What Colors Can You Make by Mixing Blue & Yellow?

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Color theory expert Bethany Brenneman shares the colors you can make by mixing blue and yellow

Co-authored by Bethany Brenneman and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: February 16, 2026 Fact Checked

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Mixing Yellow & Blue

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Making Different Shades

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Color Theory

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When you’re learning how to paint, mixing different colors can give you a variety of new shades and values to work with. Blue and yellow are basic paints you’ll find on any palette, and the different colors you can make with them give you a wide range to work with. Keep reading to learn the result of this color combo and how to use color theory to mix them, with the help of professional artists and a color theory expert!

Colors Made by Mixing Blue & Yellow

An illustration showing blue and yellow paint mixed into different shades of green

Color theory expert Bethany Brenneman says that mixing blue and yellow makes green. You can change the exact shade of green you get by adjusting the ratio of blue to yellow.

Section 1 of 3:

What color do yellow and blue make?

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Professional painter Jeanine Hattas Wilson says “blue and yellow put together” makes green, but the exact hue depends on the shades of paint you use.^{[1]
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Jeanine Hattas Wilson
Professional Painter

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Meet the wikiHow Experts

Bethany Brenneman is a Master Certified Color Analysis Expert and professional makeup artist with over a decade of experience. She also shares makeup and style tips and tutorials on YouTube and Instagram.

Jeanine Hattas Wilson is a professional painter who has 20 years of experience designing and painting murals.

Kelly Medford is a professional artist based in Rome who has studied classical painting and drawing.

Section 2 of 3:

Creating Different Shades from Blue and Yellow

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Adjust the ratio of blue and yellow for a variety of shades. Brenneman says adjusting the blue-to-yellow ratio will help you “create variety in your greens.” She adds, “When you add more blue than yellow, you get a blue-green or cyan-leaning green—cooler greens like teal, rather than a warm forest green,” says Brenneman. “The blue dominates and pulls the mixture toward the cooler end of the spectrum.”^{[2]
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Bethany Brenneman
Color Theory Expert

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- Professional artist Kelly Medford says, “Experiment with your colors and their ratios” to really understand how many colors you mix. She explains that if you want to mix a light green, “start with yellow [and] then slowly add blue until you get the right value and hue.”^{[3]
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  Kelly Medford
  Professional Artist
  
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- Here are some different shades you can create with different ratios:
  - 10% blue + 90% yellow = Lime green
  - 30% blue + 70% yellow = Pea green
  - 70% blue + 30% yellow = Green teal
  - 90% blue + 10% yellow = Midnight green
Using equal parts of yellow and a dark navy blue makes a cool green shade that has bluish undertones. Adding a bit of black pushes the color to pthalo green, and adding a hint of white changes it to ocean green.^{[4]
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Add white or black to tone down the color. Hattas Wilson explains that mixing in white or black makes colors appear duller and less vibrant.^{[5]
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Jeanine Hattas Wilson
Professional Painter

Expert Interview} Mixing in equal parts of blue, yellow, and white creates muted light green tones, while mixing the colors with black makes darker shades of hunter green.^{[6]
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- Brenneman says that adding white will create tints, which are lighter, pastel greens like mint, while adding black will create shades, or darker, muted greens like olive and forest.^{[7]
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  Bethany Brenneman
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Try other shades of blue and yellow to mix even more colors. Medford notes that she likes to use ”a warm and cool [shade] for each primary color” because you can mix an even larger variety of colors.^{[8]
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Kelly Medford
Professional Artist

Expert Interview} Try out these different combos of blues and yellows to get new shades of green:
- Turquoise + cadmium yellow = emerald green
- Turquoise + lemon yellow = teal
- Ultramarine blue + cadmium yellow = olive green
- Ultramarine blue + cadmium yellow = forest green
- Pthalo blue + yellow = neon green
- Viridian blue + lemon yellow + white = mint green
- Shale blue + lemon yellow = sage green
- Sky blue + lemon yellow = Persian green

Section 3 of 3:

Color Theory Explained

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Color theory uses primary and secondary colors to make a variety of shades. Brenneman says, “Color theory is built on the color wheel, which organizes colors based on their relationships. The primary colors (red, blue, and yellow in traditional theory) can’t be created by mixing other colors, but they combine to create secondary colors (green, orange, and purple) and tertiary colors (red-orange and yellow-green).”^{[9]
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Bethany Brenneman
Color Theory Expert

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- Colors that are across from each other on the color wheel are called “complementary colors” because they have strong contrast that makes each other stand out.