What Do Purple and Yellow Make?
Last updated: May 8, 2025 by Michelle
Purple and yellow are beautiful colors on their own, but what happens when you bring them together? You can make a kaleidoscope of new colors by mixing purple and yellow. You might get a rich brown or a bright, almost orange color. There’s a lot going on with these colors, which makes “what color does purple and yellow make” a more complicated question than you might expect.
In addition to purple and orange, we’ll take a look at some related colors, like orange. Orange and yellow are very close. Sometimes the difference between one and the other is a bit blurry. So it’s useful to see what happens if you mix purple and a yellowy orange as well.
But this isn’t a school lesson. We’re here to have fun! So we’ll also give you some practical and fun applications for your knowledge about what color purple and yellow make. You might get some surprising benefits out of this information when you apply it to clothing, home decor, gifts, food, and art. Let’s brighten up your day with purple and yellow.
What Does Purple and Yellow Make? | Mauve or Brown | More Colors | Purple and Orange Make | Color Theory | Canceling Out Purple and Yellow | Using Purple and Yellow
What Does Purple and Yellow Make?
Purple and yellow make mauve or brown — most of the time. While purple and yellow can be bold, bright colors on their own, mixing them will often create neutral colors. We'll get into why a little later.
Mauve and brown are only part of the answer to “what color does purple and yellow make,” however. We’re going to explore some more nuanced answers to that question as well so you can get the most out of mixing purple and yellow. The color you get relies on the colors you start with, as well as the medium you use. Let’s see why.
How to Mix Purple and Yellow to Make Mauve or Brown
Mauve contains strong purple tones. So if you want to mix purple and yellow to make mauve, you should start with a nice, bright purple. You will only need a little yellow to turn this into mauve. You can even add a bit of white to tone down the color more.
How to Make Brown
If you want to make brown out of purple and yellow, you’ll need a different approach. For this, you need a more even mix. That’s because purple and yellow are complementary colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel (more on this in a bit). This means they will cancel each other out naturally to make neutral tones like brown. You just need to put them together.
However, there are different types of purple and yellow. Which ones you choose will result in a different brown. If you want a darker brown, for example, use a darker shade of purple to start with. A lighter brown will require a lighter shade of purple. You can adjust your final result with white and black, just like you did when mixing purple and yellow to make mauve.
Other Colors Purple and Yellow Make
Purple and yellow can make a lot of colors beyond mauve and brown. For one thing, there are many types of brown, from a bright, warm color to a cool brown like deep shadows. This comes down to the specifics of the purple and yellow you mix. A cool, blue-tinted purple mixed with a cooler yellow can make something with a bit of green to it. Conversely, bright, warm purples and yellows can make something with a touch of red or peach in it.
If you aren’t sure what color purple and yellow will make, try experimenting. It’s okay to mix purple and yellow and decide the resulting color is not for you. You can always start over and try again. In fact, experimenting in this way and slowly adjusting your methods is one of the best ways to learn about color mixing and color theory. There are no wrong answers when it comes to colors!
What Does Purple and Orange Make?
Just like purple and yellow, purple and orange make mauve or brown. However, you probably realize by now that the specific type of mauve or brown has quite a lot of variation.
While purple and yellow also make brown, purple and orange make a brown that is usually a lot redder. That’s because of the orange, of course.
Again, the best way to know will be to experiment. If you’re feeling intimidated, try some cheap paint from the craft store and scrap paper. You can mess around with various color combinations in this way without worrying about ruining your walls or a piece of artwork.
Why Does Purple and Yellow Make Mauve?
A large part of the reason purple and yellow make mauve or brown is because they’re complementary colors. This simply means they’re opposites on the color wheel. These opposites create a striking contrast when placed next to each other, but they mix into brown. This goes for other complementary colors like red and green as well. These colors might look jarring to the eye when you see them side by side, yet they create neutral tones.
All of this explains why the specific purple and yellow you mix results in different types of brown. At this point, your head might be spinning because of all the new shades of brown you now know about. Don’t let it overwhelm you. At the end of the day, it’s all about opposite colors combining to make brown. How perfectly opposite those colors are will skew your results.
What About Purple and Orange?
Things are a little different when we talk about purple and orange. That’s because purple and yellow are complementary colors, not purple and orange. Orange and blue are complementary colors. Obviously, some oranges look yellow and some purples look blue, so you can still get very close to mixing perfect opposites when you mix purple and orange, but it isn't quite the same. Nevertheless, the result tends to be brownish.
Do Purple and Yellow Cancel Each Other Out?
They can! As we’ve seen, it depends on how you mix them and the specific shades you choose. If you choose a super strong purple and a mellow, pale yellow, that yellow is going to be fighting an uphill battle trying to cancel out the purple. If you choose a purple and yellow that are closer in tone and hue, they’ll cancel each other out better.
You can see this principle at work in many aspects of life, including fashion. Something every hair stylist understands is that you can neutralize yellow hair that’s a bit too brassy with some purple or violet toner.
How to Use Purple and Yellow
There are a ton of fun ways to use purple and yellow in your day-to-day life. You can apply purple and yellow mixtures to fashion, interior design, and art. Here’s a few of our favorite suggestions.
Birthdays are a great place to use the striking power of complementary colors to make a gift or card that really stands out. You can color your own birthday cards yourself, or use your new knowledge for gift wrapping. Purple wrapping paper paired with a yellow bow will make for an eye-catching gift.
Another great place to use complementary colors like purple and yellow are friendship bracelets, which are a great gift and fun craft all year long. Or simply have fun coloring while employing your newfound knowledge.
Want even more craft ideas? Here’s some of our top picks:
Play with Mauve with These Fairy Coloring Pages
Practice mixing purple and yellow to make mauve on these fun coloring pages. Purple and yellow are great for cute and fun fairy coloring pages. Whether you're lightening your purples or deepening your browns, you're sure to hit the right aetherial tone.
How to Make Other Colors
We’ve only just begun our color mixing journey. You can make a lot more colors if you learn a bit about color theory and mix other colors. Here are some resources to help you do just that!
