What Color Is Umber? About Umber Color

Are you curious about what color is umber? Keep reading to learn more about the characteristics, history, and combinations of this color.

Umber is an earth color with naturally brown or reddish-brown tones.

The term Umber originates from the Italian name for the color terra d’ombra, which means “earth of Umbria.”

Also, the term links to the Latin word umbra, which means “shadow.” The pigment was first produced in Umbria, a mountain area in central Italy.

What Color Is Umber?

Umber is a color that comes in a variety of shades, ranging from medium to dark. It can have yellowish tones to reddish and grey tones. The amount of iron oxide and manganese determines the color of umber.

Raw umber refers to its natural state. The hue intensifies when heated, with the result called burnt umber.

Raw umber has a hex color code of #826644, while burnt umber has a hex color code of #8a3324.

History of Umber Color

Umber was among the first pigments used by mankind, and we see it in Neolithic cave paintings. Artists have used umber since our ancient ancestors created images by smearing soil on cave walls as a decent estimate for beasts’ auburn fur.

Umber emerged as a subtle artistic element. The pigment lent a reddish dimension to more vivid hues when mixed on the artist’s palette a few thousands of years later, from the Neolithic era to the verge of the Renaissance.

The baroque period was the golden age of umber. During this time, umber was used to create dark shades in the chiaroscuro style of painting.

Caravaggio and Rembrandt used the color umber significantly in their works.

What Colors Go Well with Umber?

Umber color is one of the most popular options for painting, whether using oil, acrylic, or watercolor. In addition, umber appears in other arts and crafts or design projects.

This earth color is great on its own, but it also pairs well with other colors. Discover the different raw umber color combinations you can try below.

Raw Umber and Burnt Umber

Burnt umber contains slightly deeper tones that pair well with raw umber. There are only minor differences between the two colors, but they combine to form a strong pairing in a variety of artwork, so it is quite famous in the field.

Raw Umber and Raw Sienna

Raw sienna is also a standard earth hue that most artists have in their palettes. Both raw sienna and raw umber have distinct tonal contrasts that will influence how to use them in any artwork, while their combination works in a variety of ways.

Raw sienna is more orange in color, however, depending on the origin of raw sienna, it might appear dark yellow.

Raw Umber and Burnt Sienna

Burnt sienna is among the most popular options because it has a broad array of applications in a variety of colors. Raw umber and burnt sienna combine well. Plus, burnt sienna also has a ton of uses on its own, depending on your objectives for your particular work of art.

The method for making burned sienna is nearly identical to that for making burnt umber. Basically, you use raw sienna and heat it to a specific temperature to calcify it, which causes the iron oxide to become the dominant hue, resulting in the color’s reddish tones.

Raw Umber and Yellow Ochre

In basic earth colors, yellow ochre is a dull yellow. It can combine well with raw umber when used in the same artwork. However, mixing yellow ochre and raw umber together to produce a new single hue can be a problem.

Therefore, most prefer to use the two colors on their own or just combine them with other colors that complement each other to make a piece of art wonderful.

Raw Umber and Maroon

Raw umber and maroon are common under-drawing colors. The raw umber is browner and the maroon is considerably redder. Both hues are quite versatile because they function well on their own, in combination, and with additional color selections.

Raw Umber and Sepia

Sepia is a deep brown that is extremely close to raw umber. So, many prefer either raw umber or sepia in their paint palette instead of both. Because the two colors are nearly identical, it is simple to understand the reason many people choose to just get one to lessen expenses.

The Bottom Line

Umber is one of the many earth colors available. We hope this article was informative, and that we could assist you in understanding the color umber and selecting the best color combinations for your art project or design goals.