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

A gray close to Silver (#C0C0C0). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.

What do white and gray make as light?

A color near White (#FFFFFF). 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 white than gray?

The result slides toward White 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 white and gray make?

In paint, white and gray make a gray close to Silver (#C0C0C0). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near White, because light adds while pigment subtracts.

50% White · 50% Gray

As paint

#C0C0C0

As light

#FFFFFF

Theory

Why paint and light disagree

Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining white 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: #C0C0C0
RGB: rgb(192, 192, 192)
HSL: hsl(0, 0%, 75%)
CMYK: cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 25%)

Closest named color: Silver. 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 white and gray make when mixed as paint?: A gray close to Silver (#C0C0C0). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
What do white and gray make as light?: A color near White (#FFFFFF). 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 white than gray?: The result slides toward White 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.