CMYK color model
What Colors Make Magenta? What Two Colors Make Magenta (Updated 2023)
In this article, we are going to talk about what colors make magenta.
In school, we learned that by mixing primary colors we can make secondary and tertiary colors. However, there are a wide variety of colors that can be created by mixing other colors together.
There are more hues in the spectrum of colors, like magenta, which is in the family of pink and violet.
Let’s continue the discussion…
Primary Colors RYB Model (Red, Yellow, Blue)
In elementary school, your teacher probably taught you about various colors by showing you the color wheel. As you can see from this chart you have the Primary Colors which consist of Red, Blue, and Yellow.
Orange, Violet, and Green are called secondary colors. These are important colors that also help create the next set of colors called the Tertiary Colors, which are red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet.
You can experiment and mix different colors together to achieve different results.
But, there are a lot of colors that are not included in the color wheel. For example, neutral hues are not part of it. These colors are white, gray, and black.
And what about magenta? Where does magenta fall in this color theory?
Let’s find out. Keep reading…
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
In color theory, there are different color models. We just talked about the RYB Model above.
Now we want to introduce you to the CMYK Model. This color model is used primarily for color printing. The CMYK model consists of the colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.
Mostly used in traditional color printing, the CMYK model offers light color ranges and with Black to make darker deep colors.
As you can see, magenta is part of this color model.
Now that we understand the different color models and where magenta falls in the mix. Let’s talk about what colors we have to mix together to make magenta.
What color is magenta?
Magenta is a color used in printing and on digital screens. In printing, magenta is one of the 3 primary colors, while on digital screens it is a secondary color. However magenta is not a very popular color among artists. Let’s take a look at magenta in different situations.
Mixing silver color with acrylic pa.
Please enable JavaScript
Magenta in printing
For paints, dyes, and pigments magenta is a primary color. So it is one of the 3 primary colors used in printing (the other primary colors are cyan and yellow). The primary magenta used in printing is known as the process magenta.
Process Magenta #FF0090
Printers use the CMYK (C=Cyan, M=Magenta, Y=Yellow, K=Key color or black color) model when printing. It allows printed to print a wide range of colors without having to add other ink colors. If printers used the traditional RBY (red, blue, and yellow) primaries, the range of colors that can be printed from these colors is low.
CMYK color model
However, these CMYK primaries are less popular among artists. Because sometimes you cannot get the same punch as using RBY colors as primaries when CMYK primary colors are used. Even though this is an interesting color theory that you will need to know.
Magenta on digital screens
RGB (red, green, and blue) color model is used to create colors on digital screens like the TV, computer, and mobiles. In the RGB color model magenta is a secondary color that is created when red and blue lights are mixed. RGB color model uses colored lights and not any physical color pigments.
RGB color model
Digital screens use a different magenta color than printers. It is called magenta or Fuchsia. This color is more intense than the ‘process magenta’. Process magenta is less vivid and vibrant than the magenta color used on digital screens.
Magenta or Fuchsia #FF00FF
Magenta in nature
However, in nature, you will not find these vibrant colors either magenta, fuchsia, or process magenta. Instead, you will see some beautiful magenta colors more on the muted side. However, we can make the magenta color we see in nature by combining pigments in artist paints.
Some of these magenta pigments in artist colors are quinacridone magenta (PR 122) and primary magenta (PV 19). The primary magenta in paint is very close to the process magenta color used by printers. So I will use this primary magenta in artist paint as a reference to mixing magenta colors.
Quinacridone magenta (Golden heavy body acrylics)
Primary magenta(Golden heavy body acrylics)
I used the Golden color mixer to obtain the above heavy body acrylic color swatches. As you can see primary magenta is more like a reddish-purple color.
Magenta is a made-up color by our brains
Even though we can see magenta color all the time around us, it is not there. It is not among the colors that we can see on the visible light spectrum. In theory, we can only see the colors in the visible light spectrum. So as you can see there is no magenta color in the visible light spectrum.
The visible light spectrum of colors
Magenta is a color invented by our brains when both red and blue signals come into our brains. It shows us as a magenta color. It is a color made by our brain to fill the gap between violet and red color which are at the opposite ends of the visible light spectrum.
If you are interested to learn more about this you can read my article; What colors make violet? The color mixing guide is included. There you will see a comparison of purple and violet colors explained with the light spectrum.
What colors make magenta?
Magenta is a primary color for paints and dyes used in printing as well as artist colors. So the best choice would be using a magenta color itself like quinacridone magenta or quinacridone red when painting. However, if you want to mix the magenta color with paint, here is the best way to do it.
Magenta can be made by mixing quinacridone red and cadmium red medium in a 5: 1 ratio. This color is closed to primary magenta. Mix titanium white to lighten the color. The orange undertone of cadmium red will mute the blue undertone of quinacridone red a bit, when mixed.
Quinacridone red
As you can see, the mixed primary magenta is a reddish-purple color and very much different from quinacridone magenta. Quinacridone magenta is more biased toward blue color. However, it is a very useful color to have to make vibrant purple colors which otherwise is difficult. Quinacridone red also makes vibrant purple colors.
Quinacridone magenta (Golden heavy body acrylics)
Let’s see how to mix the primary magenta color with quinacridone magenta. In this case mix quinacridone magenta and cadmium red in a 2:1 ratio.
Quinacridone magenta and cadmium red medium mixed
Other options…
I have seen some people recommend cobalt blue and cadmium red to make the magenta color. But it only makes a muddy brown color. This is because of mixing complementary colors. Cadmium red has a yellow undertone to it. So it is an orangish-red color. Cobalt blue is a purely blue color without a red or green color bias.
Orange is a complementary color to blue. So when cadmium red is mixed with cobalt blue it only makes a muddy color instead of magenta. Never use these two colors together.
Only blue colors with red undertone and red colors with blue undertone mix vibrant magenta or purple colors.
I have seen some even suggest using quinacridone violet with a red. If you use quinacridone violet then the mixed color would be more purplish. In this case, be mindful of the red color you are using.
If you use cadmium red with quinacridone violet then the mixed color will be more muted. Therefore mix magenta as I have mentioned above.
Quinacridone violet and cadmium red make a muted magenta color
Does red and purple make magenta?
Mixing red and purple colors do not make magenta color although magenta is known as a reddish-purple color. If you try to mix red with purple either you will end up with a muddy color or a more purplish color.
But I will tell you how to mix a vibrant and saturated purple color. Mix quinacridone red, ultramarine blue, and titanium white in a 4:1:1 ratio to make a vibrant and saturated purple color. You can also use quinacridone magenta instead of quinacridone red color.
Purple #800080
Mixed purple color with ultramarine blue, quinacridone red, and titanium white
Does red and yellow make magenta?
In general red and yellow can make the magenta color. Mix bismuth vanadate and quinacridone red in a 1:6 ratio. Use a cool red color with blue bias such as quinacridone red to mix with a less strong, cool yellow like bismuth vanadate yellow. The mixed color would have a strong red bias.
Mixed magenta color with quinacridone red and bismuth vanadate yellow
What colors make magenta without red?
In general, red color is needed to mix an accurate magenta color. You cannot mix a magenta color without a red color like quinacridone red or cadmium red. However, you can use quinacridone magenta (PR 122) and primary magenta (PV 19) by themselves as the magenta color.
How to make dark magenta?
Dark magenta can be made by mixing magenta color with the burnt umber, black or complementary color of magenta. Mix quinacridone magenta or mixed magenta with phthalo green (blue shade) to darken the color and reduce the chroma of color. It makes a darker muted magenta color.
Dark magenta color mixed using the complementary colors
When mixing a darker color with a lighter color, always mix the darker color into the lighter color very little by little. This way you can achieve different values of the muted magenta color. When muting a color by mixing it with its complementary color, you are darkening and muting the color at the same time.
Muting colors is important in painting because you will not see an intense color like magenta, unless for some flowers. In this case, you will need to mute the magenta color using its complementary color.
Mixing magenta with other colors
Let’s see how magenta will react when mixed with different other colors. You need to know that if magenta is mixed with its complementary color green, it will be muted.
Magenta and orange
When magenta is mixed with orange, it creates a reddish-orange color. I have mixed primary magenta with cadmium orange in a 2:1 ratio with the Golden color mixer. Below is my result.
The reddish-orange color (mixing primary magenta and cadmium orange)
You can change the ratio of primary magenta and cadmium orange mixed. This way you can make the mixed color either reddish color or orangish color. You can also mix in titanium white to change the value of a color.
Magenta and purple
Mixing magenta with purple makes a nice reddish-purple color. It is a nice muted purple color with a red bias. I have mixed this color using the Golden color mixer and included my results below.
The reddish-purple color is made with purple and primary magenta
Here first I mixed the purple color as described above, using ultramarine blue, quinacridone red, and titanium white. Then I added 6 parts of primary magenta to the purple mix. This created a beautiful purple color that has a red bias. You can adjust the value of the mixed color by mixing different ratios of titanium white.
I have written a whole article explaining the difference between purple and violet colors. You will also learn a lot about color vision in simple terms there.
Making magenta with different mediums
There are many mediums you can use to make magenta. You can make magenta with the light on the screens. Also, you can make magenta with dyes, pigments, and different art mediums. Let’s look at some of them below.
What colors make magenta with acrylic paint?
Throughout this article, I have used examples of mixing magenta with acrylic paints. So to mix the closest color to magenta with acrylic paints, mix quinacridone red and cadmium red medium in a 5: 1 ratio.
Quinacridone red is just like magenta and you can use that color as it is magenta. But when you mix quinacridone red with cadmium red, there is a red punched to the mixed color. This way you can make a redder purple or a magenta color.
However as magenta is a pure color you can get with acrylic paints, I suggest you get quinacridone magenta. It will help you mix vibrant purple colors for your paintings.
When mixing acrylic paints always use artist-grade acrylic paint. This will stop you from frustrating about the colors you mix. Student grade or craft quality acrylic paint usually mixes dull, muddy colors. Therefore get a good quality student-grade acrylic paint brand or an artist-grade acrylic paint.
I have written a whole article about the best acrylic paint brand to use for a beginner that is also budget-friendly. You will find a comparison of several other brands as well in that article.
What colors make magenta with food coloring?
Colors can make the food beautiful. You may want to color a buttercream frosting or any other fondant with magenta. Let’s see how to make magenta with food coloring.
Food colorings come in sets and individual colors. You can get them as liquids or gels. Usually, food colors have generic color names like pink, green and blue. So to mix the magenta color you will need to combine pink food coloring with blue food coloring on a 3:1 ratio.
The pink food coloring will look more like magenta. So add more of this pink color and add only a drop of blue color to balance out the pink color food coloring. You can adjust the pink to blue ratio as you like. If you add more blue you will get a violet color.
To intensify the color you have mixed, add more food coloring drops, always following the ratio. It is better to start with only a few drops first and then gradually add more food coloring drops following the ratio. This way you can get to the magenta color easily.
If you think the color is more intense and darker than you want, mix in uncolored food (frosting, buttercream, etc.) to lighten the mixed color.
How to make magenta with oil paint
In most cases, oil paint pigments are the same as acrylic paints. So all the colors I used to mix magenta with acrylic colors are available in oil colors as well. You need to mix the same colors as with acrylic paints to get a magenta color with oil paints.
Mix quinacridone red and cadmium red medium in a 5: 1 ratio to make a magenta or reddish-purple color. Mix with titanium white to adjust the value of the color. Just like with acrylic paint, you can use quinacridone red itself as the magenta color in oil paint as well.
To mute and darken the magenta color, mix it with phthalo green color.
I have written a whole article about acrylic paint color mixing charts. You can learn a lot about mixing all the primary and secondary colors there. There is a free downloadable color mixing chart and a grid as well.
How Do You Make Magenta Paint?
We will now look at what color combinations will create magenta in terms of painting. There are a few different variations when looking at how to make magenta paint. When making paint colors, you may not achieve an exact magenta color, but you will be able to create something similar to it. what color is magenta? Some people view it as pinkish-purple.
You can combine blue and red, but you will also have to include a small amount of white in the mixture to achieve a color closer to magenta. Varying quantities of paint color will also impact the outcome, adding additional blue will create a deeper violet. We recommend combing cobalt blue and cadmium red when creating magenta. If you were to use a darker red, you would need to add a little white to achieve a pinker color. You are also able to ass yellow which will soften the color further, and then add violet or blue to get even closer to magenta.
| Shade | Hex Code | CMYK Color Code | RGB Color Code | Color |
| Deep Violet | #330066 | 50, 100, 0, 60 | 51, 0, 102 | |
| Maroon | #800000 | 0, 100, 100, 50 | 128, 0, 0 |
To achieve a more accurate magenta color, we recommend using magenta pigment paint then creating two colors. You should be able to purchase this paint from your local art or craft store which is called Quinacridone Magenta.
| Shade | Hex Code | CMYK Color Code | RGB Color Code | Color |
| Quinacridone Magenta | #9a114f | 0, 89, 49, 40 | 154, 17, 79 |
How to Make Magenta Paint Darker
There are several ways to darken magenta, the most obvious option is to add black. However, you could also try using dark green as another option to create a more vivid color. This is thanks to green sitting on the opposite end of the color wheel and therefore is magenta’s complementary color. When combining paint, we recommend using small quantities of paint as it will then be easier to add paint as opposed to taking it out.
How to Make Magenta Paint Lighter
The best way to lighten magenta is to simply add white. In adding white the shade of magenta will appear pinker. Similar to when darkening magenta, we suggest you use small quantities of paint, as again it is easier to add paint as opposed to taking it away.
How to Create Paint Mediums With Magenta Pigment
You may be wondering how to make magenta paint from scratch? You can visit your local arts and crafts store and buy magenta powder pigment and use that to create the paint. This is possible with all paint mediums including watercolors paints, acrylics, and oil paints.
Oil Paints
It is a relatively simple process to make oil paints. take some of the magenta pigment and combine it with an oil medium such as linseed oil. You will then be able to use this paint the same way as all your other oil paints. Other mediums can be used, each comes with its properties and characteristics. However, linseed oil is the best option particularly if you are a beginner, thanks to it being so simple to use.
If you only require a small volume of magenta, then it might be a better idea to just buy an existing paint tube. Pigment power to create larger quantities of magenta might be cheaper, but it is all dependent on what you need to do.
Acrylic Paints
It is also fairly easy to create your acrylic paint; even a beginner can do it. You will once again need some magenta pigment powder and must combine it with a clear gesso acrylic. Combine the ingredients well until you achieve the desired color. you can also add some white gesso, but if you are looking to achieve a more vibrant color then rather stick to clear gesso, as the white base will cause it to be opaquer. If you are using the white gesso you will end up using more pigment powder to achieve the color you require, and it will take longer to do so.
Creating a paint color using pigment powder is so easy to do, but it is time-consuming, which is why the majority of artists prefer to just buy the ready-made magenta color paint. Some artists may choose to rather use a color that is close to magenta as an alternative, instead of wasting money on a paint color that they do not use that often.
Watercolor Paints
While a beginner can mix their paint colors, we recommend having a little bit of experience with painting and mixing colors in a variety of mediums. When creating magenta watercolor paint, you can combine gum Arabic with magenta paint powder. However, when creating this paint, you will need to use it on the same day or at the very latest, the next day. If it is kept longer, it becomes hard to work with. If it has started to become difficult to work with you can try adding a little water to rehydrate it, but that could potentially lighten the color too much, and you end up with a color you didn’t want. The perfect option is once again to rather just use the ready-made magenta watercolor paint. It will work out a lot cheaper to use the ready-made paint, and simpler to do.
What Colors Can You Substitute for Magenta?
We can recommend using rose and violet in place of magenta. These colors are also available in a variety of hues, so it all depends on the shade or hue you require. We recommend trying permanent rose and opera rose as an alternative option to magenta. Permanent rose is a dark, richer shade, while opera rose is a lighter, gentle shade. The go-to violet color is quinacridone violet, it is a relatively dark shade that can be used to achieve a color similar to magenta.
We hope this article has helped provide the answer to some of the questions such as what colors make magenta. As you can see, the answer is complicated, and you will need to consider every aspect and will need an understanding of color theory.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Make Magenta?
While it will not give you perfect magenta, the easiest way to make magenta is to mix blue and red, with a ratio of 1:1. We suggest combing cobalt blue and cadmium red when creating magenta. If you were to use a darker red you will need to add a small amount of white to balance it out.
Is Magenta a Color?
Magenta does not possess a unique wavelength that is visible in the spectrum of light. Our brain processes magenta as red and blue combined.
What Colors Make Magenta?
Depending on which color model you are looking at, on one color model magenta is a primary color, while on the other one it is considered a secondary color. in the RGB model (red, green, and blue), magenta is considered a secondary color and it can be created by combining blue and red.
What Colors Work Well With Magenta?
When one thinks of magenta it evokes feelings of balance and harmony. To make the color pop we recommend pairing it with green, as green is its complementary color. Magenta will also look stunning when paired with bright blues, other shades of pink, and even shades of yellow.
What Color Is Magenta?
There are many different descriptions of magenta, that vary from person to person, as we all view colors slightly differently. Certain people say magenta is pinkish-purple, or reddish-purple, while others feel magenta is purplish-red.
Rebecca Fleming ( Interior Designer, Crafting Maniac, Content Editor )
Rebecca has been a crafting maniac since childhood. One of her great passions is also decorating and furnishing. She has a degree in English and Communications (BA) from Cornell University in New York. After graduating and working at a local art gallery, Rebecca discovered her enthusiasm for art and design. During this time she continued her education in interior design with a recognized certificate from an institute in New York. Since 2020 she has been writing blog posts about the topics crafting, home decor, interior design and color theory at craft-art.com. Meanwhile, she is also the senior content editor with us. Working as a content writer and editor for Craft Art perfectly allows her to combine her fluency with her affinity for art and design.
Learn more about Rebecca Fleming and about us.
