This is a standardized list which is internationally recognized by all manufacturers. A great way to get started with these paints is this introductory set of warm and cool primary colors. Beginners often get confused about watercolor paint. Watercolor Pigment. You often see names like “Phthalo”, “Quinacridone” and “Sienna”. The generic name of the paint is less important. Good for you. The pigment number is not always a guarantee of color appearance. Watercolor paints also come in the form of tubes or pans. This is often done using cheaper pigments to keep costs down. However, if the paint is labeled Cobalt Blue Hue, then it does not contain the pigment PB28 but a mixture of other pigments to produce a color appearance similar to Cobalt Blue. If you want some help choosing paints then take a look at my recommendations here... I’m not saying that convenience mixtures are bad or that transparent paints are necessarily better than opaque. Manufacturers like to use historical paint names such as Cobalt Blue, which is made with the pigment PB28. The ingredients used to make paint include one, two, three, or sometimes more pigments. It’s a pretty simple code and begins with the letter P (for pigment) followed by some letters to indicate a basic color category: Y for Yellow O for Orange Paint manufacturers can take advantage of this to produce a greater variety of colors. Labels vary from one manufacturer to another, and sometimes not all the information is available on the label itself. guide to watercolor pigments. Watercolor artists who take their craft seriously will know the different classification of the paints and how to exploit them. This is a measure of how well the paint fixes to the paper. Paints with more than one pigment are generally known as “convenience” mixtures (more about these later). Copyright text 2020 by Watercolor Affair. The guide contains complete instructions for creating a mega watercolor mixing chart like the one featured above. It makes sense don’t you think? The Pigment Codes used are: PB Pigment Blue, PBk Pigment Black, PBr Pigment Brown, PG Pigment Green, PM Pigment Metal, PO Pigment Orange, PR Pigment Red, PV Pigment Violet, PW Pigment White, PY Pigment Yellow. In my last tutorial I indicated the differences in the watercolor paper. There are ten pigment codes that refer to the ten basic categories of pigments: PY = Pigment Yellow; PO = Pigment Orange; PR = Pigment Red; PV = Pigment Violet; PB = Pigment Blue; PG = Pigment Green; PBr = Pigment Brown; PBk = Pigment Black; PW = Pigment White; PM = Pigment Metal; Following this code comes a number that specifies the exact chemical compound present in that paint. You should be better able to understand the paints that you’re using and make an informed choice which watercolors you want to use! And it provides artists with the most trustworthy way to identify colors used in paint ingredients. (If you don't see the color links, click here.) Our Selection of Rublev Colours Pigments for Watercolor Painting. Student grade kits are often more reasonably priced. But as a beginner, mixing multiple types of paints with highly varying characteristics and trying to learn about them is going to be very tricky. This handy color index avoids having to use the technical chemical names of pigments. Available in 5ml & 15ml Tubes. Similarly, if you paint in layers like this, good staining properties are useful. When I first began sharing my massive watercolor mixing charts online, so many of you reached out to me and asked for instructions. You’ve probably noticed the poetic names printed on your tubes of watercolor. Watercolor: Holbein Pigment Codes Downloadable PDF November 13, 2018 by admin 5 Comments I’ve recently started painting with Holbein Watercolors and when I was creating swatches for the colors I bought and considering some future purchase, I noticed that a) the print is TINY on the tubes, and b) there are no pigment codes listed on any of the color charts online. My love affair with painting began when I was a kid. Lightfastness is also known as permanency. You're welcome to follow along... Read more About Me... * My articles may contain the occasional affiliate link, which can help me earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I remember when I first started painting I was bewildered by the huge range of hues, the different brands, the fancy names, and all those code numbers on the labels. Which is why, if you’re serious about watercolors, you need to read the labels and the manufacturers data if you want to learn more about the paints you purchase. Gifts for Watercolor Artists (What to Get an Artist for Christmas), How to Paint Watercolor Pine Cones (The Easy Way), Why you Need Lost and Found (or Hard and Soft) Edges in Watercolor. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Ok… This next bit is slightly geeky, but you may ask yourself the following question when you start examining paint labels. Glazing, or layering, relies on the idea that the underlying washes of paint remain visible. Interpreting labels might seem confusing at first but it’s actually quite simple once you become familiar with it. A note about paints which use the word “hue” in the generic name. The Cobalt Turquoise by W&N is made with two pigments: PB28 and PB36 according to their web site and on the tube I have. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Crimson Lake. A basic understanding of how to read this information is a great way to familiarize yourself with watercolors.