Wild watermelon
A bright pinkish-red shade first named by Crayola in 1990
Wild watermelon is a vivid pink-red colour with the hex code #FC6C85, created by Crayola. Originally called Ultra red in 1972, it was renamed wild watermelon in 1990 and falls within the carmine family. The colour is meant to appear fluorescent, though this effect cannot be shown on screens.
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- First named Ultra red by Crayola in 1972
- Renamed wild watermelon in 1990
- Hex code is #FC6C85
- Falls within the carmine colour range
- Intended to be fluorescent, but screens cannot show this
What colour is Wild watermelon?
Wild watermelon is a strong pinkish-red shade, standing out for its brightness and lively tone. It sits within the carmine range, which includes other vivid reds. This colour was designed to look fluorescent, giving it a glowing quality in real life, though screens cannot show this effect. Its eye-catching appearance sets it apart from softer pinks and deeper reds.
Where does Wild watermelon come from?
The colour was first introduced by Crayola in 1972 under the name Ultra red. In 1990, it was renamed wild watermelon. The name and shade are both part of Crayola's tradition of playful, descriptive colour names. Its hue code is 350, placing it among carmine colours.
How Wild watermelon is defined
Wild watermelon is a standard colour value defined by Crayola for use in crayons and digital palettes. Its hex code is #FC6C85. While it is supposed to be fluorescent, digital displays cannot reproduce this property, so the colour appears as a flat bright pink-red on screens.
Pink around the world
What the pink and magenta family means from country to country.
The president's office in Buenos Aires is the Casa Rosada, the Pink House. A popular story says its paint once had ox blood mixed in, though this is not proven.
Politics and protestSource: Casa RosadaThe third day of the New Year's Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground is Jane McGrath Day. The crowd wears pink to raise money for breast cancer nurses.
Protection and healingHopeSource: McGrath FoundationThe Rose Valley near Kazanlak grows pink damask roses for rose oil. The harvest in late May and June is marked by a festival and the crowning of a Rose Queen.
Nature and renewalFestival and celebrationJoySource: Rose Valley, BulgariaToulouse is called la Ville Rose, the pink city, for the soft pink brick of its old buildings.
Nature and renewalSource: ToulouseIn November 2003 protesters entered parliament carrying roses, and the president resigned without bloodshed. The change of power is called the Rose Revolution.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Rose RevolutionAt Holi, the spring festival of colours, friends and strangers smear each other with gulal, a coloured powder. Pink and red gulal are the best known shades.
Festival and celebrationJoySource: HoliShades and relatives of Wild watermelon
Wild watermelon is closely related to other carmine shades, sharing a similar hue but differing in brightness and intensity. It was previously called Ultra red. Its fluorescent quality is unique among carmine colours, though this is only visible in physical media, not on screens.
Colours that go with Wild watermelon
Harmonies are worked out from the value #FC6C85. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Wild watermelon
What colour is wild watermelon?
Wild watermelon is a bright pinkish-red shade, vivid and lively, with the hex code #FC6C85. It belongs to the carmine family of colours.
Where does the name wild watermelon come from?
Crayola renamed the colour from Ultra red to wild watermelon in 1990, following their tradition of playful, descriptive names.
Is wild watermelon fluorescent?
Wild watermelon is meant to look fluorescent in real life, but this effect cannot be shown on computer screens.
What was wild watermelon called before 1990?
It was originally called Ultra red when introduced by Crayola in 1972.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Carmine (color)" (the section "Wild watermelon"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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