How to Make Burnt Umber
Dark, warm earth-brown - the classic iron-oxide pigment used since the Italian Renaissance.
Recipe: Iron oxide pigment (PBr7) - or Red + Yellow + Black (5:3:2)
The correct burnt umber is the pigment PBr7 - a calcined natural iron-and-manganese oxide. Every major paint manufacturer sells it. There is no good substitute mixed from primaries, but if you must mix one: red + yellow at 5:3 plus black at 20% gives a workable approximation. Better still: burnt sienna plus ultramarine blue plus a touch of ivory black, which captures more of the warmth and transparency of true burnt umber. The pigment behaves slightly differently across brands - Daniel Smith's burnt umber is warmer than Winsor & Newton's, which is in turn warmer than Golden's. Match the tube to the use case rather than treating burnt umber as one shade.
What Is Burnt Umber?
Burnt umber is one of the most important pigments in the history of Western painting. It is a natural iron-and-manganese earth pigment (Color Index PBr7) extracted historically from the Umbria region of Italy (whence umber), then heated (burnt) to oxidise the iron and shift the colour from the cooler raw umber to the warmer red-brown burnt umber. It has been used continuously since at least the 15th century and appears in nearly every Italian, Dutch, and Flemish Old Master painting. The classic 17th-century Dutch portrait shadow tones are mostly burnt umber over raw umber. The pigment is exceptionally permanent, opaque-to-transparent depending on grind, and dries fast in oil (a property that made it the standard underpainting pigment from Caravaggio through the academic 19th century). Wikipedia gives burnt umber at #8A3324. The pigment is too important and too varied between brands to mix from primaries unless absolutely necessary - buy the tube. Daniel Smith, Winsor & Newton, Golden, and Old Holland all sell reliable burnt umber.
Variations of Burnt Umber
Light Burnt Umber
#A05844
Burnt Umber + Yellow Ochre + White (3:1:2)
Dark Burnt Umber
#5E2718
Burnt Umber + Ultramarine (4:1)
Cool Burnt Umber
#7A3424
Burnt Umber + Payne's Grey (5:1)
Making Burnt Umber in Different Media
Acrylic Paint
Full guide →Golden Heavy Body Burnt Umber, Liquitex Burnt Umber, or Winsor & Newton Galeria Burnt Umber. All three are PBr7 and behave similarly; Golden tends warmer, Liquitex sits in the middle, W&N Galeria runs slightly cooler. Mix on a palette knife.
Oil Paint
Full guide →Old Holland Burnt Umber or Michael Harding Burnt Umber are the premium options. Both dry fast (12-24 hours) and were historically used for underpainting. In oil, burnt umber glazes beautifully over a yellow ochre underpainting for Old Master shadow effects.
Watercolour
Full guide →Daniel Smith Burnt Umber is the canonical watercolour version - high pigment load, granulating, transparent at dilution. Winsor & Newton Professional Burnt Umber is slightly less granular. Both are PBr7 and lightfast.
Food Colouring
Full guide →Burnt umber is not a typical food-colouring target. For wood-effect or gingerbread-house tile fondant: 3 drops red + 2 drops yellow + 2 drops blue + 1 teaspoon of Dutch-process cocoa per cup of fondant. Better suited to royal-icing wood-grain work than buttercream.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- 1Substituting burnt sienna for burnt umber - they are different pigments with different behaviour. Burnt sienna is warmer and more transparent; burnt umber is darker and more opaque. They are not interchangeable.
- 2Mixing burnt umber from black + red without yellow - produces a flat purple-brown rather than the warm umber tone. Always include yellow ochre or yellow oxide.
- 3Treating burnt umber as a finished shadow colour - in oil and acrylic it is most powerful when glazed over a contrasting underpainting, not used flat at full strength.
- 4Overmixing with cool blues like phthalo - shifts burnt umber toward the cooler raw umber zone. Use ultramarine or French ultramarine for adjustments instead.
Try It in the Mixer
Caramel
RGB(204, 122, 120)
Paint mode uses an approximate RYB subtractive model. Results are a close approximation - actual pigment mixing varies by brand and opacity.
Pre-loaded with the Burnt Umber recipe. Adjust the sliders to fine-tune.
Related Shades
Colour recipes are approximations. Real pigment mixing varies by brand, opacity, and surface. Always test on a sample first.