What color is obtained by mixing red and yellow?

Mixing red and yellow produces orange, especially in the familiar subtractive model used for paints, dyes, and other pigments. Orange is therefore commonly described as a secondary color made by combining the primary colors red and yellow.

The exact result depends on the materials and proportions. A larger amount of red can produce a red-orange, while more yellow creates a yellow-orange. The particular pigments also matter: some paints contain hidden undertones that make the mixture brighter, duller, browner, or more muted than expected.

This answer applies to physical color mixing, not every color system. In additive light mixing, the primary colors are usually red, green, and blue; combining red and green light produces yellow rather than orange. Orange light can be produced by using a suitable wavelength or by combining light sources in the right intensities. Mixing red and yellow paint is the classroom example intended by this question. Brown may appear if the pigments are dark or contaminated, but it is not the canonical result of a clean red-yellow mixture.