Olive Drab `#6B8E23`

Olive Drab (#6B8E23) is a mid-tone, saturated yellow-green with an OKLCH hue of 126°, lightness 0.6 and chroma 0.137. It sits on the transitional side of the color wheel. In practice it behaves as an accent color: strong in focal moments, dominant over large fields.

Color values

HEX	`#6B8E23`
RGB	`rgb(107, 142, 35)`
HSL	`hsl(80, 60%, 35%)`
HSV	`hsv(80, 75%, 56%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(25%, 0%, 75%, 44%)`
CIE Lab	`lab(54.7 -28.2 49.7)`
OKLCH	`oklch(0.599 0.137 126)`

How Olive Drab behaves under real light

Under warm 2700K interior light Olive Drab shifts subtly: leans toward yellow; in north-facing or shaded light it is virtually unchanged. Overall drift across common illuminants is small (max ΔE ≈ 1.3), so it is a lighting-stable choice.

Warm interior (2700K incandescent / warm LED): → #728a1a — ΔE 1.3, shifts subtly: leans toward yellow
Neutral LED (4000K task and retail lighting): → #708e1f — ΔE 0.6, shifts subtly: leans toward yellow
Daylight (6500K standard daylight (reference)): → #6b8e23 — ΔE 0.0, is virtually unchanged
North light / shade (~7500K diffuse blue-sky light): → #6b8f25 — ΔE 0.3, is virtually unchanged

Contrast & accessibility

Against white it measures 3.81:1 and against black 5.52:1, so black text is the stronger pairing. That pairing passes WCAG AA for body text.

Palettes built from Olive Drab

Tonal

One color explored: close hues with real lightness and chroma structure, so the palette is the anchor through value rather than a set of colors.

#c6e499 · #9cbd68 · #6b8e23 · #527200 · #364c00 · #1b2900

Analogous

The anchor's neighbours on the wheel — everything shares an undertone, so the chord carries color without anything having to be muted to get along.

#65b98b · #63a55e · #6b8e23 · #737400 · #705c00 · #674600

Shifted

The mid-gap pairing — sage and mustard, terracotta and olive. A foil rotated 40–65° toward warm or cool: too far to be kin, too near to argue, carried by temperature and a deliberate value offset.

#31dabe · #6dad9e · #6b8e23 · #526e16 · #395100 · #00372e

Contrast

One deliberately opposed voice — a single restrained counterpoint across the wheel, or temperature against temperature where the anchor is too muted to carry a loud opposite.

#dfeecc · #b7cd98 · #9ba68b · #6b8e23 · #74479d · #39491e

Quiet Support

The anchor as the only color in the room. True neutrals or complement-warmed near-neutrals let it stay dominant.

#f5effc · #979f8c · #6b8e23 · #68646d · #262d1b · #010003

Bright Accent

This color as a ground rather than a subject — its own restraint held across a narrow value band, carrying one saturated voice from the opposite temperature.

#f4effa · #ccc6d3 · #a099a8 · #271f30 · #06020d · #6b8e23

Complementary

The opposite hue on the perceptual wheel, tempered to field strength — warm/cool tension without vibration.

#aeddd5 · #76a773 · #6b8e23 · #6e5e98 · #2e23da · #04121e

Split-complementary

The complement's two neighbours instead of the complement itself — strong contrast with a lower clash risk.

#aedbe8 · #d668a9 · #6b8e23 · #746692 · #4e4e6c · #031108

Triadic

Three hues spaced evenly around the wheel; the anchor leads and the other two are held at supporting strength.

#e7f4ff · #5ea1db · #6b8e23 · #a43d59 · #540021 · #000615

Tetradic

Two complementary pairs offset by 90° — the richest chord, kept usable by a strict lightness hierarchy.

#dcf7ff · #32acc7 · #6b8e23 · #7a4da3 · #500f00 · #05000f

Tints, shades & muted variants

Tints

#80A049 · #95B268 · #AAC486 · #C1D6A3 · #D7E8C1

Shades

#56760F · #435E00 · #324700 · #213100 · #111C00

Muted

#6F8C40 · #748954 · #788666

Using Olive Drab

Its chroma is high enough to carry accents, calls to action, and focal moments; large fields of it will dominate a composition. In palettes it pairs most predictably with its tonal ramp and analogous neighbors; reserve the complementary hue for small, deliberate contrast.