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| Key to the Paint Ratings | |||||||||||||
| PIGMENT C.I. NAME | PIGMENT CHEMICAL NAME | PAINT MARKETING NAME | MANUFACTURER | CODE | Tr | St | VR | Gr | Bl | Df | HA | HS | Lf |
| PBk1+PBk6 | aniline black + soot from lamp burned petroleum or wax (antiquity) | peach black | Holbein | 137 | 2 | 3 | 78 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -- | - | 3.0 |
| Aniline black PBk1 is a fugitive azine pigment, available from about 6 manufacturers worldwide. The added lamp black in Holbein peach black contrasts with the granulation of natural charcoal to produce subtle and active textural effects wet-in-wet. -- A favorite black paint of many artists, a very small amount of it will pull most light yellows toward a dull olive green. Because of the azine pigment, this paint should not be used in tints or mixtures, and probably should be avoided entirely. | |||||||||||||
| PBk6 | soot from lamp burned petroleum, gas or wax (antiquity) | lamp black | Daniel Smith | 028 | 0 | 4 | 73 | 1 | 4 | 1 | -- | - | 4.0 |
| PBk6 | blue black | Winsor & Newton | 034 | 1 | 4 | 72 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -- | - | 4.0 | |
| PBk6+PB15 +PV19 | carbon black + phthalocyanine blue + beta quinacridone | neutral tint | Winsor & Newton | 032 | 0 | 4 | 74 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -- | - | 4.0 |
| PBk6+PB29 | soot from lamp burned petroleum or wax + ultramarine blue | payne's gray | M. Graham | 128 | 2 | 3 | 75 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 265 | -5 | 4.0 |
| PBk6+PBk7 | soot from lamp burned petroleum or wax + soot from furnace burned petroleum or wax | lamp black | Winsor & Newton | 337 | 2 | 4 | 73 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -- | - | 4.0 |
 Carbon black PBk6 is a completely lightfast, very opaque, heavily staining black pigment, available from 6 manufacturers worldwide. The ASTM (1999) rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I). This is typically the darkest valued, most opaque black in a watercolor line (ivory black is usually offered as a slightly less intense alternative). Because it is so dark, it appears to undergo a very large drying shift than other black pigments, rising in lightness from 7 to 23 (an increase of 230%). -- Winsor & Newton blue black is extremely well milled, while the Daniel Smith shows more granulation in wet applications; both stain heavily. Often used as a neutralizing (desaturating) color, Winsor & Newton neutral tint mixes lamp black with a dark blue (PB15) and red violet (PV19) to give the color a slight but noticeable violet bias; it is often used to dull and darken colors, and to provide a shadow color, without changing the apparent hue of mixtures (most artists use a neutral tint in preference to lamp black). Another color often used as a shadow color is payne's gray (listed here in the M. Graham version; see also the Winsor & Newton style under PBk9. -- At its best, lamp black is the darkest, most dense black pigment you can find in watercolors. But use with extreme caution: if applied in a painting where its deep value is not harmonious with the rest of the picture, the black passages will stand out unnaturally. A good choice for monochrome value paintings, though I prefer for that purpose shades such as indigo that seem to change hue as they are diluted into tints.
Incidentally, I've found that a lovely, lightfast and very flexible alternative to any carbon black, as well as all convenience indigos, paynes grays, neutral tints and sepias, is a mixture of indanthrone blue (PB60), benzimidazolone brown (PBr25) and phthalocyanine green (PG7), roughly in the proportions 8:6:1, that I call synthetic black. Daniel Smith makes all three paints (and Winsor & Newton, Rowney Artists, Holbein and MaimeriBlu make a quinacridone maroon you can substitute for the brown). The basic mixture gives a deep, dead on black color; tweaking the proportions of the three paints will shift the hue toward any dark neutral color you want -- indigo, shadow green, sepia, deep maroon, midnight violet, you name it. The best part? In masstone this mixture is actually darker valued than most carbon blacks and all charcoal or ivory blacks (PBk9), yet it keeps a velvety luster, rather than the usual carbon black flatness, that harmonizes well with other colors. And these three pigments will not visibly separate when used in washes or tints. See also the section on natural organic pigments. | |||||||||||||
| PBk7 | carbon black mixed with lamp black (antiquity) | carbon black | MaimeriBlu | 537 | 1 | 4 | 73 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -- | - | 4.0 |
| PBk7 | lamp black | Daniel Smith | 003 | 3 | 2 | 74 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -- | - | 4.0 | |
| PBk7 | lamp black | Rowney Artists | 035 | 3 | 2 | 73 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -- | - | 4.0 | |
| PBk7 | charcoal gray | Schmincke | 786 | 3 | 2 | 67 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -- | - | 4.0 | |
| PBk7+PB29 | lamp black + sodium aluminum sulfosilicate | payne's gray | Rowney Artists | 065 | 3 | 2 | 74 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 270 | - | 4.0 |
| Lamp black PBk7 is another amorphous carbon black pigment, available from about 40 pigment manufacturers worldwide for a wide range of construction, printing and decorative applications. The ASTM (1999) rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I). Across most brands, this pigment is completely lightfast, opaque, staining, and very active in wet applications. -- MaimeriBlu carbon black is a stronger color than the Schmincke paint, and produces warmer colored tints. See also the section on natural organic pigments. | |||||||||||||
| PBk8 | wood charcoal (antiquity) | vine black | Old Holland | 367 | 3 | 2 | 62 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 65 | +10 | 4.0 |
| PBk8+PBr7 +PBk7 | wood charcoal + natural iron manganese oxide + soot from furnace burned petroleum or wax | charcoal gray | Winsor & Newton | 010 | 2 | 3 | 72 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 65 | +10 | 4.0 |
 Charcoal black PBk8 is a completely lightfast, semitransparent, moderately staining, subtly textured, very dark valued black pigment, available from only one registered manufacturer worldwide (W. Hawley & Son, UK). The ASTM (1999) rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I). It is traditionally a pure wood charcoal made from carbonized willow stems. -- Old Holland vine black is very textural in nearly all applications, making it most suitable for light application or very romantic textural effects in stormy skies or desert landscapes. The Winsor & Newton is darker and easier to work with, creating a lovely deep powdery black when rewetted. See also the section on natural organic pigments. | |||||||||||||
| PBk9 | soot from burned animal bone (antiquity) | ivory black | M. Graham | 110 | 3 | 4 | 72 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 65 | +10 | 4.0 |
| PBk9 | ivory black | Winsor & Newton | 026 | 3 | 4 | 64 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 70 | +5 | 4.0 | |
| PBk9 | ivory black | Daniel Smith | 048 | 2 | 3 | 71 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 70 | +5 | 4.0 | |
| PBk9 | ivory black | Rowney Artists | 034 | 2 | 3 | 70 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 60 | +5 | 4.0 | |
| PBk9 | ivory black | MaimeriBlu | 535 | 3 | 3 | 69 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -- | - | 4.0 | |
| PBk9+PB29 | soot from burned animal bone + complex of calcinated kaolin, soda ash, sulfur, silica, coal, sodium sulfate | payne's gray | Winsor & Newton | 465 | 1 | 4 | 70 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 275 | -45 | 4.0 |
 Bone black PBk9 is the third of the three major black pigments, available from 3 manufacturers worldwide. Like the other carbon blacks, it is completely lightfast, semitransparent, staining, slightly textured, and active in wet applicatons. The ASTM (1999) rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I). The apparent drying shift is less than for other black pigments (a mere 85% increase in lightness), because the color is slightly lighter to begin with. The traditional method of manufacture was to place ivory shavings in iron casks that were heated in ceramic ovens until entirely carbonized. Many artists prefer ivory black because it harmonizes better with other watercolor pigments, although it cannot reach the same dark values as other blacks. -- M. Graham ivory black and Rowney Artists ivory black are semitransparent, staining and among the darkest ivory blacks available; both take on a beautiful slate color in tints. Winsor & Newton ivory black is lighter but an equally neutral and finely milled paint; it is the "warm" black to complement the "cool" and slightly darker lamp black (PBk6). Daniel Smith ivory black is more coarsely milled, producing ultramarine-like textural effects in wet applications. The MaimeriBlu bone black is a thinly concentrated cool gray, less suitable for very dark passages. -- Winsor & Newton payne's gray is the second of the three traditional watercolorists' shadow colors (along with brownish sepia and purplish neutral tint). It has a very dull, dark bluish cast, closer to a neutral dark gray than indigo. See also the section on natural organic pigments. | |||||||||||||
| PBk10 | powdered graphite | graphite gray | Daniel Smith | 010 | 0 | 4 | 55 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -- | - | 4.0 |
| Graphite gray PBk10 is a completely lightfast, very opaque, heavily staining, dark valued gray pigment, available from only 2 manufacturers worldwide. Daniel Smith graphite gray is the only commercial source. It has the natural graphite luster, and harmonizes very well with pencil drawings. It should really be used as a luminescent paint, and not applied with regular watercolors, as its reflectance will stand out from other pigments. | |||||||||||||
| PBk11 | ferrite black iron oxide | lunar black | Daniel Smith | 021 | 2 | 3 | 72 | 3 | 4 | 2 | -- | - | 4.0 |
| Lunar black PBk11 is a completely lightfast, semiopaque, staining, very dark valued black pigment, offered by over 20 pigment manufacturers worldwide, for use in paints, cosmetics and construction materials. Daniel Smith lunar black is the only commercial source. It produces an extraordinary etched granulation from the mangetization of the iron particles; the capillary movement of water in blossoming cuts veins of pure white against pure black. Excellent for unusual textural effects, but these will stand out unless you know the pigment well. See also the section on iron pigments. | |||||||||||||
| PBk19+PW4 +PBk6 | black chalk + zinc oxide + carbon black | davy's gray | Winsor & Newton | 019 | 1 | 3 | 39 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 110 | -10 | 4.0 |
| Davy's gray was originally a slate pigment developed by Winsor & Newton for an 18th century English drawing master (well known for his cliched landscape techniques); it is now replicated through compounds made with black chalk (carbonaceous hydrated aluminum silicate, PBk19). The ASTM (1999) rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I). Winsor & Newton davy's gray is a completely lightfast, opaque, staining, mid valued gray pigment, with a slight greenish cast. This is a very pretty color that is especially good for very light gray passages, as its coverage remains smooth at those values (many blacks will look blotchy or granulate at that dilution). | |||||||||||||
| PBk31 +PBk6 | perylene black (1936) | shadow green | Holbein | 279 | 3 | 3 | 68 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 150 | -3 | 4.0 |
| Perylene black PBk31 is a completely lightfast, semitransparent, staining, very dark valued black pigment, manufactured by BASF as Paliogen Black. It has a slight greenish cast that becomes more apparent in tints. A perylene compound I have not been able to identify further, Holbein shadow green is the only commercial source in watercolors. It is a useful cool dark for desaturating warm colors, as a shadow color in floral or botanical paintings, and for mixing very dull dark greens from yellow paints. See also the section on perylene pigments. | |||||||||||||
| PW4 | zinc oxide (1782; 1834) | chinese white | Winsor & Newton | 011 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 85 | +5 | 4.0 |
| PW4 | chinese white | Daniel Smith | 011 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 85 | +5 | 4.0 | |
| PW4 | chinese white | MaimeriBlu | 216 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 85 | 0 | 4.0 | |
| PW4 | permanent chinese white | Schmincke | 102 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 4.0 | |
| PW4 | chinese white | Rembrandt | 011 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 4.0 | |
| PW4+PW6 | zinc oxide + titanium oxide | chinese white | Rowney Artists | 001 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 85 | +5 | 4.0 |
 Chinese white (or zinc white) PW4 is a completely lightfast, opaque, moderately staining white pigment, available from 4 manufacturers worldwide. The ASTM (1999) rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I). White pigments show almost no drying shift in watercolors. Known since antiquity as a byproduct of copper smelting, zinc oxide was first adopted as an artists' pigment in the 18th century (in part to replace the toxic lead whites, in use since Roman times). It commonly goes by the name Chinese white, the proprietary name given to a particularly dense formulation developed by Winsor & Newton in 1834. Zinc oxide is a slightly warm shade of white and completely absorbs ultraviolet radiation at wavelengths below 370nm. Like a good cadmium pigment, it changes reflectivity with viewing angle: appearing as a pure white from the front, but slightly grayed (less reflective) from the side. -- Most brands of zinc oxide are indistinguishable, except for slight variations in milling, concentration or vehicle formulation. The pigment itself is extremely cheap, and when watercolor manufacturers offer a single white paint, this is typically the pigment they choose. Winsor & Newton chinese white is very opaque and fairly inert in wet applications. It covers reasonably well and mixes smoothly as a bodycolor with other paints. It is slightly warm, appearing to have a vague pink or brown cast, and this harmonizes well with the ivory tone of most watercolor papers. See also the section on zinc pigments. | |||||||||||||
| PW6 | titanium oxide (1791) | titanium white (opaque white) | Winsor & Newton | 206 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 90 | 0 | 4.0 |
| PW6 | titanium white | Rowney Artists | 009 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 90 | -5 | 4.0 | |
| PW6 | titanium-opaque white | Schmincke | 101 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 4.0 | |
| PW6 | chinese white | Holbein | 715 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 4.0 | |
| PW6 | titanium white (opaque) | Holbein | 203 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 90 | 0 | 4.0 | |
| PW6 | buff titanium white | Daniel Smith | 015 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 75 | +8 | 4.0 | |
 Titanium white PW6 is a completely lightfast, semiopaque, lightly staining white pigment, available from about 30 manufacturers worldwide. The ASTM (1999) rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I). White pigments show almost no drying shift in watercolors. The economic importance of titanium white cannot be overstated: it represents 60% of the world's inorganic pigment production, and is the white, opaque base for most opaque colored paints (a primary alternative is the duller lithopone, a calcined coprecipitate of zinc sulfide and barium sulfate). Titanium white is brighter (more reflective) and more perfectly neutral than any other white pigment. In first appears in artists' (oil) colors around the turn of the 19th century, but has been widely produced only since the 1950's. -- Winsor & Newton titanium white is a slightly brighter, cleaner white than chinese white; in most watercolor applications it will appear stiff or artificial unless used very sparingly, or as a bodycolor mixed with more saturated colors. (Note the confusing naming adopted by Holbein: their "chinese white" is simply a less opaque and slightly warmer formulation of titanium white.) Daniel Smith buff titanium white is made from titanium pigment heated to high temperatures with a larger pigment particle size; this shifts the color toward a grayed, pale coffee brown, making it a good pigment to lighten and desaturate greens or blues, for example, to render gray desert foliage. Both types of titanium are moderately active in wet applications, which usually also means they will mix well with other pigments. See also the section on titanium pigments. | |||||||||||||
| KEY TO THE PAINT RATINGS: Tr = Transparency: 0 (very opaque) to 4 (transparent) - St = Staining: 0 (nonstaining) to 4 (heavily staining) - VR = Value Range: the value of the masstone color subtracted from the value of white paper, in steps of a 100 step value scale - Gr = Granulation: 0 (liquid texture) to 4 (granular) - Bl = Blossom: 0 (no blossom) to 4 (strong blossom) - Df = Diffusion: 0 (inert) to 4 (very active diffusion) - HA = Hue Angle in degrees of the CIELAB a*b* color plane (measured clockwise from 0 degrees at magenta) - HS = Hue Shift between the masstone and undertone hues, in degrees of the CIELAB a*b* color plane (measured clockwise from 0 degrees at magenta) - Lf = Lightfastness: 0 (extremely fugitive) to 4 (completely lightfast) - Chroma: Measured chroma of the masstone paint; because chroma varies with paint concentration and hue, it is not indicated in the numerical ratings but described in the notes for the average pigment color or for individual paint brands. - Drying Shift: Change in masstone color appearance from a glistening wet to completely dry color swatch, in units of lightness, chroma and hue angle in the CIELAB space; also described in the notes for the average pigment color. For a detailed explanation of these ratings see What the Ratings Mean. | |||||||||||||
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 Last revised 08.08.2001 • © 2001 handprint media |
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