RGB is most commonly used for digital design and printing. The code for a basic teal is #008080. Like with CMYK, you can then adjust this to your preference. Check it out here.
What Colors Make Teal? How to Make Teal (Updated 2023)
Are you curious about what colors make teal? or How to Make Teal Paint?
In this article, we’re going to discuss this topic even further…
Colors make our lives beautiful. From the paint on the walls of your home to the tint of the clothing you wear to the color of the sky and trees – color is everywhere, and it enhances our lives in ways we don’t even realize.
Everyone has a favorite color, a unique shade that they find most appealing.
But have you ever thought about how to make different colors? We all learned the primary color wheel, but outside of those basic shades and the simplest of combinations, most people may never consider how to create different colors.
That changes now. We’re going to talk today about what colors make teal.
We’ll take a close look at how you can blend different colors to make teal. There are a few different things to study when it comes to making colors – first, let’s look at what exactly the color teal is, then we’ll examine how to make teal from paint colors, then from ink for printing.
Finally, we’ll talk about the color theory of teal and what colors fit as complementary ones to this shade.
Read on to learn more!
What Is Teal?
Like any color, there are a lot of shades of teal. Some are more along the blue-green lines, while others are tinted differently.
Within the artistic community, there can be a lot of debate about the best way to achieve this color – partly because there are a lot of different outcomes that artists want!
Depending on the medium, the canvas, and more, you may need to tweak certain color recipes to get the effect you desire. Here are a few different shades of teal to consider:
Blue-Green
This is simply a blend of blue and green hues. It might be good for representing water or cooler color.
Aqua
This is a slightly lighter and brighter shade of teal, similar to mint green but a bit bluer.
Dark Teal
To achieve darker shades of teal, you can add less white to the mix or tint it with burnt umber tones.
How to Make Teal
When you’re combining colors to make new ones, there are a few different methods. Artists and painters will want to know how to combine paint hues, while printers and digital designers will want to know the CMYK and RGB percentages to achieve their preferred color.
We’ll look at each of these and how to make teal in each situation.
Paint
With paint, the general consensus seems to be that you need blue paint, green paint, and white paint.
Artists differ in shades, but many prefer phthalo blue and green. When picking your blue paint in particular, opt for one that tends toward green rather than one that tends toward red.
Bear in mind that there is no such thing as “pure” blue paint; you’ll always have a bias toward one or the other.
For the best teal shade, pick one that is greener. For a basic teal color, use 50/50 blue and green, then add white until you reach your desired shade.
Play with the ratio of blue and green, since you may find that you like it bluer or greener – or that your paints mix differently.
A History of the Color Teal
The history of teal is not as extensive as some other colors like red or blue, however, there are a few facts that do stand out. The first mention of the actual color came about in 1917. There is a species of freshwater duck known as the Common or Eurasian Teal, which has a blue-green stripe located on its head. Hence, the name teal was used in reference to this duck and the name became synonymous with the color.
Teal is regarded as a darker form of cyan, which is one of the colors used in printing. Teal was also added to the original collection of sixteen web colors that formed HTML, which is the building block for websites, in 1987.
The color teal is close to similar colors like aqua, as both have combinations of green and blue. However, teal has a lower saturation that makes it a softer color for the eyes. The color became popular in the 90s, as quite a few sports teams chose the color for their uniforms. Since teal is associated with trustworthiness and reliability, it has been used in marketing campaigns over the years. Teal has also become a popular color in design and around the home in various combinations with other colors.
What Two Colors Make Teal?
Teal can be the description for quite a few colors that contain blues and greens or greenish blues. The color teal is not a primary or secondary color and falls in the category of tertiary colors. So, when it comes to what colors make teal, you will need to look at combining a primary blue with a secondary green color. To this mixture, white is added to create your specific teal color. However, there are also many shades of teal.
This means you can use a variety of blue and green tones to produce different shades of teal. However, to produce a color that leans towards blue-green and is a darker teal, you can simply leave out the white. The most common two colors used to make teal include phthalo green and phthalo blue. This brings us to a bit of color theory and takes into consideration the color wheel. Colors can have a color bias, meaning, you can change the color so that it is warmer or cooler. So, if you want control over the colors you create, it is best to use your primary colors and start mixing colors from scratch. To do this, you need to create green from your primary colors of blue and yellow, and to this, you will then add more blue to create a teal color.
You can also make a light teal color or a darker color by adding more white paint or leaving out the white altogether. You can also try adding an extremely small amount of black or gray to the mix, however, burnt umber can also be used. There are also various shades of your primary colors you can choose to create a teal color that is brighter, more muted, or darker in color.
On the color wheel, your colors that sit directly opposite one another are known as complementary colors. These colors, when placed close together, can make the colors seem bolder and brighter. So, your coral, or other shades of coral and orange will make teal stand out.
Shades of Teal
Teal, like any other color, has many shades and tones and you will need to find the right color that fits your requirements. The correct color also depends on what type of medium you use and the surface you are painting on. So, experimenting and testing out various colors can help you to reach your perfect teal color. For example, to create a brighter and lighter shade of teal consider blending an aquamarine blue with green.
There are also different approaches when it comes to creating colors. Painters will combine the primary colors and other hues to get the colors they want. When it comes to digital colors, it is a combination of red, green, and blue (RGB), while printing involves a mixture of cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). Below are a few of the more popular shades of teal with their hex codes and percentages of color. The hex code is simply a representation of the amounts of red, green, and blue in a color that everybody can recognize.
| Teal Color Name | Shades of Teal | Hex Code | RGB % | CMYK % |
| Teal | #008080 | 0, 50.2, 50.2 | 100, 0, 0, 50 | |
| Dark Teal | #014d4e | 0.4, 30.2, 30.6 | 99, 1, 0, 69 | |
| Bright Teal | #01f9c6 | 0.4, 97.6, 77.6 | 100, 0, 20, 2 | |
| Teal Blue | #01889f | 0.4, 53.3, 62.4 | 99, 14, 0, 38 | |
| Tropical Teal | #008794 | 0, 52.9, 58 | 100, 9, 0, 42 | |
| Common Teal | #009193 | 0, 56.9, 57.6 | 100, 1, 0, 42 | |
| Deep Teal | #00555a | 0, 33.3, 35.3 | 100, 6, 0, 65 | |
| Dull Teal | #5f9e8f | 37.3, 62, 56.1 | 40, 0, 9, 38 | |
| Empress Teal | #10605a | 6.3, 37.6, 35.3 | 83, 0, 6, 62 | |
| Marine Teal | #008384 | 0, 51.4, 51.8 | 100, 1, 0, 48 |
