In Bedrock and Education editions, bone meal, ink sacs, lapis lazuli, and cocoa beans can generally substitute for white dye, black dye, blue dye, and brown dye, respectively, in crafting recipes and for use in dyeing items or mobs. However, they have other important uses that aren't related to color, and are therefore not considered true dyes. They are mentioned in this article only in regard to their use as dyeing agents; see their individual articles for complete information about them.
Contents
- 1 Obtaining
- 1.1 Crafting
- 1.2 Smelting
- 1.3 Trading
- 1.4 Chest loot
- 1.5 Other
- 2 Usage
- 2.1 Dyeing wool and mobs
- 2.2 Dyeing terracotta
- 2.3 Staining glass
- 2.4 Dyeing armor
- 2.5 Dyeing firework stars
- 2.6 Banner patterns
- 2.7 Dyeing shulker boxes
- 2.8 Creating concrete powder
- 2.9 Creating balloons
- 2.10 Creating glow sticks
- 2.11 Dyeing beds
- 2.12 Dyeing water inside cauldrons
- 2.13 Dyeing candles
- 2.14 Signs
- 2.15 Trading
- 3 Colors
- 3.1 Primary
- 3.2 Quasi-Primary
- 3.3 Secondary
- 4 Color values
- 5 Sounds
- 6 Achievements
- 7 Video
- 8 History
- 9 Trivia
- 10 References
- 11 External Links
Obtaining[]
Dyes can be produced by crafting them from plants (mainly flowers), by crafting dyes of different colors together, by smelting plants, or by trading with a wandering trader.
Crafting
Main article: Crafting/Dye
[edit]Smelting[]
NameIngredientsSmelting recipeGreen DyeCactus +Any fuel
1
Any fuel
0.2
Trading[]
Wandering traders can sell 3 dyes for an emerald. In Bedrock Edition, they can also sell 3 lapis lazuli, bone meal, cocoa beans, or ink sacs for one emerald.
Apprentice-level cleric villagers sell one lapis lazuli per emerald.
Chest loot[]
ItemStructureContainerQuantityChanceJava EditionGreen DyeVillageDesert house chest114.3%Bedrock EditionGreen DyeVillageDesert house chest114.3%Other[]
Ink sacs can also be created using 1 iron, 1 sulfur, and 4 oxygen in the compound creator. (Bedrock and Education editions only)
Usage[]
Similar to their use in crafting, bone meal, ink sacs, lapis lazuli, and cocoa beans can be substituted for the corresponding dye in any of the following usages unless otherwise specified.[Bedrock Edition only]
Dyeing wool and mobs[]
Players can dye wool by placing wool and any dye in a crafting grid.
IngredientsCrafting recipeDescriptionAny Wool +Matching Dye
Dyes can be used on sheep to change the color of the wool. Shearing a colored sheep drops the corresponding color of the wool, and the sheep retains the color when the wool regenerates. Breeding colored sheep produces a lamb colored as one of the parent sheep, or a color resulting from the combination of both parents' color. The color combining follows the same rules that dyes use – red and yellow sheep produce an orange lamb, but a blue and yellow sheep cannot create a green lamb. The unlimited reproduction of colored sheep makes dyeing and shearing sheep infinitely more efficient than just dyeing wool directly.
Dye can also be used on a tamed wolf or cat to change the color of its collar from the default red to the color of the dye.
Dyeing terracotta[]
Terracotta can be dyed by placing 8 blocks around a dye on a crafting table.
IngredientsCrafting recipeTerracotta +Matching Dye
8888888888888888
Staining glass[]
Stained glass can be stained by placing 8 blocks of glass around a dye on a crafting table. Just like regular glass, stained glass can be crafted into stained glass panes. The recipe for this is the same as with regular glass.
NameIngredientsCrafting recipeStained GlassGlass +Matching Dye
8888888888888888
Matching Dye
8888888888888888
Dyeing armor[]
A graph showing all combinations of two dyes on a tunic.
Leather armor can be dyed by:
- Crafting dyes with a piece of leather armor or leather horse armor.[Java Edition only]
- Dousing the leather armor or leather horse armor in a cauldron to which dyes have been added.[Bedrock Edition only]
There are 5,713,438[1] (34.1% of sRGB) colors leather armor can be, as it is possible to put more than one dye on the crafting bench alongside the leather armor. Armor can be dyed multiple times with previous colors affecting the final outcome. Colored armor can be reverted to their original color using a cauldron with undyed water.
The game has a specific formula for calculating the color of dyed armor: each color, in the RGB color model, has a red value, green value, and blue value. For each dye in the crafting grid, and the armor itself (if it is already dyed), the red, green, and blue values are added to running totals. In addition, a running total of the highest value (be it red, green, or blue) is also kept. After this, each total is divided by the number of colors used. This effectively produces the average red, green, blue, and maximum values. The maximum value of the average RGB values is also calculated. Finally, each average RGB value is multiplied by the average maximum value and divided by the maximum of the average RGB values. The modified average RGB values are then used as the final color. This procedure can be summed up with the following equations:
for each color (all "total" variables start at 0 before counting): totalRed = totalRed + redValue totalGreen = totalGreen + greenValue totalBlue = totalBlue + blueValue totalMaximum = totalMaximum + max(redValue, greenValue, blueValue) numberOfColors = numberOfColors + 1 averageRed = totalRed / numberOfColors averageGreen = totalGreen / numberOfColors averageBlue = totalBlue / numberOfColors averageMaximum = totalMaximum / numberOfColors maximumOfAverage = max(averageRed, averageGreen, averageBlue) gainFactor = averageMaximum / maximumOfAverage resultRed = averageRed * gainFactor resultGreen = averageGreen * gainFactor resultBlue = averageBlue * gainFactorDue to the way this formula works, the resulting color can never be darker than the average of the input colors and is often lighter and more saturated. Of course, the resulting color can never be lighter or more saturated than the lightest or most saturated input color. In addition, this formula never creates an RGB value higher than 255 (which would be invalid in the 8-bit RGB color model).
If leather armor is renamed on an anvil, it retains its name when dyed or undyed.
Mixing Samples+ = #FED83D+ + = #C898BE+ + = #B56D51Dyeing firework stars[]
A firework star can have a single color or a combination of up to eight colors when crafted with dyes. Adding one or more dyes to a crafted firework star adds a "fade to color" effect to it, overwriting any existing fade colors.
NameIngredientsCrafting recipeFirework StarGunpowder +Any Dye (1–8) +
Extra ingredient (optional)
Any Dye
Banner patterns[]
Main article: Banner § Patterns
Dyes are used in most banner patterns to determine the pattern and color displayed.
Dyeing shulker boxes[]
Shulker boxes are generated in a light shade of purple (like the purpur block), but can be dyed any color. They can also be re-dyed as often as desired.
NameIngredientsCrafting recipeShulker BoxAny Shulker Box +Matching Dye
Creating concrete powder[]
Dyes can also be used to craft concrete powder, which can then be set into their respective concrete blocks (they cannot be dyed directly).
IngredientsCrafting recipeSand +Gravel +
Matching Dye
8888888888888888
Creating balloons[]
Dye can be used to craft balloons.[Education Edition only]
IngredientsCrafting recipeLatex +Matching Dye +
Helium +
Lead
Creating glow sticks[]
Dye can also be used to craft glow sticks.[Education Edition only]
IngredientsCrafting recipePolyethylene +Hydrogen Peroxide +
Matching Dye +
Luminol
Dyeing beds[]
Players can dye beds by placing a bed and any color dye in a crafting grid.
IngredientsCrafting recipeDescriptionAny Bed +Matching Dye
Dyeing water inside cauldrons[]
Water can be dyed in a cauldron by holding any dye in the hand and pressing use on a cauldron filled with water.[Bedrock Edition only]
Dyeing candles[]
Players can dye candles by placing an undyed candle and any color dye in a crafting grid.
IngredientsCrafting recipeCandle +Matching Dye
Signs[]
Dye can be used on a sign or a hanging sign[upcoming: JE 1.20 & BE 1.20] to change the text color. In Bedrock Edition, ink sacs cannot be used for this purpose; black dye must be used to change the text to black.
Trading[]
Apprentice, journeyman and expert-level shepherd villagers buy any of the 12 dyes for an emerald.
Colors[]
Primary[]
These primary dyes are created only from ingredients spawned naturally in a world.
NameSourceBlack DyeInk Sac (crafting)Wither Rose (crafting)Blue DyeLapis Lazuli (crafting)
Cornflower (crafting)Brown DyeCocoa Beans (crafting)Green DyeCactus (smelting)Red DyePoppy (crafting)
Rose Bush (crafting)
Red Tulip (crafting)
Beetroot (crafting)White DyeBone Meal (crafting)
Lily of the Valley (crafting)Yellow DyeDandelion (crafting)
Sunflower (crafting)
Quasi-Primary[]
These dyes can be created from a single ingredient spawned naturally in a world, or by combining other dyes.
NameSourceCraftingLight Blue DyeBlue Orchid (crafting)Blue Dye[subst 1] + White Dye[subst 2]Light Gray DyeAzure Bluet (crafting)Oxeye Daisy (crafting)
White Tulip (crafting)
- White Dye[subst 2] + Gray Dye
- 2 White Dye[subst 2] + 1 Black Dye[subst 3]
Allium (crafting)
- Purple Dye + Pink Dye
- Red Dye + Blue Dye[subst 1] + Pink Dye
- 2 Red Dye + Blue Dye[subst 1] + White Dye[subst 2]
Pink Tulip (crafting)Red Dye + White Dye[subst 2]
- ↑ a b c Or Lapis Lazuli[BE only]
- ↑ a b c d e f Or Bone Meal[BE only]
- ↑ Or Ink Sac[BE only]
Secondary[]
Secondary dyes are created by combining primary dyes together.
NameSourceCyan Dye+ /Gray Dye/ + /Purple Dye+ /Color values[]
The "color codes" are used to determine the color imparted on sheep, wolf and cat collars, beacon beams, and dyed leather armor. The hex value is shown in the extended tooltips of dyed leather armor; however, to set the color using an NBT data tag in a command, the decimal value must be used instead.
DescriptionColor CodeDecHexBlack1908001#1D1D21Red11546150
#B02E26Green6192150
#5E7C16Brown8606770
#835432Blue3949738
#3C44AAPurple8991416
#8932B8Cyan1481884
#169C9CLight gray10329495
#9D9D97Gray4673362
#474F52Pink15961002
#F38BAALime8439583
#80C71FYellow16701501
#FED83DLight blue3847130
#3AB3DAMagenta13061821
#C74EBDOrange16351261
#F9801DWhite16383998
#F9FFFE
Sounds[]
Java Edition:
SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuationdistance//minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/File:Dye.oggDye stainsBlocksWhen dye is used on a signitem.dye.usesubtitles.item.dye.use1.00.9/0.95/1.116//minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/File:Dye.oggDye stainsPlayersWhen dye is used on a sheepitem.dye.usesubtitles.item.dye.use1.00.9/0.95/1.116
Bedrock Edition:
SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch//minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/File:Dye.oggSoundWhen dye is used on a signsign.dye.use1.01.0//minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/File:Water_Splash_Old.oggBlocksWhen dye is added to a cauldroncauldron.adddye0.11.0//minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/File:Water_Splash_Old.oggBlocksWhen armor is dyed using a cauldron#FED83D00.11.0//minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/File:Water_Splash_Old.oggBlocksWhen dye is removed from armor using a cauldron#FED83D10.11.0Achievements[]
IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS4)PS4OtherRainbow CollectionGather all 16 colors of wool.All the colors of wool do not have to be in the inventory at the same time, but must have been picked up by the player at least once.30GSilverTie Dye OutfitUse a cauldron to dye all 4 unique pieces of leather armor.—15GBronzeVideo[]
Note: This video is outdated, as it does not include details of the 1.7.2 update's changes to the dyeing system/production chain.History[]
Java Edition BetaJanuary 3, 2011Notch mentions adding a "paint" feature if he can figure out how.January 10, 2011[n 1](Experimental)22w42aThe color of the text on hanging signs can now be changed with dye.Pocket Edition Alphav0.3.0
Pre-release dye textures hidden within Items.png.
- ↑ Supposed time when fragment was filmed. Based on modified date of client.jar/gui/trap.png in Beta 1.2.
How do I dye water in Minecraft?
Using a dye on a cauldron filled with water colors the water, consuming the dye. Different dyes may be added to produce mixed colors. Using leather armor or leather horse armor on the cauldron dyes that item the color of the water, reducing the water in the cauldron by one level for each item dyed.How do you make a bucket of colored water in Minecraft?
Cauldrons can hold dyed water - but it can't put dyed water in buckets. It's like when you tap cauldron with dyed water with an empty bucket - The bucket will be filled with dyed water.