Caroline
We tend to associate certain colors with different emotions and even holidays. For example, blue can show sadness, green is used for St Patrick’s Day and yellow is bright and happy.
Red and purple both share a similar meaning of love, passion and romance. For this reason, they are common in gifts and cards for partners and spouses.
We know what they represent individually, but what about when mixed? You may be wondering what color does red and purple make, and that is the question we are here to examine.
It may not be as straightforward as you think it is, so let’s begin!
How you can mix red and purple?
With many colors, when you combine them you will generally end up with a color that’s fairly straightforward.
Red and yellow will make orange, yellow and blue will make green and other such combinations are well known.
Mixing red and purple does not lead to such a defined destination as these previous examples.
The colors you will land up with when combining these colors will probably either be a reddish-purple or a purple-red.
This can vary depending on the shades of the colors used or the quantities of each. Later on, we will cover how you can influence the results more precisely.
For now, how can you mix these colors? This depends on the mediums you happen to be using.
Paint is one of the most common art mediums that you can find, and mixing the colors is a fun but messy endeavor. The kinds of paint that you use may influence how the mixing process goes.
Some paint is much thinner than others, so the colors will be much lighter. Watercolor paint is an example of such a thin medium.
Others like acrylic and especially oil paints are a lot thicker and richer. Once you have your colors, you can mix them together using a brush, a clean stick or even a finger!
If you are using more solid mediums, you will usually apply a base of one color and then color the second one over it. This will mix the colors and create some new shades and colors.
That is how you can mix a few mediums, but if you have any others then experimenting will be the key to unlocking each medium’s potential.
You can have a lot of fun trying out some different combinations and mediums. Now that we have covered that, let’s zone in on red and purple and examine some of the ways these colors can be used.
Are red and purple a good combination to mix together?
So, are red and purple a good combination of colors? There are a few ways to examine that question.
Some of the best color combinations are those of complementary colors. These will be colors that are on opposite ends of the color wheel, and they work super well in design.
Red and purple on the color wheel are adjacent on the color wheel, and they are colors that both have a warm feeling to them. For this reason, while they may not be complementary colors they still go together well.
For instance, if you used shades of both red and purple on a card it would create a really lovely look for the card.
When you mix the two together, you will likely get a variation on whichever color is most prominent.
This means that you can come up with some really lovely and rich colors to use for whatever purpose you need it for.
The color combinations may be a bit more limited than others, but they definitely have their uses.
Once you start incorporating other colors to the mixture you’re in for some really incredible things! But that is something we will explore in more detail as we move through the guide.
Next up, we will look at the kinds of results you can expect when you mix red and purple.
What results you can expect?
In this guide, we have alluded to some of the colors you may get when you mix red and purple together. Unlike so many different color combinations, the results have a fairly wide spectrum.
There is no one color you can classify the color combination as, so the results can be a bit unpredictable.
So while we can’t say you will end up with ‘orange’ or ‘green’ we can recommend that you try out some different combinations.
To do this, you can go through your paint set or crayon box or whatever medium it is you’re using. Find the red and purple that most appeals to you and then mix them together.
You can apply your color experiments to any spare piece of canvas or paper you may have lying around. Once you have tried that combination, maybe mix in a bit more red or a bit more purple.
See how the individual colors change the concoction you’re creating. This is the best way to start getting a feel for how the colors interact with and change one another.
While we can’t tell you exactly what color will result from the mixture, we can give you a bit of an idea. It will likely be a purple that has a warmer red tone to it or a red that has a lighter purple feeling.
You might even end up with colors like lilac or magenta if the combination is right. What you end up with doesn’t have to be a chance or an accident, as you will have control over what you end up with.
There are very few mediums where you have to get it right the very first time. With mediums like watercolors you do have less time, as the paint dries very quickly.
But with mediums like acrylic paint, you have a bit more time to keep mixing and adding until it’s perfect.
If you’re using oil paint then you have days or weeks to get it right, as that paint takes a very long time to dry.
The point is that you can keep trying until the color is exactly what you need. Don’t worry if it’s a color you don’t want initially.
That’s also why experimenting and playing with the colors is such an important part of the process. It’s the only thing that can prepare you for the final results of your artwork.
Now that we have a better idea of the results you can get from a red and purple mix, you are ready to find out more about some of the best uses for red and purple.
Best uses for red and purple mixes
Now, you may be wondering what some of the ways you can use red and purple are. The answer is that there are thousands of answers!
As we mentioned, these are two colors that have romantic connotations to them. When adding hearts to a love letter, they will often have shades of red and purple to make them more pleasing.
Therefore, this color combination would be perfect around Valentine’s Day or maybe an anniversary.
This can be true whether the colors are mixed or separated, and you can come up with some amazing combinations!
Of course, romantic designs are not the only way that you can use red and purple. In nature, red and purple can be quite common to behold.
You can find many flowers with red and purple petals for example. Some birds and parrots sometimes have beautiful red and purple feathers as well.
Sometimes the sky can have elements of red and purple as well that can look really stunning. You may be surprised to find out how much red and purple can appear in pictures.
This is true whether it’s a mixture of the two or when they’re used separately.
The combination of these colors also works really well for a stylized image that gives off relaxed feelings. You will often see red and purple used in different forms of digital art.
It can also be a combination of colors that works well with interior decorating and even wall colors. As you can see, it can be a really versatile set of colors that can be at your disposal!
The main thing you need to consider is what you could personally need these colors for. Whether you are painting a beautiful sunset or an intimate picture of a wine glass, there are so many uses.
Now that we have determined that red and purple are a great mixture, you may still be wondering how you can use them to their full advantage.
In the next step, we will look at some of the ways that red and purple can be combined with different shades and different colors to create your own perfect color creations.
Let’s proceed and see how it can be done!
Lighter and darker red and purple mixes
If you don’t put too much thought into it and mix a random combination of red and purple, you probably won’t end up with the color you wanted immediately.
This is true if you’re trying to replicate a specific color for a real subject or go for a more stylistic approach. If you don’t immediately have the color you want, there are lots of ways to fix it!
For an example, we will say that you are painting a flower with magenta petals. First, try to find a clear source to work from.
This could be a high-resolution image of the flower, or you might even have a real one to work from. Once you have your source, try to really look closely at the colors.
For the purple flower, you can see that maybe it has a mild red or blue tone to it, for example. So once you have added the red and purple, you might need to add a spot of red to the mix.
It’s all about being observant to determine what colors might be needed. You might need to make the color darker or lighter, and there are a few ways to do that.
The easiest way is to use white to make it lighter or black to make it darker. Try not to use too much of these colors to begin with as it can overpower the colors if used in too great a quantity.
Adding black and white is a quick way to achieve these different tones, but you can also make it more nuanced. For instance, you may notice that the purple has a blueish tone to it.
In that case, if the color isn’t dark enough then you can incorporate a few spots of dark blue. That is one way you can make it darker or lighter while sticking to the color tones of the subject you are working on.
It can take a careful eye to note these tones, so close observation is the key to achieving realism or the style you would like.
What are some ways you would like to use the combination of red and purple in your art?
In summary
Red and purple are two beautiful colors, and this is only more the case when used together. You set out to answer the question of what color does red and purple make when mixed, and now you know!
This is just the beginning, though, and now it’s up to you to unlock all of the potential of these colors.
Whether you use them mixed together or with one another, you can land up with some amazing results.
Just remember to be observant and keep experimenting until the colors are exactly what you want for whatever piece of art you are trying to create!
