What Colors Make Pink? – How to Mix the Different Shades of Pink

Pink is one of the most vibrant and stunning shades that we can use in our art. Many people may believe that pink is a simple color to make, but there are so many different shades of pink, and each has a slightly different composition. In this article, we will give you a step-by-step tutorial for mixing various shades of pink. From light peaches to deep and dark magentas, pink has an amazing amount of variation to offer.

What Does Pink Mean?

Before diving into how to make different shades of pink color, we should explore what the color represents. Typically, pink is a color associated with little girls and feminine things, like flowers and princesses, and unicorns. To reduce pink to this status alone is to do it an injustice. Pink is also usually associated with romance, flowers, and Valentine’s day. There is so much more to pink colors than Barbie dolls and romance – it is a bold and exciting color that can breathe vibrancy into any design.

Pink as a Nurturing and Calming Color

According to color psychology, the light red hues of pink have various emotional and psychological components. Color psychology believes that colors can impart particular emotions to those who view them, and one of the most common emotional effects of pink is a sense of calm.

Color psychologists believe that you cannot help but feel a little joy when looking at pink, and it is often associated with hope and positivity. You can use various shades of lighter pink to impart these feelings to your works of art or in your clothing choices.

The color pink is also associated with a sense of care and nurture. This association may be due to the fact that pink is often a more feminine color, and society tends to believe that girls and women are more caring and compassionate. Regardless of the social implications, pink certainly imparts a sense of nurturing. As the color for breast cancer awareness, pink encourages feelings of hope and compassion.

A Sweet Color of Childhood Innocence

The most common associations of the color pink are that of all the things young girls love. From ballerinas to Barbie dolls, pink can make us feel nostalgic for our days of youth, freedom, playfulness, and innocence. Most toys made for young girls have one or more shades of pink and seeing pink can often stir up feelings of warmth and safety.

Different shades of pink are also strongly associated with sweets and treats. Many sweet producers use shades of pink in their confections and packaging. From the bright pink icing on doughnuts to pink lollipops, the association with sweets makes pink colors seem even more inviting and delicious.

Different Shades of Pink Make Us Feel Differently

So, it seems that pink can create all sorts of different emotional reactions, but how do you know which pink will create which impression? Each unique shade of pink can create a slightly different emotional reaction, but there are some general rules that you can follow when deciding which pink is best for your design. Darker shades of pink, like magenta and hot pink, tend to be associated with love, passion, and vibrancy. In contrast, we tend to find lighter pink shades, like baby and pastel pinks, more childlike and sweet.

You can see that mixing exactly the right shade of pink for the emotions you want to convey is essential.

What Colors Make Pink?

So, now that you have some ideas of what kind of pink shades you may like to make, the question becomes, how do you make pink? True pink is a mixture of red and white, but when it comes to mixing other shades of pink, you need to consider adjusting your ratios, using different shades of red, and including other colors like yellow or blue.

The first thing you need to consider is what your base color is. For pink, the base color is red. The shade of red you choose as the base for your pink is one of the most influential factors in determining your pink shade. On the color wheel, various shades of red range from very warm to very cool reds. The temperature difference is due to what is known as color bias.

Navigating the Color Bias

Color bias refers to the relative temperature of different colors, depending on their relationship to others on the color wheel. Warm reds tend to lean more towards orange because they have a touch of yellow in them. Cool reds, in contrast, tend to lean towards purple because they contain a small amount of blue. The relative warmth of your red will strongly determine your pink shade.

Warm shades of red, like Venetian, cadmium, and scarlet red, when mixed with white, will produce pink shades closer to oranges like coral and peach. In contrast, cooler red shades like alizarin crimson, vermilion, and carnelian red, will result in a pink that is a little closer to purple like hot pink and magenta. Here is a list of red shades from warm to cool:

• Coquelicot red
• Light red
• Scarlet
• Venetian red
• Cadmium red
• Carnelion red
• Vermilion
• Alizarin crimson
• Magenta

How to Make Pink with Different Shades of White

Not only does the shade of red influence the pink you produce, but using different white shades can also make a significant difference. There are two different types of white you can use. The first white you can mix with your red to make pink is zinc white. Zinc white is a little more translucent than other options. The second white you can use is titanium white. In comparison to zinc white, titanium white is much more opaque.

The best way to work out the different ratios of color you need to make various pink hues is to try it out yourself. We have a very quick and easy exercise that you can use to experiment with mixing different pink colors.

All you need is a sheet of paper, all of your red shades, each of these white shades (if you have them), and a little lemon yellow.

Begin the exercise by drawing out four squares for each of your red shades. You can paint the first squares of each with each shade of red. The next step is to mix a small amount of zinc white with each of the reds shades and paint some of these pinks into the next square. Zinc white is quite transparent, and as a result, these pink shades will appear more transparent too. You will notice how different each of these pink shades is with the simple addition of white.

Now, try mixing each red shade with a small amount of titanium white, and paint these combinations onto the next square. You will notice that the tone of these pink shades does not differ much from the pinks with zinc white, but they are much more opaque. Another important thing to notice is that both white shades lighten the color, but they dull the pink colors rather than brightening them.

How to Make Different Hues of Pink

When it comes to creating a design or a painting with a particular color, it is always a good idea to have a pallet of different hues. Once you have your ideal shade of pink color, you will need to create several hue variations to create depth and dimension. If you are painting a delicate rose, you will need some darker and lighter shades of your pink hue to add shadows and highlights. Realistic paintings require depth and dimension that you can achieve with tints, muted shades, and shadows.

Muting Pink Shades

Very often, you do not want to use the brightest pink shades in your painting or design. It is sometimes necessary to mute your bright pink hues to add variety and depth to your designs. Typically, to mute a color, you must combine it with a little bit of its complement.

The complement for pink is green-yellow, and adding a small amount of this shade will mute the brightest pink shade. The exact shade of green-yellow depends on the particular pink hue you want to mute, as each will be slightly different.

The best way to figure out how to mute your pink shade is to experiment.

How to Make Dark Pink

The easiest method for making dark pink is to alter the ratio of your pink mixture. You can make your pink a little darker by adding a touch more of your red hue. We suggest caution when using this method, as a touch of red can quickly make your pink significantly darker. If you want to make a very dark plum pink, you can try adding a touch of black or a little bit of purple.

What Colors Make Light Pink?

It may now seem obvious that to make a lighter pink, you simply need to increase the amount of white in your mixture. However, you may want to know how to make pink without white. You can use a light-yellow shade, like cadmium lemon yellow, with your red to make pink. If you are not too concerned with how to make pink without white, you can also use a combination of white and light yellow to make a peachy pink.

Yellow is a bright color, and it will prevent the white from dulling your pink colors. If you try this exercise yourself, you will notice that the pinks created with this mixture will be closer to peach and coral shades. Even the red hues that lean more towards purple will become slightly more peachy when mixed with a white-yellow combination. This exercise is a wonderful way for you to begin experimenting with color bias.

The Scientific Formulation for Creating Different Pink Colors

When it comes to knowing what colors make pink, there is a scientific formulation to work it out exactly. Do you want to know how to make blush pink, baby pink, or pastel pink? Do you want to know what colors make light pink, or how to make dark pink? Below, we have collected and presented the scientific formulation for several different pink hues so that you can easily make any of the many shades of pink.

Using Pink in Your Paintings

Now that you know how to make a variety of pink hues, you may be looking for ideas for using them in your designs and paintings. There is a reason why pink is used everywhere in advertisement and marketing. Pink is a bold and eye-catching color, which makes it ideal for making a statement in your paintings or designs. You can use each different pink hue to create a variety of impressions. Light pink can communicate youth, innocence, and sweetness, while darker pinks hint at love, passion, and excitement.

Other Colors to Use with Pink

It is important to remember that a single color does not exist within a vacuum. It is rare that you will only use pink in a design, and the colors you use alongside it matter just as much as the quality of the pink itself. Whether you use other colors, like complementary colors, or negative space, you can make your pink much more emphatic. A powerful lesson for any artist or designer is learning how to use pink alongside other colors.

Using complementing colors is a fantastic way to create dynamic striking designs that really capture the eye. As well as complementing colors, there are others that work beautifully alongside pink shades. Using pink alongside another color is a fantastic way to convey a particular feeling or idea in your designs.

Playfulness with Pink

You can create a playful atmosphere in your painting or drawing by using pink with orange or red hues. These three colors are analogous, which means they do not become overwhelming when you place them next to each other. Within this pink playfulness, there are yet more effects that you can create depending on how you use the colors.

If you are looking for a very bright, vibrant atmosphere, try using a bright hot pink with a deep, bright red. Although some people find the combination of bright red and hot pink to be a little garish or clashing, if you use the two colors in the right way, you can create a lot of excitement and vibrancy in your design.

If you are looking for a color combination that is slightly less overwhelming, you can use a lighter orange or even yellow shade next to your pink. The combination of pink and orange is slightly more mellow, while still being exciting and full of life.

Pink and Contrasting Colors

The pink color is naturally bright and playful. You can enhance this vibrancy even further by using pink alongside a darker, contrasting color. Pairing your pink with a darker shade can create a very interesting and bold look. When it comes to color theory, darker colors like black, dark purple, or blue tend to recede into the background. In contrast, bright colors, like pinks and oranges will come forwards. Pairing a light and dark color will emphasize these effects and create a very effective contrast.

A great example is using a pink background surrounded by a border of black. This color combination will make the pink surface appear to be bigger, as if it were actually coming out of the frame. Outlining a black background with pink will have the opposite effect, and the center of the design will appear to be pulling away from the eye.

Using Pink with Neutral Colors

We have covered bright colors and dark hues so far, so it is time to consider how pink interacts with neutral shades. If you are looking for a more elegant color scheme that is not too bold or eye-catching, you can use neutral colors like browns and greys alongside your pink hue. These neutral shades blend well with pink hues and create a vintage yet modern aesthetic.

A key consideration if you are looking for this more elegant design is to also lighten your pink hues. You will not achieve the beautiful balance with neutral shades if you are using a hot or Fuschia pink. These bright and bold pink shades tend to clash quite horribly with neutral browns and greys. A softer and lighter pink shade, like baby pink or blush pink, will be far more effective.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Make Pink?

Creating pure pink shades is very easy. All you need is a nice bright red and some white. Pure pink is a fifty-fifty combination of red and pink, and you can use different ratios to alter your pink shade. To make darker pink shades, you can use a little more red and less white. If you want to know how to make light pink, you can simply use more white than red.

How to Make Pink Without White?

While it is not traditional, it is possible to make pink without using a white shade. You can mix your red with a small amount of very light yellow to make a more peachy pink hue.

How Many Shades of Pink Are There?

You want to use pink in your design, but you do not know which pink to use. You may ask the question, how many shades of pink are there in the world? Scientifically, there are around 29,000 different pink shades currently known to man. Each of these can be made with different combinations of red, white, yellow, and purple hues.

How to Make Pink Paint?

Mixing your own pink paint is very easy – all you need is some white paint and some red paint. Depending on the exact pink hue you want, you can mix different amounts of these two paints together. Experimentation is key, and you will soon work out just how much of each color you need when you want to know how to make pink paint.