What Colors Make Orange? Bright, Burnt and Peach Orange

Short answer: red and yellow make orange. Start with yellow and add red a little at a time. More yellow gives a light, sunny orange; more red gives a deep red-orange. Add white for peach, or a touch of blue or brown for burnt orange.

The basic mix

Mix	Result
Yellow + a little red	Yellow-orange, marigold
Yellow + red (about equal)	Bright orange
More red than yellow	Red-orange, vermilion
Orange + white	Peach, apricot
Orange + a touch of blue or brown	Burnt orange
Orange + pink or a little white	Coral

Yellow is weaker than red, so it's easier to start with yellow and add red until you like the shade.

Which red and yellow give the brightest orange

Use a warm red that leans toward orange (such as cadmium red or vermilion) and a warm yellow.
Avoid cool, pinkish reds (like crimson or magenta). They contain a little blue, which dulls orange toward brown.

How to mix popular orange shades

Pumpkin orange: bright orange + a tiny touch of brown.
Burnt orange: orange + a small amount of blue, or orange + brown.
Peach: orange + plenty of white + a dot of pink.
Apricot: orange + white + a little more yellow.
Coral: orange + pink, or red-orange + white.
Tangerine: orange with a little extra red.
Rust: orange + brown + a touch of red.
Amber or gold-orange: orange + more yellow + a touch of brown.

Making orange darker

Black can make orange look muddy or olive. Better options:

A little brown for warm, earthy dark orange.
A very small amount of blue, orange's complementary color. Too much blue turns it brown (that's one way to mix brown).

Orange with crayons, markers and colored pencils

Colored pencils: layer yellow first, then red lightly on top. Add more yellow to brighten.
Crayons: yellow underneath, red over it with light pressure. For pumpkins, add a light brown at the edges for shading.
Markers: layer a light yellow and then an orange or red while the first layer is still slightly damp.

Orange on the color wheel

Orange is a secondary color, between red and yellow. Its complementary color is blue, which is why orange and blue together look so lively in sports logos and sunsets.

Try it

Orange is the color of pumpkins, sunsets, tigers and autumn leaves. Try mixing three oranges on a page from our animal coloring pages, or color a sunset sky from yellow at the horizon to red-orange at the top. For Halloween, our list of Halloween crafts for kids has lots of pumpkin projects.