What Color Do Blue and Purple Make? Complete Guide to Mixing, Shades, and Real-World Examples
When you mix blue and purple, the result is a bluish-purple, often described as blue-violet or indigo. The exact shade depends on the ratio of the two colors and the medium you’re working in paint, light, or digital printing.
Since purple itself is created by mixing red and blue, when blue and purple mixed together, the result shifts toward the cooler side of the spectrum. This creates shades ranging from soft lavender and periwinkle to deep indigo and midnight violet.
In practice, the blue and purple mix may appear as gentle pastels, balanced tones, or darker shades including indigo and midnight violet-blue. This guide explores mixing in RYB (paint), RGB (digital), and CMYK (printing) models, along with real-world examples and practical tips.
Understanding the color wheel and models helps explain what happens when blue and purple are mixed.
RYB Color Wheel (Paint): Blue is a primary color, and purple is secondary (red + blue). Mixing them creates a tertiary color called blue-violet. More blue creates cool indigo; more purple creates warmer violet tones.
RGB Color Wheel (Digital/Light): Blue is a primary light color, while purple already contains blue. Adding blue light strengthens cool tones, resulting in luminous violet-blue shades.
CMYK Color Wheel (Printing/Inks): Purple (cyan + magenta) mixed with cyan produces bluish-violet hues. Adjusting cyan, magenta, and black creates lighter tints or deeper tones.
Mixing Blue and Purple in Paint (RYB Model)
The main outcome is blue-violet, but exact shades depend on ratios:
Blue-Violet (#8A2BE2): Balanced mix
Indigo (#4B0082): More blue
Violet-Leaning Blue (#6A5ACD): More purple
Adding white creates pastels like lavender (#E6E6FA) and periwinkle (#CCCCFF). Adding black or deep pigments creates dramatic shades like deep indigo (#310062) and midnight violet-blue (#2E0854).
Mixing Blue and Purple in Light (RGB Model)
Mixing blue and purple light results in vibrant bluish-purple shades:
Blue-Violet (#8A2BE2): Balanced mix
Electric Indigo (#6F00FF): More blue light
Bright Violet-Blue (#7C83FF): More purple light
Adding white or brightness creates pastels such as lavender glow (#E6E6FA) and periwinkle glow (#CCCCFF). Reducing brightness gives dark tones like deep digital indigo (#310062) and midnight RGB violet-blue (#2E0854).
Mixing Blue and Purple in Printing (CMYK Model)
In printing, blue and purple inks create blue-violet hues. Adjusting cyan, magenta, and black changes the tone:
Blue-Violet (#8A2BE2): Balanced cyan and magenta
Indigo (#4B0082): More cyan, some black
Violet-Blue (#6A5ACD): More magenta
Light tints (lavender, periwinkle, light blue-violet) are achieved by reducing ink coverage. Dark shades (deep indigo, midnight violet-blue, blue-black violet) are created by adding black ink.
Real-World Examples of Blue and Purple Mixing
These shades appear in nature, art, and design:
Twilight skies and sunsets showing indigo and violet-blue gradients
Flowers such as lavender, violets, and pansies
Gemstones like amethyst, iolite, and sapphire
Fashion, textiles, digital gradients, and neon designs
Blue-violet and indigo convey creativity, imagination, intuition, and serenity in psychological and cultural symbolism.
Conclusion
Mixing blue and purple creates a versatile range of colors. Balanced mixes produce blue-violet (#8A2BE2), more blue gives indigo (#4B0082), and more purple creates violet-blue (#6A5ACD). Adding white produces pastels like lavender and periwinkle, while black produces dark tones like deep indigo or blue-black violet.
Whether mixing paint, blending digital light, or printing, blue and purple combinations are powerful tools for art, design, fashion, and decoration.
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