What does black and teal make?
In paint, black and teal make a cyan close to Rich Black (#004040). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near Overboard, because light adds while pigment subtracts.
50% Black · 50% Teal
As paint
#004040
As light
#005656
Theory
Why paint and light disagree
Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining black and teal 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
- #004040
- RGB
- rgb(0, 64, 64)
- HSL
- hsl(180, 100%, 13%)
- CMYK
- cmyk(100%, 0%, 0%, 75%)
Closest named color: Rich Black. 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 teal make when mixed as paint?
- A cyan close to Rich Black (#004040). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
- What do black and teal make as light?
- A color near Overboard (#005656). 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 teal?
- 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.