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

A yellow close to Drab (#808040). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.

What do yellow and purple make as light?

A color near Soul Side (#FFAC56). 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 purple?

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 purple make?

In paint, yellow and purple make a yellow close to Drab (#808040). Mixed as light, the same pair gives a result near Soul Side, because light adds while pigment subtracts.

50% Yellow · 50% Purple

As paint

#808040

As light

#FFAC56

Theory

Why paint and light disagree

Pigments work by absorbing light: each paint removes part of the spectrum, so combining yellow 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: #808040
RGB: rgb(128, 128, 64)
HSL: hsl(60, 33%, 38%)
CMYK: cmyk(0%, 0%, 50%, 50%)

Closest named color: Witch Brew. 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 purple make when mixed as paint?: A yellow close to Drab (#808040). Pigments subtract light, so the mix is darker and duller than either parent; exact results vary by brand and binder.
What do yellow and purple make as light?: A color near Soul Side (#FFAC56). 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 purple?: 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.