What does white and teal make?
In paint, white and teal make a cyan close to Riverbed (#80C0C0). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near Affen Turquoise, because light adds while pigment subtracts.
50% White · 50% Teal
As paint
#80C0C0
As light
#ACFFFF
Theory
Why paint and light disagree
Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining white 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
- #80C0C0
- RGB
- rgb(128, 192, 192)
- HSL
- hsl(180, 34%, 63%)
- CMYK
- cmyk(33%, 0%, 0%, 25%)
Closest named color: Riverbed. 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 teal make when mixed as paint?
- A cyan close to Riverbed (#80C0C0). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
- What do white and teal make as light?
- A color near Affen Turquoise (#ACFFFF). 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 teal?
- 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.