contains red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, but no purple. That’s because rainbows show only spectral colors (single wavelengths), and purple is a non-spectral color produced by the brain combining red and blue signals. Violet is in the rainbow; purple isn’t.
Why Your Purple Mix Goes Wrong
Purple is the most failure-prone color to mix. Five common problems and how to fix each:
- Your red and blue made brown or gray. Your primaries had hidden yellow undertones. Cadmium red leans warm (carries yellow); phthalo blue and cobalt lean green (carry yellow). Yellow is purple’s complement, so any hidden yellow grays out the mix. Switch to quinacridone magenta and ultramarine blue, both of which are clean purple-leaning primaries.
- Your purple is too red or too blue. Just a ratio problem. Add the underrepresented primary in tiny amounts. Magenta is more powerful than ultramarine, so add it in smaller increments.
- Your purple looks dull or muddy. Either you’re using student-grade paints with low-chroma pigments, or you’ve added too much white or black. Restart with high-chroma quinacridone magenta and ultramarine. To recover saturation, add a small dab of pure base purple back into the mix.
- Your light purple turned pink. Too much white plus a slight magenta lean. Add a small amount of ultramarine back in to bring the blue back. White desaturates purple faster than other colors, so build it up gradually.
- You tried to mix purple from green and blue (or other non-red-blue combos). Purple needs red and blue specifically. Green plus blue makes teal. Orange plus green makes brown. Only red plus blue (or magenta plus cyan in CMYK) produces purple. There’s no shortcut.
In digital design, purple lives between hue 270° and 300° in HSL. Drift toward 250° pulls toward blue/indigo. Drift toward 320° pulls toward magenta and pink. Saturation below 50% reads muted (mauve, dusty purple). Lightness above 75% reads pastel (lavender, lilac).
FAQs
What two colors make purple in paint?
Red and blue make purple in paint. Use a bluish red, like magenta, with a reddish blue, like ultramarine, for a clear, vivid mix.
Why does my red and blue make brown instead of purple?
Your colors likely lean warm. Orange-biased reds and green-biased blues contain hidden complements, which mute the mix and turn it muddy.
How do I mix purple with CMY paints or inks?
Start with magenta and cyan. More magenta shifts it to purple, more cyan shifts it to blue. Add black to darken.
What colors make light purple?
Light purple is made by combining a basic purple (ultramarine + quinacridone magenta) with a generous amount of white, in roughly a 1:5 ratio. For a softer light purple, add a tiny touch of gray. The closest hex code is #CBC3E3.
What colors make royal purple?
Royal purple is made by combining ultramarine blue with quinacridone magenta in roughly a 2:1 ratio, then a tiny amount of black to deepen. The blue-leaning balance gives it the regal quality the name implies. The closest hex code is #7851A9.
What colors make magenta?
Magenta is technically a primary color in CMYK printing, so you can’t make a true pure magenta from other paints. The closest you can mix is quinacridone magenta (a single pigment) with a tiny amount of cadmium red and a touch of white. The closest hex code is #FF00FF.
What colors make lavender?
Lavender is made by combining a basic purple with a generous amount of white, in roughly a 1:6 ratio. For an even softer lavender, add a tiny touch of gray. Lavender is slightly cooler than lilac. The closest hex code is #E6E6FA.
Do green and blue make purple?
No. Green and blue make teal or turquoise, not purple. Purple requires red and blue specifically. This is one of the most common mixing misconceptions, and it comes from confusion about the color wheel: purple sits between red and blue, so you need both of those primaries to get there.
Why does my purple look brown when I mix it?
Your red or blue is carrying hidden yellow. Cadmium red leans warm and contains a hint of yellow. Phthalo blue and cobalt blue both lean green (which means they contain yellow). Yellow is the complement of purple, so any yellow in the mix grays it out toward brown. Switch to quinacridone magenta (a clean cool red) and ultramarine blue (a warm magenta-leaning blue), and you’ll get clean purple.
Which household items make natural purple dye?
Red cabbage makes purple with a basic additive, like baking soda. Blueberries mixed with a little beet can also yield purple tones.
Putting It Into Practice
Making purple is easy, but knowing if you want pure purple or different shades of the color can help you choose the right colors to mix. Whether you’re trying to make a light or dark purple, start by mixing red and blue.
After you master pure purple, a wide range of brighter and deeper tints become accessible. There are plenty of unique shades of purple that can be made to improve your creations. Want to see a recipe before reaching for paint? Try red and blue in the color mixer and adjust the ratio to push toward red-violet or indigo. As always, when mixing colors, don’t add too much of another color at a time. This can cause the purple to be masked, and leave you with an entirely different hue.
To learn more about color mixing and creation, read our post on color theory and the color wheel.