What does blue and teal make?
In paint, blue and teal make a blue close to Underwater Falling (#0026C0). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near Nīlā Blue, because light adds while pigment subtracts.
50% Blue · 50% Teal
As paint
#0026C0
As light
#0056FF
Theory
Why paint and light disagree
Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining blue 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
- #0026C0
- RGB
- rgb(0, 38, 192)
- HSL
- hsl(228, 100%, 38%)
- CMYK
- cmyk(100%, 80%, 0%, 25%)
Closest named color: True Blue. 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 blue and teal make when mixed as paint?
- A blue close to Underwater Falling (#0026C0). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
- What do blue and teal make as light?
- A color near Nīlā Blue (#0056FF). 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 blue than teal?
- The result slides toward Blue 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.