Any colour you want, on your palette in minutes.

How Chromilla mixes paint

Chromilla uses subtractive Kubelka-Munk mixing on real pigment data and calibrates each recipe against the tubes from your brand. We normalise for tinting strength and dry-down per medium, so the parts you see are the parts you actually squeeze.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work for acrylic, oil and watercolour?

Yes. Chromilla supports acrylic, oil and watercolour, and adjusts the recipe for each medium. Watercolour accounts for dilution and dry-down lift, oil accounts for the slower binder and richer gloss, and acrylic accounts for the colour shift as it dries.

How accurate are the mixing ratios?

Chromilla uses Kubelka-Munk style subtractive mixing on real pigment data (PB15, PR108, PW6 and friends), then calibrates against your selected brand's pigment load and tinting strength. Most mixes land within a small nudge of the target on the first try; for the last 1–2% of accuracy you can use Mix Correction to compare your wet mix to the target and get a correction tip.

Is Chromilla free to use?

The mixer is free, no account needed. Get full recipes for any colour, any time. A free account adds mix history and saved formulas. Mix Correction, Area Sampler, Photo palettes and the Palette Builder are included in the Full plan. Start with a free 7-day trial (card required), then $8.99/month. Cancel any time before the trial ends and you won't be charged.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. Chromilla runs in any modern mobile browser and is designed for use at the easel. Point your phone's camera at a reference, sample a colour, and get the recipe instantly. No app install required.

How do I mix two paint colors to get a specific color?

Start with the dominant hue as 60–80% of the mix, then add the second color in 10–20% increments until the swatch reads the target. Adjust value last — white to lighten, the complement to darken cleanly. Chromilla returns the exact ratio for any target hex.

What colors make brown, beige or skin tones?

Brown comes from any two complementary colors: red + green, orange + blue, or yellow + purple. Beige is brown plus Titanium White. Skin tones build from Yellow Ochre + Burnt Sienna + white, shifted warmer or cooler with a touch of red or blue.

How do I make a color lighter or darker without changing the hue?

Lighten with Titanium White in 5% steps (or water for watercolour). Darken with a small amount of the color's complement before reaching for black — black cools and dulls. If the hue shifts, re-tint with a dot of the original base pigment.

How do I mix paint to match a photo or color I see?

Photograph under neutral daylight, sample the exact pixel for the hex, then mix the recipe for that hex. Chromilla's Color Extractor pulls hex codes from any photo and the camera sampler reads colors directly from real-world references.

What ratio do I use for custom paint colors?

Pigments vary in tinting strength by up to 20×, so 50/50 is rarely right. Start at 4:1 base to modifier and nudge in 10% steps. For tints, expect 80–90% white to 10–20% color. Chromilla's ratios already account for each pigment's tinting strength.

Can I mix different paint brands or finishes?

Within the same medium, yes — expect small color shifts because pigment loads differ between brands. Matte + gloss mix to roughly satin. Never combine oil and acrylic in the same wet layer. Pick your brand in Chromilla to recalibrate the recipe for your tubes.

How do I fix paint that's muddy, too dark or too bright?

Muddy: restart with two pigments plus white. Too dark: lift with Titanium White and re-tint. Too bright: knock saturation back with 1–3% of the complement, not black. The Mix Correction tool turns a wet sample plus the target into a one-step correction recipe.

How much of each color do I need for a liter of a custom shade?

Multiply each percentage by your target volume. For 1 liter of a 70/20/10 recipe, that's 700 ml base + 200 ml modifier + 100 ml white. Mix in batches under 1 L and combine them at the end to even out batch-to-batch variation.

More step-by-step recipes: browse all paint mixing guides.