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How to mix Coral in oil paint
Coral is a bright pink-orange. 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 #FF7A59
Predicted mix #F97754
Target #FF7A59 against the predicted mix from the Winton recipe (excellent match, ΔE 1.4).
Coral mixing recipes by paint set
| Paint set | Recipe (parts) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Winsor & Newton Winton | 25 Titanium White + 24 Cadmium Lemon Hue + 1 Magenta 25 Titanium White24 Cadmium Lemon Hue1 Magenta |
Excellent match (ΔE 1.4) |
| Gamblin 1980 | 11 Transparent White + 2 Cadmium Yellow Light + 1 Cadmium Red Medium 11 Transparent White2 Cadmium Yellow Light1 Cadmium Red Medium |
Close (ΔE 4.1) |
| Magicfly 40 | 5 Titanium White + 1 Vermillion Red 5 Titanium White1 Vermillion Red |
Very close (ΔE 2) |
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: 24 Cadmium Lemon Hue + 1 Magenta
- Gamblin 1980: 4 Transparent White + 2 Cadmium Yellow Light + 1 Cadmium Red Medium
- Magicfly 40: 2 Titanium White + 1 Vermillion Red
What two colours make Coral?
With only two tubes from the Winton range, the closest PaintMixLab finds is 7 Soft Mixing White + 1 Cadmium Scarlet Hue (close, ΔE 4.4). Two-tube mixes are simpler to repeat but usually a little further from the target than three.
How to mix Coral by hand
- Put out Cadmium Lemon Hue as the base — it carries the hue.
- Work in Magenta a little at a time until the hue swings towards coral; 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.
Reds lose chroma fast when lightened with white and turn pink; if the target is a warm, deep red, lighten with a touch of yellow or orange before reaching for white, and darken with its complement (a green or a blue) rather than black.
Related colour recipes
Coral questions
What colours make coral?
In the Winton range: 25 Titanium White + 24 Cadmium Lemon Hue + 1 Magenta. Other sets use different tubes because tinting strength varies by brand — see the table above for Gamblin 1980 and Magicfly.
Can I mix coral 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 coral 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 coral?
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 coral 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.
