determining transparency/opacity of paint

[crafor]

I have new paint from Da Vinci, and other paint that has no markings on the tube regarding transparency or opacity, and I can't find the information. How do I determine if a paint is transparent or opaque?
FWIW, the ones I want to know about right now are DaVinci's magnetite Genuine, Hematite Violet, and Arizona Brown Ochre.
Thanks in advance.
Ella

[Alan P. in OC]

Simple. Take some canvas paper, mark 1-inch 'X's with a black sharpie marker.

Paint over the Xs with an even layer of your new paints, each X getting a different color.

If you can't (or barely) see the X under the paint, it's opaque.
If you can see the X clearly and it's just as dark as it was before painting, it's transparent.

If you can see the X but it's lighter than before it was painted, it's somewhere in between.

Many, maybe even most, paints are somewhere in between. Its a good idea to make a chart of all your paints (over these 'X's) so at a glance you can see their relative opacity without pulling out the tube every time.

[karenlee]

For technical info on any product, the best place to start is the manufacturer's website.

Here is a link to the technical page on DaVinci oils:

https://www.davincipaints.com/sites/...20Paints_0.pdf

[boomerbeach]

I use Da Vinci paints and much like them. My observation is that their labels are fairly comprehensive. If yours is not, then, I 2nd their web-site perusal .. Third, call "Marcello" at DV, always very helpful!

[llawrence]

Originally Posted by crafor

FWIW, the ones I want to know about right now are DaVinci's magnetite Genuine, Hematite Violet, and Arizona Brown Ochre.

Nice paints! Those three are all on the opaque side, as I recall, but not extremely so.

[evan3585]

I have this china cheap paint that just says the name of the color. No clue if its opaque or transparent.
How did the old masters know?Guessing through testing.
I thought it doesnt matter what paint you use as long as you paint it thin enough. That is what Ive heard and seems to have worked out on my first layered painting of apples I did.

[R-Wenzel]

Originally Posted by Alan P. in OC

Simple. Take some canvas paper, mark 1-inch 'X's with a black sharpie marker.

Paint over the Xs with an even layer of your new paints, each X getting a different color.

If you can't (or barely) see the X under the paint, it's opaque.
If you can see the X clearly and it's just as dark as it was before painting, it's transparent.

If you can see the X but it's lighter than before it was painted, it's somewhere in between.

Many, maybe even most, paints are somewhere in between. Its a good idea to make a chart of all your paints (over these 'X's) so at a glance you can see their relative opacity without pulling out the tube every time.

Great tip. I thinkink making a chart like this will help me set up my pallets faster

[SarahBr78121647]

I swear by DaVinci Paint, and as stated above Marcello from Davinci is ver helpful and always available to answer questions. Those three are each on the opaque side, but only a bit. The Product list above is very helpful I also have a link for their Artist Paint which offers more insight into their specific paint.

[SarahBr78121647]

Great insight Alan by the way I had never heard of this trick but just tried it myself and it was quite accurate.

[WFMartin]

Speaking of "tricks", I've got one that I actually use to determine whether or not a color is transparent, or opaque.

Note the appearance of the color when fresh-squeezed out of its tube, as it lies on your palette. If its color increases in chroma (intensity, saturation, purity) when white paint is added to it, it is (was) a transparent color as it was presented from its tube.

The best example of the validity of this test would be the following:

Squeeze some Cerulean Blue (a very opaque "blue") on your palette.

Next to it, squeeze some Thalo Blue (a very transparent "blue") on your palette.

Add white to each of them, and see which one improves in its chroma the most.
The Cerulean Blue will not change much in its appearance in terms of increased chroma, but then check the results of having mixed white with Thalo Blue. I think you will notice a profound difference between its appearance from the tube, and after having mixed white with it.

For, me, that's a sure check for transparency.

Transparent colors are extrordinarily useful for creating deep, dark colors, and they are much better for that purpose than nearly any opaque color.

Adding white to transparent colors turns them into very bright, intense colors.

[Alan P. in OC]

Originally Posted by Alan P. in OC

Simple. Take some canvas paper, mark 1-inch 'X's with a black sharpie marker.

Paint over the Xs with an even layer of your new paints, each X getting a different color.

If you can't (or barely) see the X under the paint, it's opaque.
If you can see the X clearly and it's just as dark as it was before painting, it's transparent.

If you can see the X but it's lighter than before it was painted, it's somewhere in between.

Many, maybe even most, paints are somewhere in between. Its a good idea to make a chart of all your paints (over these 'X's) so at a glance you can see their relative opacity without pulling out the tube every time.

I have to amend this test; it appears the sharpie (somehow) will bleed through the paint over time, negating the effectiveness of the test.

I would now just paint the black X in the square, wait for it to dry, and then make the chart. I looked over several old posts relating to my sharpie bleed-through problem, so I stand corrected

[Border Corpsman]

Originally Posted by crafor

I have new paint from Da Vinci, and other paint that has no markings on the tube regarding transparency or opacity, and I can't find the information. How do I determine if a paint is transparent or opaque?
FWIW, the ones I want to know about right now are DaVinci's magnetite Genuine, Hematite Violet, and Arizona Brown Ochre.
Thanks in advance.
Ella

Glad I saw this thread of yours (learned some new stuff). I use Da Vinci paint also. On my tubes it states "Opaque", "Semi-Transparent", "Semi-Opaque", etc. It also has a PW and a number. Titanium White [Opaque] is PW 6 while Flake White [Semi-Transparent] is PW4. Not sure what it means though.

Monte

[Carcharhinus]

P is pigment.
W is white.

The number is the numerical designation of that pigment. PW1 for example is Lead Carbonate. PW4 is Zinc Oxide. (Flake White is usually a mix of PW1 and PW4.)

The same in other colours. PG23 is Pigment, Green, and the 23 is Green Earth. PB29 is Pigment, Blue, Ultramarine.

Useful stuff to know, especially if you're an oil painter.

[Border Corpsman]

Originally Posted by Carcharhinus

P is pigment.
W is white.

The number is the numerical designation of that pigment. PW1 for example is Lead Carbonate. PW4 is Zinc Oxide. (Flake White is usually a mix of PW1 and PW4.)

The same in other colours. PG23 is Pigment, Green, and the 23 is Green Earth. PB29 is Pigment, Blue, Ultramarine.

Useful stuff to know, especially if you're an oil painter.

Excellent! Thanks for the information. Up till now, the only oil painting I've completed is Haze Grey on a bulkhead of a warship underway. So how does the information (PG23) become usefull? Is there a way to mix/match colors using the information (a cool algorythm or something) or is it for comparing one brand to another? Good to know its useful info but how is it useful?... for the slow, dense beginner such as I if you will

[WFMartin]

Originally Posted by Border Corpsman

Excellent! Thanks for the information. Up till now, the only oil painting I've completed is Haze Grey on a bulkhead of a warship underway. So how does the information (PG23) become usefull? Is there a way to mix/match colors using the information (a cool algorythm or something) or is it for comparing one brand to another? Good to know its useful info but how is it useful?... for the slow, dense beginner such as I if you will

While those Pigment Identification Numbers on the backs of paint tubes are quite helpful in determining the actual pigment used for making the paint, they are only moderately useful, or accurate for determining the actual COLOR of the paint.

During the processing of any given pigment, it may be crushed, heated, burned, dissolved, "laked", smashed, bashed, and treated in dozens of other different ways, and all that "processing" of the pigment can drastically change its actual color. A perfect example of that is the fact that Grumbacher offers 3 Cadmium Reds--Cad Red Light, Cad Red Medium, and Cad Red Deep--each of which are quite dramatically different colors. Yet, they each have the pigment designation of PR108:1 on their labels.

However, those interesting pigment ID's can be very useful when searching for the same color within a different brand of paint. I do that routinely. At least, it puts you in the ball park, when searching for a specific color.