The color teal is loved by many for its calm and soothing vibes. It not only looks amazing on canvas but also helps create a modern and serene ambiance when used inside the house.
However, store-bought paints can be generic with a limited shade range. Fortunately, you can take your creative flair to new heights by creating a customized teal color palette yourself.
Teal is a combination of blue and green, but you can experiment with different shades of the same color to achieve a variety of teal hues. Other colors like white, yellow, and black can also be added to expand and enrich your teal palette.
Teal combines the cool calmness of blue with the balance and stimulation of green to deliver a beautiful and impactful color. I will help you create unique hues of teal that will make your work stand out from artists still relying on store-bought colors.
Let’s dive into the nitty gritty details of making teal blue!
What Colors Do You Mix To Make Teal?
If you’re wondering, ‘What two colors make teal?’ The answer is blue and green.
However, in the same way, that there are several shades of teal, there is a wide variety of blue and green shades too. Therefore, the shade of teal you’re looking for might need you to experiment with different colors of blue and green and achieve the desired result.
Remember that the exact hue of each color you choose will determine the final shade of teal, so be prepared to take a few wrong turns before you find the right one.
As a rule, you should pick a green and blue that leans towards each other. For example, a cool blue shade like phthalo blue combined with a cool, bluish shade of green, like phthalo green, is a great place to start.
However, only mixing blue and green will not give you the teal color of your dreams. Depending on the final effect you want, you might need to add white, yellow, red, or black to the mix, but we’ll discuss more of that later.
A Step-by-Step Guide To Make Teal
Most artists prefer to work with acrylic paints, which is why we have focused on them in this guide. But you should remember that the same shade of teal will look different on various mediums, so before you go all in, test the color on a small area of your preferred surface.
Start with a wide selection of blues
The base of the color teal is blue; therefore, the more variety of blue you have in your arsenal, the more shades of teal you can create.
Pick blues from across the spectrum, making sure to include light, bright, deep, and dark shades of blue.
Squeeze out each of the shades on a palette but don’t mix them.
Pick a medium shade of green
You don’t need as many shades of green; instead, you want to pick a medium hue that isn’t too dark or light. Emerald green or Kelly green is most commonly used for making the perfect shade of teal.
If you want more control over the final shade, you can mix your green color from scratch using the primary colors yellow and blue. Once you have your desired shade of green, you can later add blue to eventually end up with teal.
Select a few shades of yellow
Yellow is an excellent addition to this mix and can help you create unique shades of teal. So grab a few colors of yellow, from pale to bright, and squeeze them out on the palette.
Keep white on hand
You may need to add white to adjust the intensity and tone of the mixed color. So, keep a plain shade of white handy to make any necessary adjustments to the color’s intensity.
Time to mix the colors!
For a basic teal shade, mix blue and green in a 1:1 ratio using a palette knife. You can tweak this ratio depending on the color you want. For example, you can add more blue paint for a teal blue shade or increase the quantity of green for a hue closer to aquamarine.
If the shade looks too dark or overpowering, you can add a little bit of white to tone down the color. However, you should know that white can dull the brightness of your shade a little.
Yellow, on the other hand, has the opposite effect on teal. It doesn’t dull the shade’s brightness but changes its tone, making it lean more toward green.
Pro Tip: At this point, you can play around with different hues of yellow to achieve the color you’re looking for.
Tips For Creating Hues Of Teal With Acrylic Paint
Now that you know how to make the color teal with acrylic paint, the following tricks of the trade will help you get better results every time!
- Acrylic paints become darker as they dry, so it’s better to mix a slightly light teal color to achieve the desired color on canvas. You can learn more about whether paints dry darker or lighter to know exactly how your color will look on the final surface.
- You can add metallic acrylic paints to the mix for a more lustrous shade of teal.
- While black can add depth and intensity to your teal color, it can be disastrous to fix if you add too much. You can use burnt amber or gray instead of black or simply use darker hues of the colors you’re already mixing.
- Use a palette knife to blend instead of a brush since it helps mix different colors evenly.
- I recommend using the mixed teal paint immediately, but if you must store it, an airtight container is your best bet.
How To Create Teal Digitally?
Not every artist works with paints and canvases, and your approach to making teal will be different when working with digital colors.
Teal is a combination of red, green, and blue (RGB), while in printing, it involves a mixture of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK).
For digital design and printing, the code for a basic teal is #008080, but you can tweak it according to your preference.
Similarly, the basic code for CMKY teal is:
- C: 100%
- M: 0%
- Y: 0%
- K: 50%
However, you can experiment with the percentages to increase the depth or change the tone of the shade.
The following table mentions a few popular shades of teal with their hex codes and percentages of color to make your job easier.
| Color | HEX | RGB % | CMYK % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Teal | #008080 | R: 0%, G: 50.2%, B: 50.2% | C: 100%, M: 0%, Y: 0%, K: 50% |
| Light Teal | #00CED1 | R: 0%, G: 80.8%, B: 82.0% | C: 100%, M: 1%, Y: 0%, K: 18% |
| Aquamarine | #7FFFD4 | R: 49.8%, G: 100%, B: 83.1% | C: 50%, M: 0%, Y: 16%, K: 0% |
| Mint Green | #98FF98 | R: 59.6%, G: 100%, B: 59.6% | C: 41%, M: 0%, Y: 41%, K: 0% |
| Seafoam Green | #2E8B57 | R: 18.8%, G: 54.5%, B: 34.9% | C: 66%, M: 0%, Y: 36%, K: 57% |
| Emerald Teal | #00C957 | R: 0%, G: 78.4%, B: 34.7% | C: 100%, M: 0%, Y: 56%, K: 25% |
| Turquoise Teal | #40E0D0 | R: 25.1%, G: 87.8%, B: 81.5% | C: 71%, M: 0%, Y: 7%, K: 14% |
| Sage Teal | #689D99 | R: 40.4%, G: 61.2%, B: 60.4% | C: 34%, M: 0%, Y: 1%, K: 61% |
| Mint Teal | #BDFCC9 | R: 74.5%, G: 98.0%, B: 78.4% | C: 24%, M: 0%, Y: 20%, K: 2% |
| Sea Teal | #1E90FF | R: 11.4%, G: 56.1%, B: 100% | C: 89%, M: 44%, Y: 0%, K: 0% |
Exploring Different Hues Of Teal
Teal is a highly versatile color that can be used for different projects, and as with most colors, there’s a wide variety of shades you can create yourself.
You can opt for a deep and muted shade of teal for an accent wall in your home or a bright, preppy hue of teal for furniture in the children’s nursery. Whichever shade of teal you select, it will completely transform the mood and feel of that room.
In this guide for how to make teal paint, you can tweak the quantities of blue, green, white, and yellow to get the following standout tints.
Pale Teal (HEX# 82cbb2)
This shade sits on the light teal color spectrum, giving off a fresh green hue. You can make pale teal by adding a fair amount of yellow to your blue and green paint mix.
Dull Teal (HEX# 5f9e8f)
Dull teal is a muted color perfect for painting contemporary accent walls. You can make dull teal by adding a little dark yellow to your teal paint mix.
Bright Teal (HEX# 01f9c6)
Here’s a bright and energetic color everyone loves! This vibrant color contains a lot of yellow with just a hint of black, but if you don’t want to use it in its very vibrant state, you can tone it down with some white paint.
Aquamarine Light Teal (HEX# 6EC6BA)
This shade is considered the perfect light teal color by most artists. You can make aquamarine light teal by adding a light and bright shade of green instead of medium green and a good amount of white paint.
This shade is an excellent choice for painting stucco houses in 2023, but this blog is full of great options if you want more exterior color ideas.
Tropical Teal (HEX# 008794)
Tropical teal is a cool green-toned teal that reminds you of sandy beaches lined with palm trees. The shade contains a little more magenta than common teal.
Teal Blue (HEX# 01889f)
Here is a rich blue-toned shade of teal that invokes feelings of tranquility and contentment. You can make teal blue by adding black to the blue and green paint mix.
Deep Teal (HEX#00555a)
Deep teal is a rich hue similar to dark teal. However, the two differ because of more magenta content in deep teal that helps create a slightly warmer tone.
How To Create Shades of Teal
The easiest way to create teal is by mixing blue and green, but now you understand that it’s more complex than that. After all, if you want to create a unique teal color palette, you must experiment with different colors and think outside the box.
How To Make Muted Teal Paint
As a rule, the quickest way to mute a shade is to add a color from the opposite end of the color wheel. Since teal is the product of blue and green, both cool colors, adding a bit of warmth can do the trick.
If you want muted teal, a hint of red and orange can help you achieve the desired hue. However, if you don’t want to compromise the brightness of the color, some warm yellow, like cadmium yellow, can deliver a more subtle muting effect.
How To Make Light Teal Color
If you want your teal shade to look a little lighter, you can add some white paint to get the desired effect. However, keep in mind that white can make teal less bright and softer. So, if you want to lighten the color without losing its vibrancy, add some lime yellow to the mix.
Pro Tip: Don’t add too much yellow, or the teal shade’s tone will alter significantly.
How To Make Dark Teal Color
There are two ways to make dark teal color. The first one is to use deeper hues of blue and green to get a darker and more intense teal. Another way to achieve the color is to add black to the mix of blue and green but remember that this trick can sometimes dull the final shade.
Dark teal is a popular choice for accent walls, but before you mix large quantities of green and blue paint, read up on how much interior paint you need to paint your wall.
Pro Tip: Add black in very small quantities to the mix since it can quickly overpower any color.
How To Make Bright Teal Paint
The best way to give your teal color a ‘pick-me-up’ is to add some yellow to the paint. Since there are different shades of yellow to choose from, try a few to find the perfect shade.
What Colors Go With Teal Interior?
Since teal has the characteristics of both blue and green, it invokes a sense of tranquility and comfort. Although the color is very popular for home interiors, people often shy away from going all in with teal. The good news is, there are endless colors that work perfectly with teal; you just have to take care to pair it right.
If you’re looking for some inspiration to work teal into your home, here are 5 colors that pair well with it and create a rich and bold palette for any room.
1. Teal And Tan
Did you think creating a neutral space was impossible with teal? Think again.
Teal can be paired with any neutral hue like tan, beige, and grey for a classic look that still looks lively and fresh. If you’re worried teal may overpower your neutral interior, add the color sparingly for just the right amount of zing.
For example, you could introduce teal pillows to your tan bedroom or living room. Better yet, you could opt for bold teal prints for an extra punch of exuberance.
If you’re interested in creating a custom tan palette, this guide has everything you need to get the perfect hue of tan for your next project.
2. Teal And Tangerine
Teal is a happy color that makes you feel warm and comforted but when you pair it with a fun color like tangerine, it creates a whole different vibe!
If you think teal and tangerine might make a garish or harsh contrast, the placement of the two on the color wheel will convince you otherwise. Both colors are fairly close to each other, which makes the combination super fun and not overwhelming.
Consider pairing teal and tangerine with white to create an open and lively space. Also, introduce tangerine tastefully to ensure the room has just the right amount of popping color.
3. Teal And Wood
Here’s a color combination that is rustic and country chic.
Wood has a timeless appeal that adds warmth to any room. However, having too many wood tones in a space can seem daunting and dull. That’s where teal comes to the rescue!
Teal looks majestic paired with wood tones, and the variety of teal shades makes it effortless to add a splash of color that grounds the space and balances out the different shades of wood.
4. Teal And Grey
Many homeowners hesitate to add teal accents to grey interiors thinking that the combination might take away from the neutral vibe of the room. But the fact is, teal is the perfect color to bring out cool tones of grey and also add some personality and energy to the space.
The introduction can be as subtle as a teal-colored knitted throw on a grey sofa or as obvious as teal-colored curtains against a grey wall. Don’t be afraid to experiment with a few shades before settling for one.
5. Teal And Gold
Teal is a color that inspires regality, and when coupled with gold, it exudes an aura of opulence and grace.
At first glance, gold accents may come off as tacky, but when used sparingly and in combination with teal, they can truly elevate the mood of your home.
Just remember to use this color combination in small locations such as the bathroom, kitchen sink, or table decor so it doesn’t look too overpowering.
turquoise vs. teal
Most people confuse teal with turquoise and vice versa. That’s because both colors are the product of blue and green. However, a few differences can help you tell them apart.
- Turquoise is lighter, brighter, and more vibrant than teal.
- Teal is a darker color with low saturation.
- Teal leans toward blue, while turquoise has more green in it.
- Turquoise has a higher saturation than teal.
FAQs
How to make blue?
You can make a range of blue shades with magenta and cyan. But this blog can be very helpful if you want a step-by-step guide for making blue paint.
Does blue and green make teal?
Blue and green can be mixed together to get a basic teal color. However, you can also add white, yellow, and black to alter the shade’s brightness, depth, and tone.
Does yellow and blue make teal?
Yellow and blue are the two colors you need to make teal, but since it’s a tertiary color, you first need to mix yellow and blue to get green (a secondary color) and then add some more blue (a primary color) to the mix for a shade of teal.
Conclusion
Creating your own shades is fun and rewarding since you get to experiment with combinations that aren’t common. Imagine painting your masterpiece with a customized teal palette and making others wonder which store you brought the shades from.
Let’s keep them guessing!
