What Colours Make Tan?

In simple terms the colours white and brown can be used to make the colour tan. But in the CMYK colour model, it takes cyan, magenta and yellow to make tan.

A good light tan is: 15% cyan 25% magenta 35% yellow

A good darker tan is: 25% cyan 35% magenta 45% yellow 5% black

Tan is a pale brownish, tawny shade of brown. The name is derived from Tan Suttie, or crushed oak bark, that is used in the process for tanning leather. The resulting process often produces a hide with a 'tan' hue.

The first recorded use of tan as a shade name in English was in the year 1590.

Sun tanning or simply tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. The process is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or from artificial sources, such as a tanning bed, but can also be a result of windburn or reflected light. Many people deliberately tan their skin by exposure to the sun, called sun bathing, or by the use of artificial tanning methods. Some people use chemical products which can produce a tanning result without exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Moderate exposure to the sun has a beneficial impact, including the production of vitamin D by the body; but excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays has detrimental health effects, including possible sunburn and even skin cancer. To avoid sunburn, most people apply suitable sunscreen to skin exposed to the sun, but others use oils to accelerate the tanning process.

Some people tan or sunburn more easily than others. This may be the result of different skin types and natural skin color, and these may be as a result of genetics. In general, a paler skin color is more quickly burnt than a darker one.

If by "tan" you mean that light brown that Caucasian skin turns when exposed to the sun, and you want to make this with paints or dyes, you'll need to mix brown with white. The more white you add, the lighter the shade of "tan".

You can make brown by adding red to green, and you can make green by adding blue to yellow. Red, blue and yellow are primary pigments. If the brown you make is too yellowy, add a tiny bit of blue. If it is too green, add a tiny bit of red. Experimenting with the mix is essential to good colour blending.

Lighter Tans Contain White, small amount of brown and very small amount of yellow.
Darker Tans Contain White, Brown, small amount of yellow and very small amount of black.

Tan is a colour that is made out of brown and some other shade. Thus it can be described as a colour which is a shade of brown. This name was first used in English during the year 1590. This name was taken from the word tannum which means or indicates the colour of crushed oak bark.

This bark is extensively used in tannin which is the process of making leather. This process also helps to make the colour which is named as tan. You can make tan by mixing brown with white. You can also try to make this colour by trying it out first in the colour palettes found in various sites on the internet. You can also mix and make several other shades of colour.