Demo Opacity of Artistic Oil and Acrylic Paints of different Manufacturers.

Test Opacity of Artistic Paints

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Oil and acrylic paints are applied with brushstrokes (impasto) and glazes — thin, almost transparent layers.
To achieve this, you need to see the true transparency of each paint in a thin layer.

Here are the results of testing artists' oil,
water-mixable oil colors and acrylic paints from various companies and brands
for students, amateurs and professional painters.
- Not all colors of each brand (and the brands themselves) are presented, but only those that were found for testing.
You can perform a similar test yourself with your own paints.

- The declared transparency of a paint (if indicated on the tube) does not always correspond to reality.
On a white background, this is difficult to notice,
but on a black background, it is clearly visible.
The transparency marker on the tube (a small square or circle, if present)
can be considered the manufacturer's recommendation for use,
and not its actual transparency.

- Click on a brand on the page to the left
and use the visible opacity of each paint
as a hint for how to use it.

- Opaque or semi-opaque paint (the black background is tinted with paint)
is suitable for impasto work – for covering the background
or creating texture.
In a thin layer, it opaques the background and can make the painting appear muddy.
It's only suitable for creating a fog effect.

- Transparent or semi-transparent paint
(the black background is clearly visible)
is suitable in thin layers for glazing the background
(like a varnish). In a thick layer, it applies unevenly and the background
still shows through.

- The colors of dark paints can be difficult to distinguish at full strength,
and the bleaching side helps reveal the "true color" and tone of the paint
(warm, cool, neutral).

Parameters of Artistic Professional Colors:
Degree of Lightfastness under museum conditions:
*** (or +++) - above 100 years completely
** (or ++) - 25..100 years
* (or +) - 10-25 years
o = 0-10 years (use for sketch or poster)
Sign (A) on a tube = Analogous (Hue).

Opacity (small image or/and our chars code):

TR = Transparent

ST = Semi-Transparent

SO = Semi-Opaque

OP = Opaque.

International Pigment's Color Code:
PW - Pigment White
PY - Pigment Yellow
PO - Pigment Orange
PR - Pigment Red
PV - Pigment Violet
PB - Pigment Blue
PG - Pigment Green
PBr - Pigment Brown
PBk - Pigment Black
Fx - Fluorescent Pigment
Sample:
PR264/PV19 *** ST
- Pigment Red #264 + Pigment Violet #19,
Lightfastness very high,
Semi-Transparent Paint.

The color swatches in the catalog are applied over white and black
stripes of primer in a single coat of paint to demonstrate
the paint's transparency and opacity.
The left side of the swatch contains a mixture of wet paint
and titanium white (except for the lightest colors).
Vitaly Eromenko

OIL colors by Maries

Maries Oil are an economical range of oil paints
intended for students and those begining the art of oil painting.
Very economical for large canvas work.
Marie's offer a superior strength of colour and mixing qualities
allowing the choice of finely detailed work or heavy impasto styles.
Maries Oil Colour Paints have "selected & adopted the
most permanent pigments, the best refined botanic oil,
mixed and are finely ground into smooth paste.
Varied chemically and physical properties are strictly examined,
they have a suitable degree of dryness and as the paste is steady,
they can keep up and give full play of the strokes of painters.
The white colours are particularly prepared to ensure from yellowish.
All Maries Paints are packaged in non-leaded, non-toxic aluminium tubes.

21 ml all colors Tube (0.71 fl.oz.)
170 ml Titanium White Tube (5.74 fl.oz.)
Maries, China

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Select Brand

1) Oil Colors Daler-Rowney Georgian
Daler-Rowney

2) Oil Colors Hoenig Classic
Hoenig

3) Oil Colors Hoenig Top Oil
Hoenig

4) Oil Colors Ladoga
Nevskaya Palitra

5) Oil Colors Louvre
Lefranc & Bourgeois

6) Oil Colors Maimeri Classico
Maimeri

7) Oil Colors Maries
Maries

8) Oil Colors Master Class
Nevskaya Palitra

9) Oil Colors Rembrandt
Royal Talens

10) Oil Colors Rosa Gallery
Ukraine

11) Oil Colors Van Dyck
Ferrario