What Colours Can Make Pink

What Colours Can Make Pink? Mixing the Perfect Shade

Pink is one of those colours that feels both playful and romantic, bold yet soft. But when it comes to mixing paints, dyes or digital colours, many people still ask the question: what colours make pink? Whether you're a budding artist, a makeup enthusiast or just curious about colour theory, knowing how to create pink opens up a world of creative possibility.

At its core, pink is made by mixing red and white. But that’s just the beginning. Depending on the exact shade you're aiming for whether it’s hot pink, baby pink, blush or coral you can tweak the formula using hints of other colours.

Let’s explore how pink is made, how different tones come together, and how you can create the perfect shade every time.

The Basic Recipe: Red and White

The foundation of pink is very simple: mix red with white. Red is a primary colour, which means it can’t be made from other colours, while white acts as a lightener. The more white you add to red, the paler the pink becomes.

A strong red with just a touch of white gives you a bright or hot pink. Equal parts red and white give you a mid-tone pink, and more white results in a soft pastel or baby pink.

This principle works whether you’re blending paints, working with food colouring or adjusting digital design settings.

Shifting the Shade: Adding Warm or Cool Tones

Not all pinks are created equal. Some have warmer undertones, like peach or coral, while others feel cooler, like mauve or rose. To customise your pink, you can add small amounts of other colours into the mix.

To warm your pink, add a touch of yellow or orange. This will give you shades like salmon or peach, often seen in spring florals or summer interiors.

To cool it down, try adding a little blue or purple. This can create more sophisticated tones like dusty rose, fuchsia or lavender pink. Just be careful adding too much blue can start pushing your mix toward purple rather than pink.

What If You Don’t Have Red?

If you’re short on red paint or pigment, you can try mixing colours that contain red. For example, combining magenta and a tiny bit of yellow can give you a warm red, which you can then lighten with white.

Magenta itself, when mixed with white, produces a pink-like shade, especially in printing or digital graphics. This is often how printers generate pink tones using magenta from the CMYK colour model.

Using Digital Tools to Make Pink

In digital design, colours are made using RGB (red, green, blue) or HEX codes. To create pink digitally, you increase the red value and keep green and blue relatively low. For example, the HEX code for a standard pink is #FFC0CB.

You can make the pink lighter by increasing all values, or deeper by darkening the red and reducing the brightness overall. Tools like colour pickers and palette generators make it easy to adjust these digitally.

Final Thoughts: Pink Is More Than Just One Colour

Pink may seem like a simple hue, but it sits at the intersection of science and creativity. Whether you’re blending paint on a canvas or choosing the right blush tone, pink is the result of combining red’s intensity with white’s softness and sometimes a little extra magic from warm or cool undertones.

Understanding how colours mix gives you more control and more confidence, whatever your project. So, the next time you wonder what colours make pink, remember: red and white are the starting point, but the possibilities are wide open.