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How to mix Mustard Yellow in oil paint
Mustard Yellow is a deep, slightly brownish yellow. 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 #D7A62A
Predicted mix #DBA725
Target #D7A62A against the predicted mix from the Winton recipe (excellent match, ΔE 0.9).
Mustard Yellow mixing recipes by paint set
| Paint set | Recipe (parts) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Winsor & Newton Winton | 9 Titanium White + 8 Lemon Yellow Hue + 1 Burnt Sienna 9 Titanium White8 Lemon Yellow Hue1 Burnt Sienna |
Excellent match (ΔE 0.9) |
| Gamblin 1980 | 5 Titanium White + 3 Hansa Yellow Medium + 2 Blush 5 Titanium White3 Hansa Yellow Medium2 Blush |
Excellent match (ΔE 0.2) |
| Magicfly 40 | 7 Titanium White + 4 Raw Sienna + 3 Mid Yellow 7 Titanium White4 Raw Sienna3 Mid Yellow |
Excellent match (ΔE 0.3) |
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: 8 Lemon Yellow Hue + 1 Burnt Sienna
- Gamblin 1980: 3 Hansa Yellow Medium + 2 Blush
- Magicfly 40: 4 Raw Sienna + 3 Mid Yellow
What two colours make mustard yellow?
With only two tubes from the Winton range, the closest PaintMixLab finds is 17 Soft Mixing White + 3 Yellow Ochre (very close, ΔE 3.2). Two-tube mixes are simpler to repeat but usually a little further from the target than three.
How to mix mustard yellow by hand
- Put out Lemon Yellow Hue as the base — it carries the hue.
- Work in Burnt Sienna a little at a time until the hue swings towards mustard yellow; 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
Mustard Yellow questions
What colours make mustard yellow?
In the Winton range: 9 Titanium White + 8 Lemon Yellow Hue + 1 Burnt Sienna. Other sets use different tubes because tinting strength varies by brand — see the table above for Gamblin 1980 and Magicfly.
Can I mix mustard yellow 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 mustard yellow 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 mustard yellow?
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 mustard yellow 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.
