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How to mix Sky Blue in oil paint
Sky Blue is a light, clear daytime sky blue. 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 #8FC1E8
Predicted mix #94B8DA
Target #8FC1E8 against the predicted mix from the Winton recipe (very close, ΔE 3.4).
Sky Blue mixing recipes by paint set
| Paint set | Recipe (parts) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Winsor & Newton Winton | 49 Soft Mixing White + 1 French Ultramarine 49 Soft Mixing White1 French Ultramarine |
Very close (ΔE 3.4) |
| Gamblin 1980 | 5 Titanium White + 1 Cerulean Blue 5 Titanium White1 Cerulean Blue |
Very close (ΔE 3.2) |
| Magicfly 40 | 49 Titanium White + 1 Prussian Blue 49 Titanium White1 Prussian Blue |
Very close (ΔE 2.7) |
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 Soft Mixing White + 1 French Ultramarine
- Gamblin 1980: 2 Titanium White + 1 Cerulean Blue
- Magicfly 40: 24 Titanium White + 1 Prussian Blue
What two colours make sky blue?
With only two tubes from the Winton range, the closest PaintMixLab finds is 49 Soft Mixing White + 1 French Ultramarine (very close, ΔE 3.4). Two-tube mixes are simpler to repeat but usually a little further from the target than three.
How to mix sky blue by hand
- Put out French Ultramarine as the base — it carries the hue.
- 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.
Deep blues read almost black in the tube. Lighten with white to see the true hue, and warm or cool it with a violet or a green respectively. For greyed blues, add a little of the complement orange or an earth brown.
Related colour recipes
Sky Blue questions
What colours make sky blue?
In the Winton range: 49 Soft Mixing White + 1 French Ultramarine. Other sets use different tubes because tinting strength varies by brand — see the table above for Gamblin 1980 and Magicfly.
Can I mix sky blue 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 sky blue 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 sky blue?
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 sky blue 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.
