![]() T/O - Transparency/Opacity: Transparent colours are marked ‘T' and semi-transparent ‘ST.' Opaque colours are marked ‘O' and semi-opaque ‘SO.' Transparency, however, is relative, and the ratings are provided as a guide only. Where there is no series column, this indicates the price is uniform across the range. Series 1 is the least expensive, and Series 5 is the most costly. Series: The Series number indicates the relative price of the colour and is determined mainly by the cost of the pigment. As an example: Cobalt Blue is Pigment Blue 28, abbreviated to PB28. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.Colour Index Name: Each pigment can be universally identified by its Colour Index Generic Name. Kobolds went on to become a diminutive, reptilian race (Lawful Evil) in Dungeons & Dragons, yet are seldom depicted as blue.Īll fine art paints are pigment particles bound in a sticky medium: vegetable oil, gum arabic or acrylic polymer.įind more of these posts by clicking Pinch of Pigment in the tags below. People even prayed for protection from cave-ins caused by kobolds. For this reason in German it was referred to as kobold ore, or "goblin ore". It's a fine rule of thumb, but I am not sure how accurate it actually is or whether anyone has tested it scientifically: different pigments have different tinting strengths based in part on their dispersal in the vehicle (oil, gum arabic or acrylic polymer) so it seems likely to me that a modern imitation paint could potentially be more vibrant than a traditional single pigment one.Ĭobalt ore is notoriously tricky to extract from the ground, and could poison mines in the form of cobaltite (CoAsS), which contains arsenic and sulfur. The theory goes, this will lead to a duller muddier purple than if you had just used real Cobalt Blue and real Cadmium Red. Essentially the idea is this: you know when you were a kid and mixed tons of colours together and you got that nondescript grey-brown colour? If you want to mix purple from your primaries and you take imitation paints Cobalt Blue Hue (usually made of cheaper Phthalo Blue and Zinc White) + Cadmium Red Hue (usually a couple of Napthol Reds) then you are actually mixing 4 pigments together. In the fine arts, there's a popular trend amongst seasoned painters of using as many monopigment paints as possible. It can be toxic in huge amounts or damaging to the lungs if applied as in airbrushing. ![]() In addition, most companies have health warnings about Cobalt Blue on the packaging. Imitation colours are typically known as "hues", as in Cobalt Blue = real thing, Cobalt Blue Hue = imitation. Developed for porcelain in China and as a paint pigment in Europe, it's been in use as a colour since at least the 1700's.īack in my days managing an art supply store, Cobalt Blue could be a hard sell: there are imitation versions of the colour on the market and they are substantially cheaper, and made up of multiple pigments to imitate the colour. Cobalt Blue has the chemical formula CoAl 2O 4 (It's also possible to create Cobalt Green: 4CoO.3Al 2O 3 ). The pigments are made by heating aluminum silicates with cobalt and heating to 1200☌. While in it's natural, raw state it's a somewhat burnished silver colour, it is famously known for producing vibrant blues in pigments. It's also the only goblin hiding in the Periodic Table.Ĭobalt, is symbol Co on the periodic table with an atomic weight of 27. Cobalt Blue is a fascinating colour with a much longer history than many pigments in use today. ![]()
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