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How to mix Burnt Orange in oil paint
Burnt Orange is a deep, slightly browned orange like autumn leaves and terracotta pots. Below are the oil paint mixing recipes PaintMixLab calculates for it from three common paint sets, in parts you can measure on the palette.
Target colour #CC5500
Predicted mix #C65804
Target #CC5500 against the predicted mix from the Winton recipe (very close, ΔE 1.6).
Burnt Orange mixing recipes by paint set
| Paint set | Recipe (parts) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Winsor & Newton Winton | 4 Titanium White + 3 Cadmium Orange Hue + 1 Light Red 4 Titanium White3 Cadmium Orange Hue1 Light Red |
Very close (ΔE 1.6) |
| Gamblin 1980 | 9 Titanium White + 8 India Yellow + 1 Burnt Umber 9 Titanium White8 India Yellow1 Burnt Umber |
Excellent match (ΔE 0.7) |
| Magicfly 40 | 13 Titanium White + 12 Orange Red + 1 Burnt Sienna 13 Titanium White12 Orange Red1 Burnt Sienna |
Close (ΔE 4.3) |
Parts are by volume. Recipes follow the app’s standard engine, which adds white to bring the mix up to the predicted value on the palette. Match quality (ΔE 2000) compares the predicted mix with the target: under 1.5 is excellent, under 3.5 very close, under 6 close.
Dark Mode recipes (original engine, no extra white)
- Winsor & Newton Winton: 3 Cadmium Orange Hue + 1 Light Red
- Gamblin 1980: 8 India Yellow + 1 Burnt Umber
- Magicfly 40: 12 Orange Red + 1 Burnt Sienna
What two colours make burnt orange?
With only two tubes from the Winton range, the closest PaintMixLab finds is 11 Flake White Hue + 3 Light Red (very close, ΔE 3.3). Two-tube mixes are simpler to repeat but usually a little further from the target than three.
How to mix burnt orange by hand
- Put out Cadmium Orange Hue as the base — it carries the hue.
- Work in Light Red a little at a time until the hue swings towards burnt orange; stop as soon as it reads right, it is easy to overshoot.
- Lighten with white until the value matches your reference. Check it next to the target in daylight — a mix always looks lighter on the knife than on the canvas.
- Mix more than you think you need, and save the swatch in PaintMixLab so you can repeat it tomorrow.
Oranges and earth tones are usually a warm yellow and a red, greyed down with a little of the complement blue. Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre get you most of the way on their own.
Related colour recipes
Burnt Orange questions
What colours make burnt orange?
In the Winton range: 4 Titanium White + 3 Cadmium Orange Hue + 1 Light Red. Other sets use different tubes because tinting strength varies by brand — see the table above for Gamblin 1980 and Magicfly.
Can I mix burnt orange without black?
Yes. None of the recipes above rely on black alone; where a dark is needed the engine prefers a deep colour or an earth so the mix stays lively. PaintMixLab has an “avoid black” option if your set includes black and you would rather not use it.
Why does my burnt orange look different from the swatch?
Pigment batches, how much medium you use, the lighting and your screen all shift the result. Treat the ratio as a measured starting point: match the value first with white, then nudge the hue with the smallest tube in the recipe.
Does this recipe work for acrylic burnt orange?
Roughly. Acrylic ranges share many pigment names, but acrylics dry darker and the tinting strengths differ, so expect to add a little extra white and re-check once dry.
Mix burnt orange from a photo instead
Point PaintMixLab at the colour you actually see and it writes the recipe for your own paint set — free for 3 days.
