Maroon is a deep, dark red color that has hints of brown or purple. It’s a popular color for many applications, from home decor to fashion. While you can buy pre-mixed maroon paint or dye, you can also mix your own custom maroon color using a color wheel. Mixing maroon yourself gives you control over the exact hue, saturation, and brightness of the color. With some basic color theory and the right supplies, you can mix maroon to get the perfect shade for your project.
What is Maroon?
Maroon sits between red and brown on the color wheel. It’s a very deep, rich shade of red that has more brown undertones than a pure red.
The first recorded use of “maroon” as a color name in English was in 1789. It comes from the French word “marron” meaning chestnut.
Some key facts about maroon:
- It’s a tertiary color – meaning it’s created by combining a primary and secondary color (red and purple).
- It’s a neutral color that goes well with other shades like beige, white, gray, and black.
- There are many variations of maroon ranging from reddish maroon to brownish maroon.
- It’s commonly associated with fall, winter, and the holidays.
Maroon is popular in fashion, interior design, beauty products, food packaging, wines, cosmetics, and more. It’s a flexible color that can be dressed up or down. Darker maroons look elegant and sophisticated while lighter maroons have a softer, more casual look.
How to Make Maroon with Paint
If you’re painting or working with any kind of pigmented liquid medium, you can mix custom maroon by combining red and purple paint. Here are the steps:
- Start with a warm, pure red paint or dye. Avoid orangey reds, which will make the maroon too bright.
- Add a small amount of pure purple paint like violet or magenta. Purple has more blue undertones which mute the red into a deeper maroon shade.
- Mix the red and purple together thoroughly. Test the mixed paint on a scrap surface.
- Add more purple for a darker maroon, or more red for a lighter maroon. Adjust until you achieve your desired shade.
- For a brownish maroon, add a small amount of yellow which will dull the red. For a more vibrant maroon, add a touch of blue.
The specific ratio of red to purple paint you use will depend on the starting shades and your preference for a more reddish vs. brownish end result. Going slowly and adding more purple in increments allows you to better control the final maroon color.
Mixing Maroon with Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paint is one of the most convenient and affordable ways to mix maroon. You likely already have red and purple acrylic paints on hand. Here are some tips for successfully mixing maroon acrylic:
– Use a warm, bluish red like cadmium red as your base rather than an orangey red.
– Add a small amount of deep violet or magenta purple to start.
– Use more red than purple, at about a 4:1 ratio to retain the red undertone.
– Mix on a palette using a palette knife before adding to your canvas.
– Check the color against white and black surfaces to see how it looks in different lighting.
– Adjust by adding more purple, red, white or black acrylic paint until you achieve the right maroon for your needs.
The benefit of mixing acrylic yourself is you can make any variation of maroon. Play around with adding more or less purple, a touch of yellow, or white to lighten. Mixing maroon acrylic takes some trial and error but allows full creative control.
Mixing Maroon Oil Paint
Oil paints blend beautifully to create deep, rich maroon tones. The principles are the same as mixing maroon acrylic. Start with a warm red oil paint and add purple like alizarin or mars violet. Here are some tips for mixing maroon oil paint:
– Use cadmium red or vermillion as your red base. Avoid orange-leaning reds.
– Add a small amount of purple oil paint like mars violet and thoroughly mix.
– Use more red than purple at about a 5:1 ratio for maroon. Too much purple will result in an eggplant shade.
– Mix colors on a palette first before applying to the canvas.
– Test on a scrap canvas or board to check the tone. Adjust by adding more red or purple as needed.
– For a muted maroon, add a small touch of yellow ochre or raw sienna oil paint.
– Let oil paint layers dry fully between mixing to avoid creating mud.
Oil paint allows you to layer glazes of color for added depth and dimension. Mix maroons ranging from bright reddish maroon to deep brownish eggplant maroon.
How to Mix Maroon with Watercolor
Watercolor’s transparent quality makes it fun to mix custom maroons. Start with two tubed watercolor paints:
– A warm, pure red like cadmium red or scarlet.
– Blue-based purple like ultramarine violet or carbazole violet.
Avoid orangey reds which will make maroon too bright. Here are tips for mixing maroon watercolor:
– Start with mostly red pigment, roughly 4:1 ratio with the purple.
– Use separate wells or pans to mix the two colors. Start with a small amount of purple.
– Use clean brushes to transfer colors from the wells to your paper. Test your mixed maroon on scrap paper.
– Adjust the ratio as needed by adding more purple for a deeper maroon or more red for a lighter shade.
– For a duller, brownish maroon add a touch of yellow or raw sienna.
– Let layers dry fully before mixing to prevent dull, overmixed tones.
Watercolor maroons will dry slightly lighter than when wet. But with some practice, you can mix the perfect custom maroon for transparent painting effects.
How to Mix Maroon Food Coloring
Maroon food coloring can tint icings, cookie dough, cake batter, candy, and more. For deepest color, use gel food coloring which is highly concentrated. Here’s how to mix maroon gel food coloring:
- Start with about 4-5 drops of pure red gel food coloring like AmeriColor Red.
- Add 1-2 drops of eggplant or violet gel food coloring.
- Mix the colors thoroughly in a small bowl before adding to your batter or frosting.
- Add more red gel for lighter maroon or more purple for deeper eggplant maroon.
- Test a drop on a white plate or napkin to check the tone.
For a natural maroon dye, cook 1 cup chopped red cabbage in 2 cups water for 15 minutes. Strain and use the purple cabbage water to tint icings or batter for a plant-based, non-toxic maroon food coloring.
Mixing Maroon with RGB Color Mixing
You can mix digital maroon using RGB color mixing methods. This is useful for graphic design, web design, print design, and digital art.
Start by selecting a pure red RGB color like:
R: 165 G: 0 B: 33
Then mix in purple RGB values like:
R: 128 G: 0 B: 128
Adjust the RGB values to increase red for brighter maroon, or increase purple for deeper eggplant maroon.
Some examples of RGB values for maroon colors:
| R: 176 | G: 48 | B: 96 |
| R: 130 | G: 0 | B: 71 |
| R: 139 | G: 0 | B: 139 |
Use RGB maroon colors in any digital or print design where you need an exact custom shade of maroon.
Mixing Maroon Dyes
To dye fabric or clothing maroon, you can mix custom dyes to get the right hue.
For wool, silk, or nylon, mix an acid dye bath with:
– Red acid dye like Jacquard’s Fire Engine Red
– Purple acid dye like Jacquard’s Violet
Start with about 4 parts red dye to 1 part purple. Mix the powdered dyes in hot water following package directions. Heat fabrics in the mixed dye bath while stirring frequently. Remove fabrics when the desired maroon shade is reached.
For cotton, rayon, or linen, mix a fiber reactive dye bath:
– Dharma Trading Fiber Reactive Red dye
– Dharma Trading Fiber Reactive Purple dye
Mix 1 part purple with 4 parts red dye powder. Dissolve the mixed dyes in very hot or simmering water and immerse fabrics. Check frequently until the fabric reaches your ideal maroon shade, then remove and rinse.
When dyeing fabric or clothing maroon, you can control the color saturation. Use more dye powder for deeper shades or less for softer maroons.
Conclusion
With some basic color theory, you can mix custom maroons across any medium – from paints and dyes to food coloring and digital design. Start with a warm, pure red and add just a small amount of purple. Adjust the ratio to increase red for brighter maroons or purple for deeper eggplant maroons. The maroon color spectrum ranges from soft reddish browns to deep bordeaux purples. Mixing your own allows you to get the perfect maroon tone for every project.