This is another trick you can use no matter what medium you may be dealing with.
What color does red and orange make when mixed?
When it comes to mixing colors, you certainly have many options and combinations that you can go for. You may want to mix hot and cold colors or go with just warm ones.
If you wanted to try the second option, it would be hard to find warmer colors than red and orange. But what color does red and orange make when mixed?
We will be looking at some of the colors you can expect to create with these two colors along with methods and uses for mixing these colors.
Let’s begin by looking at some of the ways that you can mix red and orange.
How you can mix red and orange?
As we touched on in the into, red and orange are both warm colors. This means that mixing them can be a challenge, but it can create some stunning colors as well!
Where things can get complicated is that orange is made using red and yellow. That means that red is a big part of the color, so the tones need to be chosen very carefully.
They are right together on the color wheel, and this shows that they are fairly similar. We will cover more about these colors, but first we will look at how you can actually go about mixing them.
This can be very different depending on what mediums and techniques you are using. When you’re using paint, it’s as simple as using a brush to merge the colors into one another.
The idea will be the same no matter which mediums you’re using, but it never hurts to play around and experiment. That is the best way to find out what is possible and which colors you can create.
You will want to mix and use red and orange in a way where they don’t cancel each other out, though.
The mixture of red and orange is also one where you will stay fairly close to one of the colors.
You will probably get a reddish-orange when mixing them, but you might also get a red with orange undertones. This depends on the colors you choose as well as the amounts of each color.
This is something we will cover soon, but in the next step we will look at the question of whether red and orange are a good combination to use.
Are red and orange a good combination to mix together?
In any picture where you see red, it is very possible that orange may be present too. For example, if you see a picture of fire then you will likely see both along with other warm colors.
From a design standpoint, these colors do definitely work together well as they are so similar. However, this can create issues.
When you have complementary colors like red and green, they will contrast and highlight each other when used together. Here, we have the opposite effect in that they can blend together.
This can work really well, but if you want one of the colors to stand out then it is not the best combination. When it comes to actually mixing them, it definitely can provide some great results.
Let’s look at a few examples that you can follow along with. To do this, we will be providing some hex color codes that you can look up.
Any search engine you enter these codes into will provide you with the colors we’re talking about. To start, we will use #ff0000 for red and #ffae00 for orange.
As you can see if you look them up, these are two bright and beautiful shades. Mixed together, they also produce a really warm and rich orange color of #ff5700.
These colors are distinct enough that they don’t blend in with one another, and they would be great to use together.
Whether you use them alongside one another or mix them, you will find many uses for red and orange.
They can be useful when making pictures of various things, but you might also be able to use them in other facets of design.
Warm colors will always have uses in art, and these two colors are some of the most useful!
Before we start looking at some of the ways that you could use them, let’s first move on to the next step and look at some of the results you can expect from mixing red and orange together.
Understanding Orange and Red
So, where, and how do orange and red fit into the grand scheme of things? To understand the answer, you must look closer into color theory. Color theory is simply information about colors and how each color relates to every other color. To help with this, you have the color wheel, which is a representation of all the colors. The basics of colors, as we all were taught, involve primary, secondary, and tertiary or intermediate colors. There are other color models, which we will be looking into later. For now, we will mention the RYB color model we all used at school. This color model is used when you want to use paints and is also known as a subtractive color model.
This means when colors are added onto, say paper, the colors will appear to get darker as some of the color wavelengths are absorbed, while others are reflected.
The primary hues are red, yellow, and blue, and you cannot mix any colors to create them. However, if you combine them, for example, red and yellow, you will get orange. This is called a secondary color, along with green and purple or violet. If you happen to combine all three primary colors, the resulting color will be a neutral, dull, or muddy brown or gray. So, now we know that orange is a secondary color and red is a primary color, and both are warm colors. All colors have meanings and associations that are both positive and negative. So, let us see what orange and red have to offer.
| Shade | Hex Code | CMYK Color Code (%) | RGB Color Code | Color |
| Orange | #ffa500 | 0, 35, 100, 0 | 255, 165, 0 | |
| Red | #ff0000 | 0, 100, 100, 0 | 255, 0, 0 | |
| Vermillion | #e34234 | 0, 71, 77, 11 | 227, 66, 52 |
Meaning of Orange
There are many examples of oranges in nature, from sunsets to crackling fires, leaves, pumpkins, and fruits. The color is alive and full of energy, warmth, and optimism. Orange is also a cheerful color that can encourage spontaneity, creativity, and adventure. It is a dynamic hue that can stir up movement and change, but it is also a comforting color that instills happiness. Orange can be physically stimulating, especially for the appetite, and expresses health and vitality.
However, too much orange can become overbearing and may seem too aggressive. Also, orange can be seen as insensitive, superficial, and impatient.
Meaning of Red
Red is well-known for its energy, passion, and fire. Red is a color that likes to draw attention and exudes power. However, red can also help to motivate and can help you to take action. Red is also related to health, vigor, courage, and love. Red is known to cause physical changes, such as raising blood pressure as well as respiration rates.
The downside of red is that it can indicate danger, anger, violence, and aggression.
What Color Does Orange and Red Make?
We already know that red is a primary color, while orange is a secondary hue. So, what color does orange and red make? When you blend a primary color with a secondary color, you come out with a tertiary or intermediate color. These colors are combinations and are written in such a fashion.
So, red and orange make red-orange. This color has also been given a name and is known as vermilion.
To create these colors, you require fifty percent of each, however, you can also adjust this but then you will come up with slightly different hues. Again, when referring to the color wheel, you will see that red, red-orange, as well as orange, are all close together. The other tertiary colors are as follows.
Creating Lighter and Darker Shades
Once you have mixed orange and red, it could be that the color is too bright. You can easily adjust the color to create various shades and tints. Shades are darker colors, and to achieve this, you can add extremely small amounts of black to the red-orange, or you can consider adding a dark blue. Just remember, if you add too much, it can create more of a muddy brown.
Tints are the opposite of shades and are what makes colors lighter. To do this, you can add some white to the red-orange. You can also add a little more yellow to brighten the color.
Meaning of Vermilion
Red-orange, also called vermilion might mean different things in other cultures. However, generally, it is a warm color that represents energy, health, vitality, joy, and life. The color is energizing, bright, playful, and charming. It also retains its association with passion, motivation, strength, and energy, similar to red. The vermilion color is captivating and is a positive, optimistic, and enthusiastic color, similar to orange. The color is uplifting and can be used to help encourage communication.
On the negative side, red-orange can be seen as frivolous and immature.
Understanding Orange and Red Within Other Color Models
Besides the common RYB color model, other systems are used for different purposes. Since the creation of the computer and television, you have the RGB color model, that represents these types of color mixtures. Instead of pigments, graphics use a combination of color and light or wavelengths. This uses another system known as an additive color model, which means that as light wavelengths are added, and if all the primary colors are combined, you will get white light.
The primary colors include red, green, and blue. When it comes to secondary colors, these are yellow, cyan, and magenta.
Mixing red and orange light is different from mixing paints and pigments. You can create orange by layering red at its brightest and green and half brightness, with little or no blue. In the end, you will have mostly red, some green, and a certain amount of blue. You can see what vermilion contains in the table below. The color codes for vermilion show you the proportions in decimal format. In percentages, it will be about 89 percent red, 26 percent green, and 20 percent blue. The hex code is what you will use to identify and find colors online.
Printing Color Model
Finally, there is the CMYK color model that also uses a subtractive color system for printing purposes. Here the primary hues include cyan, magenta, and yellow. The “K” represents the black that is often used with printers as well. The tertiary colors remain the same on both color models, so red-orange is the same for both color models.
