What Colors Make Olive Green?

The mix of colors for creating olive green, whether in paints, dyes or for frosting or icing, depends on the exact shade desired.

Identification

Olive green varies from a medium yellowish green, similar to the color of green olives, to a dark, brownish green, to the grayish olive drab associated with military-issue clothing.

Features

A standard olive or olive green--a muddy, medium green--can be made by combining yellow oxide or primary yellow with primary blue or green, and a small amount of black or white. Yellow acts as the base color. The proportion of colors used varies with the shade of olive green.

Effects

Adding a small amount of red oxide or primary red will produce a browner shade. Yellow oxide and black, or yellow oxide, white and black create a grayer olive drab.

Food Coloring

Olive green-colored frosting or icing--sometimes called khaki--is made by mixing primary yellow, black and primary blue or green tint paste with a white frosting or icing base.

Considerations

Adding orange, brown or purple shades to the mix of colors is likely to produce a gray, murky shade that doesn't resemble any olive green tint.

References

• Jeff Thompson, Color Manager; Watson Coatings, St. Louis
• Handprint