What color does orange and magenta make when mixed as paint?

A pink close to Light Red (#FF7F80). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.

What do orange and magenta make as light?

A color near Pink Katydid (#FF56AC). 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 orange than magenta?

The result slides toward Orange 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 orange and magenta make?

In paint, orange and magenta make a pink close to Light Red (#FF7F80). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near Pink Katydid, because light adds while pigment subtracts.

50% Orange · 50% Magenta

As paint

#FF7F80

As light

#FF56AC

Theory

Why paint and light disagree

Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining orange and magenta 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: #FF7F80
RGB: rgb(255, 127, 128)
HSL: hsl(360, 100%, 75%)
CMYK: cmyk(0%, 50%, 50%, 0%)

Closest named color: Light Red. 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 orange and magenta make when mixed as paint?: A pink close to Light Red (#FF7F80). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
What do orange and magenta make as light?: A color near Pink Katydid (#FF56AC). 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 orange than magenta?: The result slides toward Orange 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.