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How to mix Forest Green in oil paint
Forest Green is a deep, cool green of conifer shade. 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 #2F5E3B
Predicted mix #2C5C39
Target #2F5E3B against the predicted mix from the Winton recipe (excellent match, ΔE 0.6).
Forest Green mixing recipes by paint set
| Paint set | Recipe (parts) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Winsor & Newton Winton | 5 Titanium White + 4 Emerald Green + 1 Burnt Umber 5 Titanium White4 Emerald Green1 Burnt Umber |
Excellent match (ΔE 0.6) |
| Gamblin 1980 | 5 Titanium White + 4 Raw Sienna + 1 Cobalt Blue 5 Titanium White4 Raw Sienna1 Cobalt Blue |
Excellent match (ΔE 0.5) |
| Magicfly 40 | 3 Titanium White + 2 Deep Yellow + 1 Prussian Blue 3 Titanium White2 Deep Yellow1 Prussian Blue |
Excellent match (ΔE 0.9) |
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: 4 Emerald Green + 1 Burnt Umber
- Gamblin 1980: 4 Raw Sienna + 1 Cobalt Blue
- Magicfly 40: 2 Deep Yellow + 1 Prussian Blue
What two colours make forest green?
With only two tubes from the Winton range, the closest PaintMixLab finds is 2 Zinc White + 1 Phthalo Yellow Green (close, ΔE 3.8). Two-tube mixes are simpler to repeat but usually a little further from the target than three.
How to mix forest green by hand
- Put out Emerald Green as the base — it carries the hue.
- Work in Burnt Umber a little at a time until the hue swings towards forest green; 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.
Greens from a tube are rarely the green you see. Mix them from a blue and a yellow, then grey them with a touch of red or an earth colour, and set the value with white last.
Related colour recipes
Forest Green questions
What colours make forest green?
In the Winton range: 5 Titanium White + 4 Emerald Green + 1 Burnt Umber. Other sets use different tubes because tinting strength varies by brand — see the table above for Gamblin 1980 and Magicfly.
Can I mix forest green 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 forest green 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 forest green?
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 forest green 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.
