What color do brown and black make?
Brown and Black make black.
Brown and Black make black, #291400. That is the result in equal parts, mixing pigment rather than light - paint, ink and dye all behave this way.
Equal parts brown and black · #291400
Change the ratio
Very little of a mix is ever half and half. Shifting the balance moves the result along the range between the two colours.
3 parts brown, 1 part black · #572c00
Equal parts · #291400
1 part brown, 3 parts black · #261300
Lighter and darker
With white added - a tint · #705438
With black added - a shade · #261300
Why it works
Adding black to brown makes a shade. Black absorbs across the whole spectrum, so the result keeps its hue but loses brightness and some saturation, which is how brown becomes black.
Frequently asked questions
What color do brown and black make?
Brown and Black make black, #291400. Mixed in equal parts that is the result you get with paint, ink or any other pigment.
How do I make the result lighter or darker?
Add white for a tint - here that gives brown. Add black for a shade, which gives black. Add white a little at a time, because it takes far less than people expect to shift a mix.
What happens if I use more brown than black?
Three parts brown to one part black gives maroon. Reversing it to one part brown and three parts black gives black instead.
Does this work the same way on a screen?
No. Screens mix light additively, so red and green light make yellow there. These results are subtractive - paint, ink, dye and pigment - which is what people mean when they ask what two colours make.