What Colors Make Cream?
White with a speck of yellow makes cream. It is one of the most white-dominant mixes there is — a tiny amount of colour goes a long way.
White + Yellow = Cream
White
12 parts
Yellow
a speck
Cream
Dip the very tip of the brush in yellow. If it looks yellow rather than off-white, you have already added too much.
White + Yellow + Brown = Cream
White
12 parts
Yellow
a speck
Brown
a speck
Cream
The brown adds the faint warmth that separates cream from a plain yellow-tinted white.
White + Yellow + Red = Cream
White
14 parts
Yellow
a speck
Red
a speck
Cream
A hair of red gives ivory and eggshell tones rather than a lemony cream.
Adjusting your cream
To lighten: Add more white to move toward off-white and eggshell.
To darken: Add more yellow and brown for beige, buttermilk and sand.
To mute or soften: Add a speck of blue to cool it into a greige-leaning off-white.
Mixing paint vs. mixing light
The recipes above describe subtractive mixing — how paint, ink and pigment behave. Each pigment absorbs part of the spectrum, so the more you add, the darker the mixture gets.
Screens work the opposite way, using additive mixing with red, green and blue light: the more you add, the brighter it gets. With light (RGB), cream is near-full red and green light with slightly less blue — a bright, barely-tinted warm white, e.g. #F6EEDA.
Frequently asked about making cream
What colors make cream?
White with a speck of yellow makes cream. It is one of the most white-dominant mixes there is — a tiny amount of colour goes a long way.
What two colors make cream?
White + Yellow makes cream. Dip the very tip of the brush in yellow. If it looks yellow rather than off-white, you have already added too much.
How do you make cream lighter or darker?
Add more white to move toward off-white and eggshell. Add more yellow and brown for beige, buttermilk and sand.
Is mixing cream paint the same as mixing cream light?
No. Paint mixes subtractively while light mixes additively. With light (RGB), cream is near-full red and green light with slightly less blue — a bright, barely-tinted warm white, e.g. #F6EEDA.