What Colors Make Red? Mixing Red, Maroon, Burgundy and Pink

Short answer: in the classic red-yellow-blue color wheel, red is a primary color, so it can't be mixed from other paints. In the cyan-magenta-yellow system used in printing, magenta + yellow makes red. Once you have red, you can turn it into maroon, burgundy, crimson, brick red or pink with a few other colors.

Why red is (usually) a primary color

In the traditional art-class color wheel, red, yellow and blue are the three primaries: they're the colors you mix everything else from, and nothing mixes to make them.

In printing and in many modern paint sets, the primaries are cyan, magenta and yellow:

Mix	Result
Magenta + yellow	Red
More magenta than yellow	Crimson, cool red
More yellow than magenta	Orange-red, scarlet

So with magenta and yellow you can mix red. With blue and yellow alone, you can't.

How to mix shades of red

You want	Mix
Dark red	Red + a touch of blue, green or black
Maroon	Red + a little brown, or red + a little blue
Burgundy	Red + a little purple or blue + a touch of brown
Crimson	Red + a small amount of magenta or blue
Brick red	Red + a little brown + a touch of orange
Scarlet	Red + a little yellow or orange
Cherry red	Bright red + a tiny touch of blue
Pink	Red + white (see what colors make pink)
Rust	Red + orange + brown

Darkening red without making it dull

Black often makes red look brownish or muddy. A tiny amount of green, red's complementary color, or a little blue darkens it more cleanly. Add very small amounts: too much green turns red brown.

Warm and cool reds

Warm reds lean toward orange: scarlet, vermilion, tomato red. They're great for fire, apples and poppies.
Cool reds lean toward purple: crimson, raspberry, wine. They're better for roses, berries and velvet.

Knowing which kind of red you have helps when mixing. A warm red mixed with yellow makes a clean orange; a cool red mixed with blue makes a clean purple.

Red with crayons, markers and colored pencils

Colored pencils: press harder for deep red. For maroon, layer red over a light layer of dark brown or purple.
Crayons: layer red over a little orange for warmer reds, or over purple for cooler reds.
Markers: red markers can bleed; work in small areas and let each layer dry.

Red on the color wheel

Red's complementary color is green. Put them next to each other and both look brighter (think of holly leaves and berries). Mix them together and you'll get a brown or dark neutral.

Try it

Red is great for holiday pages: try mixing a warm red for Santa's coat and a cool red for ornaments on our Christmas coloring pages. Roses and tulips on our flower coloring pages are perfect for practicing light-to-dark red shading.