What Colors Make Olive?
Green and red make olive — red is green’s complement, so a small amount dulls it into olive. Yellow with a touch of black works just as well.
Green + Red = Olive
Green
4 parts
Red
1 part
Olive
Add red a little at a time. Too much and the green tips past olive into brown.
Yellow + Black = Olive
Yellow
8 parts
Black
a touch
Olive
Surprising but true: black darkens yellow toward green, giving a clean olive with only two pigments.
Yellow + Blue + Red = Olive
Yellow
4 parts
Blue
1 part
Red
a touch
Olive
Build the green from yellow and blue, then knock it back with red. Most control over how warm or cool the olive lands.
Adjusting your olive
To lighten: Add white or yellow for khaki, sage and moss.
To darken: Add a little more black or blue for dark olive and army green.
To mute or soften: Add more red to push it toward drab and eventually brown.
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), olive is a dark, low-saturation yellow — moderate red and green light with very little blue, e.g. #6E7333.
Frequently asked about making olive
What colors make olive?
Green and red make olive — red is green’s complement, so a small amount dulls it into olive. Yellow with a touch of black works just as well.
What two colors make olive?
Green + Red makes olive. Add red a little at a time. Too much and the green tips past olive into brown.
How do you make olive lighter or darker?
Add white or yellow for khaki, sage and moss. Add a little more black or blue for dark olive and army green.
Is mixing olive paint the same as mixing olive light?
No. Paint mixes subtractively while light mixes additively. With light (RGB), olive is a dark, low-saturation yellow — moderate red and green light with very little blue, e.g. #6E7333.