What color do gold and black make?
Gold and Black make brown.
Gold and Black make brown, #665500. That is the result in equal parts, mixing pigment rather than light - paint, ink and dye all behave this way.
Equal parts gold and black · #665500
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 gold, 1 part black · #b39500
Equal parts · #665500
1 part gold, 3 parts black · #262000
Lighter and darker
With white added - a tint · #998c4d
With black added - a shade · #332b00
Why it works
Adding black to gold makes a shade. Black absorbs across the whole spectrum, so the result keeps its hue but loses brightness and some saturation, which is how gold becomes brown.
Frequently asked questions
What color do gold and black make?
Gold and Black make brown, #665500. 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 sage. Add black for a shade, which gives maroon. 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 gold than black?
Three parts gold to one part black gives olive. Reversing it to one part gold 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.