To make purple, the basic process is to mix blue and red colors together. The exact shade of purple depends on the proportions and the types of blue and red used:
- Start with mixing blue and red paint or dye. Equal parts generally create a true purple.
- Adjust the proportion of blue or red to create different hues: more blue gives a cooler blue-purple, more red gives a warmer red-purple.
- Add white to lighten the purple to shades like lilac or lavender.
- Add black or a tiny bit of yellow to create darker or muted purple tones.
- Types of colors matter: warm blue (like ultramarine) and cool red (like permanent rose or magenta) will make a truer purple.
This method applies to paints, dyes, and food coloring. For example, mixing 15 parts blue food coloring with 5 parts red gives a good purple color. For paints, mixing ultramarine blue with permanent rose in equal parts yields a vibrant purple. Adding white paint gives lighter purple shades, black adds darkness, and yellow can mute the purple.
