What color does red and purple make when mixed as paint?

A red close to Red Jalapeño (#C00040). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.

What do red and purple make as light?

A color near Red Light Neon (#FF0056). 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 red than purple?

The result slides toward Red 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 red and purple make?

In paint, red and purple make a red close to Red Jalapeño (#C00040). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near Red Light Neon, because light adds while pigment subtracts.

50% Red · 50% Purple

As paint

#C00040

As light

#FF0056

Theory

Why paint and light disagree

Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining red and purple 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: #C00040
RGB: rgb(192, 0, 64)
HSL: hsl(340, 100%, 38%)
CMYK: cmyk(0%, 100%, 67%, 25%)

Closest named color: Rural 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 red and purple make when mixed as paint?: A red close to Red Jalapeño (#C00040). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
What do red and purple make as light?: A color near Red Light Neon (#FF0056). 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 red than purple?: The result slides toward Red 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.