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How to mix Teal in oil paint
Teal is a dark blue-green between cyan and green. 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 #2A7F7F
Predicted mix #257C7A
Target #2A7F7F against the predicted mix from the Winton recipe (excellent match, ΔE 1.4).
Teal mixing recipes by paint set
| Paint set | Recipe (parts) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Winsor & Newton Winton | 6 Titanium White + 5 Cerulean Blue Hue + 1 Cadmium Lemon Hue 6 Titanium White5 Cerulean Blue Hue1 Cadmium Lemon Hue |
Excellent match (ΔE 1.4) |
| Gamblin 1980 | 25 Titanium White + 24 Cerulean Blue + 1 Cadmium Yellow Medium 25 Titanium White24 Cerulean Blue1 Cadmium Yellow Medium |
Very close (ΔE 3) |
| Magicfly 40 | 9 Titanium White + 7 Sky Blue + 2 Emerald Green 9 Titanium White7 Sky Blue2 Emerald Green |
Very close (ΔE 2.1) |
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: 5 Cerulean Blue Hue + 1 Cadmium Lemon Hue
- Gamblin 1980: 24 Cerulean Blue + 1 Cadmium Yellow Medium
- Magicfly 40: 7 Sky Blue + 2 Emerald Green
What two colours make Teal?
With only two tubes from the Winton range, the closest PaintMixLab finds is 5 Zinc White + 1 Phthalo Deep Green (close, ΔE 6). Two-tube mixes are simpler to repeat but usually a little further from the target than three.
How to mix Teal by hand
- Put out Cerulean Blue Hue as the base — it carries the hue.
- Work in Cadmium Lemon Hue a little at a time until the hue swings towards teal; 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.
Blue-greens sit between a cool blue and a cool yellow or green. Cerulean or Phthalo Blue with a lemon yellow gets you the hue; lighten with white and grey with a dab of red if it looks too electric.
Related colour recipes
Teal questions
What colours make teal?
In the Winton range: 6 Titanium White + 5 Cerulean Blue Hue + 1 Cadmium Lemon Hue. Other sets use different tubes because tinting strength varies by brand — see the table above for Gamblin 1980 and Magicfly.
Can I mix teal 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 teal 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 teal?
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 teal 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.
