What color do purple and black make?
Purple and Black make black.
Purple and Black make black, #330033. That is the result in equal parts, mixing pigment rather than light - paint, ink and dye all behave this way.
Equal parts purple and black · #330033
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 purple, 1 part black · #5a005a
Equal parts · #330033
1 part purple, 3 parts black · #130013
Lighter and darker
With white added - a tint · #734d73
With black added - a shade · #1a001a
Why it works
Adding black to purple makes a shade. Black absorbs across the whole spectrum, so the result keeps its hue but loses brightness and some saturation, which is how purple becomes black.
Frequently asked questions
What color do purple and black make?
Purple and Black make black, #330033. 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 grey. 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 purple than black?
Three parts purple to one part black gives indigo. Reversing it to one part purple 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.