Red is considered to be a primary color that cannot be formed by mixing other colors. However, if you want to make shades of red, you can use two primary colors, namely magenta and yellow.

Magenta is a pinkish-purple color that falls between blue and red on the color spectrum, while yellow is a sunny color that falls between green and orange. When these two colors are combined, they produce a range of shades from orange to red.
To better understand how these two colors blend to create red, it’s important to have a basic understanding of color theory. The color wheel is a circular diagram that shows how colors relate to one another. It displays the relationships between primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.
The primary colors are red, blue, and yellow, and they cannot be created by mixing other colors together. Secondary colors such as orange, green, and purple are created by blending two primary colors. Tertiary colors, on the other hand, are formed by blending a primary color with a secondary color.
When you look at the color wheel, you’ll see that magenta sits between blue and red, while yellow is situated between green and orange. Mixing magenta and yellow is therefore equivalent to blending blue and red with green and orange.
The result of blending magenta and yellow depends on the ratio of each color used. If you blend equal amounts of magenta and yellow, you’ll obtain an orange shade. As you increase the quantity of magenta in the mix, the shade will become redder, culminating in a true red when the ratio of magenta to yellow is 1:0.
It’s important to note that the quality and intensity of the colors used can also influence the final outcome. For instance, a low-quality magenta that leans more towards purple than pink will create a different shade of red than a high-quality magenta. Similarly, the final shade of red will be influenced if a pale yellow is used instead of a bright one.
Aside from magenta and yellow, there are other colors that can be used to create shades of red. For instance, mixing red with a small quantity of blue results in a burgundy hue. When a little yellow is mixed with red, an orange-red shade is achieved.
To summarize, magenta and yellow are the two primary colors that can be combined to create shades of red. Nonetheless, the final shade of red produced depends on the ratios and qualities of the colors used. While color theory can be complicated, understanding the fundamentals can help you create the desired colors for your projects or artwork.