What color does black and gray make when mixed as paint?

A gray close to Bauhaus (#404040). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.

What do black and gray make as light?

A color near Stone Cold (#565656). Light mixes additively, so overlapping sources brighten instead of darkening, which is why screens and paint disagree about the same pair.

What happens with more black than gray?

The result slides toward Black along the mixing curve; the live slider on this page computes the paint and light result at any ratio, with the hex code of every step.

What does black and gray make?

In paint, black and gray make a gray close to Bauhaus (#404040). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near Stone Cold, because light adds while pigment subtracts.

50% Black · 50% Gray

As paint

#404040

As light

#565656

Theory

Why paint and light disagree

Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining black and gray removes more light than either alone and the result darkens. Screens and stage lights work the other way. Each light adds energy, so overlapping them moves the result toward white. The slider above computes both models at any ratio: the paint result uses red-yellow-blue pigment interpolation, the light result uses additive blending.

Reference

The 50/50 paint result, specified

HEX: #404040
RGB: rgb(64, 64, 64)
HSL: hsl(0, 0%, 25%)
CMYK: cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 75%)

Closest named color: Onyx. Real pigments vary by brand and binder, so treat these values as the screen approximation of a physical mix.

FAQ

Quick answers

What color does black and gray make when mixed as paint?: A gray close to Bauhaus (#404040). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
What do black and gray make as light?: A color near Stone Cold (#565656). Light mixes additively, so overlapping sources brighten instead of darkening, which is why screens and paint disagree about the same pair.
What happens with more black than gray?: The result slides toward Black along the mixing curve; the live slider on this page computes the paint and light result at any ratio, with the hex code of every step.