What color do gold and grey make?
Gold and Grey make sage.
Gold and Grey make sage, #b3a043. That is the result in equal parts, mixing pigment rather than light - paint, ink and dye all behave this way.
Equal parts gold and grey · #b3a043
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 grey · #d9bc29
Equal parts · #b3a043
1 part gold, 3 parts grey · #8c824f
Lighter and darker
With white added - a tint · #ccc499
With black added - a shade · #665a1a
Why it works
Pigment mixes subtractively: gold paint absorbs the wavelengths it is not reflecting, grey absorbs its own set, and sage is what neither of them absorbed. This is why paint behaves differently from a screen, where light adds together instead.
Frequently asked questions
What color do gold and grey make?
Gold and Grey make sage, #b3a043. 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 tan. Add black for a shade, which gives brown. 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 grey?
Three parts gold to one part grey gives amber. Reversing it to one part gold and three parts grey gives slate grey 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.