How to Mix Gold Color Paint at Home: Flat & Metallic Finishes

Gold symbolizes magic, wealth, and glamour, which makes it a popular color for paintings and crafts. However, it’s one of the most difficult colors to mix because it has both warm and cool undertones. Luckily, with some knowledge of color mixing, you can combine a variety of paint colors to create the perfect gold shade for your needs. You can even add pigment or glitter to make a sparkly, metallic gold! We spoke with Figurative Artist Veronica Winters to learn how to mix the perfect shade of gold for every project. Read on to discover her tips!

Making Gold Paint

Mix equal parts brown and yellow to make a mustard-colored gold, or stir together black, red, and yellow to create a deep gold. Adjust the tone by adding yellow, red, blue, or white. Sprinkle a pinch of gold iridescent pigment for a metallic color. Alternatively, mix in some gold glitter for a bright, sparkly effect.

Section 1 of 4:

Making a Gold Base

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1
Mix equal parts of brown and yellow to make a goldenrod shade. Winter says, “In general, the color of gold consists of some brown paint…burnt sienna or burnt umber [mixed with] yellow ochre or raw sienna, and white.” If you have a tube of brown paint on hand, this is the easiest way to make gold. Simply stir together equal parts of the yellow and brown oil or acrylic paint to make a more traditional mustard-colored gold. For more shades, add different colors to the mix.
- If the color looks beige or bland, try adding a drop of red and a drop of blue to bring out the undertones.
- Add 1 part pink to 2 parts gold to make rose gold or 2 parts brown to 1 part yellow to make bronze gold.
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Stir together red, blue, and yellow to make a brown-based gold. First, mix together equal parts yellow and blue to create a green shade. Then, mix together an equal amount of the green shade and red to make brown. Finally, mix an equal amount of brown and yellow to make a brown-based gold. For a brighter gold, continue adding yellow until you reach the desired shade.^{[1]
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- If you make the shade too yellow-toned, add a drop of blue and a drop of red to balance it out with purple tones.
- For a more brown-toned shade, add more red than blue to the original mixture.
- Winters says, “Metals reflect the surrounding colors. For instance, if a golden candle holder is placed next to a red wallpaper, the gold will have some red mixed into it. Also, the warm and cool light affects color perception, and more colors could be added to the basic mix. Finally, gold in the shadow would look dark and less ‘golden’ than the one in the light.” She recommends adding colors, like cadmium yellows or reds, depending on the reflections in your piece.
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Combine equal parts black, red, and yellow to create a deep gold. In a cup or on a paint palette, make a bright orange by mixing equal parts of yellow and red. Add a drop of black to the orange. Then, add a drop of yellow to the mixture to make it lighter and brighter. This creates a shade that closely resembles true gold.^{[2]
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- For more warmth, mix in a drop of red, magenta, brown, or orange, depending on your desired color.
- To make a cooler shade, add a drop of light blue.
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Adjust the tone of the color by adding yellow, red, blue, or white. In general, if you’re looking to adjust the gold that you’ve already mixed, stick to primary colors and white. Adding red will make the gold warmer, and blue will give it a cooler tone. Yellow will help to even out colors that are too warm or cool, and white will make the colors lighter.^{[3]
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- Winter says, “Gold in the shadow would look dark and less "golden" than the one in the light, which prompts different color mixing for light and shadow.”
Tip: If you want to make gold darker, add brown instead of black to avoid giving it a blue tint. Black should always be used sparingly unless you’re working with gray-based colors.

Section 2 of 4:

Adding Sparkle and Shine

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1
Add a few drops of white to make the glitter or pigment shine. When you make a sparkly or metallic shade, the shine will be more pronounced on a lighter color. Mixing white with any color makes it lighter. Add 2-3 drops of white into the gold that you mixed, and stir it after each drop—but don’t overdo it. White also dulls a paint color if you use too much.^{[4]
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Research source} Once you’ve reached a color that’s 1-2 shades lighter than your original color, add gold glitter or pigment.
- If you’re happy with the shade, you don’t have to make it lighter. Most glitter and metallic shades tend to dry brighter than they look when they’re applied.
Purchase a gold or pearl iridescent pigment, like mica or craft pigment, in a hobby store or online. Add a very small amount at first, and mix it thoroughly. Then, use a brush to paint a test swatch of the color, and hold it under direct light to make sure it’s as shiny as you like.^{[5]
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Using Iridescent Pigments

Wait for the paint to dry to get the full effect. When you first apply the gold paint, it might not look shiny. As the paint dries, it will become more metallic.

Use very small amounts of pigment to keep the shine subtle. Metallic golds are shiny, but you shouldn’t be able to see individual sparkles in the paint. Add another pinch for more shine.

Look at the paint from an angle to get the best view. The color of the metallic shimmer will depend on how you look at the paint. Try moving your head around or shining light on the paint from different angles to get the full effect.
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Mix gold glitter into the paint for a bright, sparkly shade. Get a container of gold or translucent craft glitter or micro-glitter from the craft store, and mix a pinch of the glitter into the paint. Use a brush to paint a swatch of the gold and let it dry. Then, hold the swatch under direct light to view the glitter.^{[6]
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- Use more glitter for larger amounts of paint. Swatch after adding more glitter to see if the amount of glitter is to your liking.
- Keep in mind that large pieces of glitter will be less effective since the paint will coat the flecks of plastic. Try to purchase the smallest glitter available to get a sparkly, shiny effect.
- This is a great option for painting walls and furniture because the glitter will be visible from all angles.
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Apply a layer of paint and then coat it with glitter for a textured look. Once you have your gold base, apply the paint to a canvas, jar, or other item. Then, use your hands or a brush to stick gold glitter onto the wet paint for a 3D effect. Let the paint dry and apply a sealant or clear varnish to ensure that the glitter doesn’t fall off.^{[7]
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- This is a great idea for crafts or paintings because it allows you to apply the glitter anywhere.

Section 3 of 4:

Alternatives to Gold Paint

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Bring gold to your art with other art supplies, like gold leaf. For an even stronger pop of gold, consider choosing a pre-mixed commercial gold metallic paint. This is an especially good option for an authentic metallic-looking sheen for your art. While it’s possible to add shimmer to the gold paint you mixed, the effect is often more even when you purchase it. A few other options for adding a glint of gold to your work are:
- Gold leaf: Gold leaf is an extremely thin sheet of gold that artists and artisans use to gild manuscripts, ornamental designs, art, and even food. However, gold leaf is a little tricky to work with. Squares of gold leaf are so thin and delicate that they move with a light breath.^{[8]
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- Gilding wax: Gilding wax is a mixture of beeswax and metallic pigments. Artists and craftsmen use it to add a metallic finish to their work. Most commonly, gilding wax is used to embellish wood carvings, but it looks great on any textured surface.^{[9]
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- Gold paint pens: Gold paint pens are filled with metallic ink, oil paint, or pigments. They’re incredibly handy for adding gold to finely detailed work.

Section 4 of 4:

How to Make Gold Color for Print & Digital

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Use RGB codes to create gold in a digital format. The RGB color system uses red, green, and blue colors of light to reproduce other colors on a screen. Programmers use the RGB color system to represent things like background and font colors on a website or software application. They use several formats to add the color gold to code, including:^{[10]
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- HEX code for gold is #FFD700. HEX code, short for hexadecimal code, is the most popular format for adding color to code.
- A more intuitive code for color is HSL, which stands for hue, saturation, and lightness. The HSL code for gold is h: 51°, s: 100%, l: 50%.^{[11]
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- HSV, short for hue, saturation, and value, is very similar to the HSL color codes. The HSV code for gold is h: 51°, s: 100%, v: 100%.^{[12]
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Use CMYK percentages to create gold for printed mediums. CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black and is also referred to as 4-color printing. Printers use this color system for offset printing of full-color documents.
- The CMYK code for gold is c: 0%, m: 16%, y: 100%, k: 0%.^{[13]
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What colors make a gold color?

Veronica Winters
Figurative Artist
Veronica Winters is a Figurative Artist who owns an online art gallery and studio in Naples, Florida. With over 20 years of experience, Veronica specializes in surreal figurative oil paintings and colored pencil drawings. In 2022, she won the Award for Distinction at the 30th Annual Colored Pencil Society of America International Exhibition. Veronica is also a published author of two art books: How to Color Like an Artist and The Colored Pencil Manual. She received her BFA in Studio Art at Oklahoma State University and her MFA in Painting at Pennsylvania State University. Veronica also studied classical drawing at the Grand Central Academy of Art and the Art Students League of New York.

Veronica Winters

Figurative Artist

Expert Answer

In general, the color of gold consists of some brown paint—burnt sienna, burnt umber, yellow ochre, and white—, but this question doesn't really have a straight answer, because metals reflect the surrounding colors a lot, which could vary a great deal. For instance if a golden candle holder is placed next to a red wallpaper, the gold will have some red mixed into it. Also, the warm/cool light affects color perception and more colors could be added to the basic mix.

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I have mostly chocolate brown, red, and yellow. What color will I end up with?

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It depends on the amount of each color you use, it can range from a light brown to a murky orange.

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I purchased 2 gal of gold paint and do not like what colors I have. Can I mix them with the gold to make a different color?

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Yes, you can mix it with red to make like a cool golden maroon. if you mix it with green, it makes a warm olive color. if you mix it pink, it makes it like a pink-ish maroon. However, do experiment with just small amounts first before mixing the whole lot or you could end up with a pail of bad paint.

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Tips

Try a few different methods to see which technique produces the right shade of gold for your needs.

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Start with small amounts of paint first to determine the right ratio of colors, and then work with larger amounts in the same ratio.

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