Pigment

Pastel box

Description

An insoluble, dry solid that is pulverized to a fine powder then mixed with a binder to form a paint, ink or crayon.

Examples of inorganic pigments:

- earth colors (ocher, sienna, umber, green earth);

- metallic oxide (ferric oxide, titanium dioxide, zinc white; viridian);

- metallic carbonates (lead white, calcite, malachite);

- metallic chromates (lead chromate; barium chromate;

- carbon black (bone black, lampblack, graphite)

Examples of some organic pigments are:

- animal (melanin, cochineal, Indian yellow)

- vegetable (madder, indigo, gamboge)

- synthetic (verdigris, phthalocyanine, lakes, para red)

Watercolor set used by Claira Robbins

Synonyms and Related Terms

pigments (pl., Fr.); pigmento (Esp., Port.);

Comparisons

Websites of pigment manufacturers

Additional Images

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  Windsor Newton artist colors

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  Indigo powder (Indigofera tinctoria)