What color does yellow and black make when mixed as paint?

A yellow close to Drably Olive (#808000). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.

What do yellow and black make as light?

A color near Honey and Thyme (#ACAC00). 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 yellow than black?

The result slides toward Yellow 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 yellow and black make?

In paint, yellow and black make a yellow close to Drably Olive (#808000). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near Honey and Thyme, because light adds while pigment subtracts.

50% Yellow · 50% Black

As paint

#808000

As light

#ACAC00

Theory

Why paint and light disagree

Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining yellow and black 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: #808000
RGB: rgb(128, 128, 0)
HSL: hsl(60, 100%, 25%)
CMYK: cmyk(0%, 0%, 100%, 50%)

Closest named color: Olive. 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 yellow and black make when mixed as paint?: A yellow close to Drably Olive (#808000). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
What do yellow and black make as light?: A color near Honey and Thyme (#ACAC00). 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 yellow than black?: The result slides toward Yellow 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.