Question 1

What is the Color Mixing Chart?

Accepted Answer

The Color Mixing Chart shows what every pair of colors in a palette makes when mixed together using real pigment physics. Select a palette, pick your colors, and generate an interactive grid. Click any cell to see how the result changes across 5 different ratio variations (from mostly color A to mostly color B).

Question 2

How many charts can I generate?

Accepted Answer

Default palettes are unlimited and instant (precomputed results). Free accounts (Hobby plan) get 3 custom palette charts per day. Pro plan users get unlimited charts with no daily restrictions. Clicking cells to explore ratio variations does not count toward your daily limit.

Question 3

Why is there a 12-color limit?

Accepted Answer

A 12-color chart produces 66 unique color pairs, which is already a dense grid. Larger grids become difficult to read and navigate. If your palette has more than 12 colors, you can select which ones to include, allowing you to focus on the most interesting combinations.

Question 4

What do the 5 ratio variations mean?

Accepted Answer

When you click a cell, you see 5 mix results at different proportions: 5:1 (mostly color A with a touch of color B), 2:1 (twice as much A as B), 1:1 (equal parts, shown in the grid), 1:2 (twice as much B as A), and 1:5 (mostly color B with a touch of color A). This helps you understand how the mix shifts as you adjust proportions, which is essential for real-world paint mixing.

Question 5

How accurate are the mixing results?

Accepted Answer

The chart uses our Kubelka-Munk spectral mixing engine, which models how light scatters and absorbs in real paint pigments. This is the same physics-based approach used by paint manufacturers. Results are most accurate for known production pigments (like those from major paint brands). Custom colors use computed spectral data that approximates real pigment behavior.

Question 6

Can I use my own custom palette?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Any palette you create on Trycolors can be used with the mixing chart. Select it from the palette dropdown, pick up to 12 colors, and click Generate Chart. You can create a new palette with your own colors or paint brand selections.

Question 7

Why does the diagonal show the same colors?

Accepted Answer

The diagonal cells represent a color mixed with itself, so they simply show the original color. The interesting results are in the off-diagonal cells, where two different colors combine.

Question 8

Why are the colors above and below the diagonal the same?

Accepted Answer

The grid is symmetric: mixing Red + Blue gives the same 1:1 result as Blue + Red. Both halves are shown so you can look up any pair quickly — find one color in the left column and the other in the top row, or vice versa, without having to remember which order they appear in.

Cadmium Yellow Light
India Yellow Hue
Cadmium Red Light
Quinacridone Magenta
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalo Green (Yellow Shade)
Titanium White
Carbon Black

Color Mixing Chart

1. Select Palette

2. Pick Colors

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