Generally speaking, pigments are dry natural substances that come in a fine powdered form. They are designed to be added to some sort of a binder in order to produce some kind of dye, ink or paint.
Well, artist pigments are the same, they are dry fine powdered colourants used in inks, paints and dyes in order to create some specific paint that can be used in art. An important thing to know about these art supplies is that aside from being available in their synthetic form on the market, you can also invest in natural and non-toxic ones.
The Importance of Using Non-Toxic Pigments
Unlike the synthetic ones, the natural and varied artist pigments contain no toxic chemicals in them. Instead, they are derived from natural sources like plants, minerals and even insects. Even though they go through a specific process during their creation (washing, grounding and sifting), they aren't chemically and synthetically modified which is extremely important for staying in their purest form.
The non-toxic and natural pigments for art are ideal for use because they don't contain any poisonous ingredients that are toxic and harmful to human beings. Today's pigments sold in art supply stores are safe, non-toxic and versatile. They are mainly inert powdered pigments that are designed to create vivid and colourful hues that will help you easily achieve the desired colour. They can be used by any artist from watercolourants to faux finishers, rubber stampers and even auto painters. The latter goes especially to the metallic type of pigments which are ideal for helping auto painters achieve the desired effect.
Reasons to Use Pigments in Your Art
Well, it goes without saying that artist pigments are essential pieces of art supply for creating a unique colour. Having pigments allows you to experiment with different colours until you achieve the ones that will best emphasise the details in your art piece. But the benefits of using them can go beyond this.
Improved Control Of Colour
Making your own paint with pigments gives you more control over the colour. That way you can make just the needed shade of the desired rich hue, vibrant or more subtle coloured paint. You can achieve this without the need to use any harmful and toxic diluting agent. Quite often, finding ready-made paint in the needed hue is almost impossible, so you'll need to dilute it to achieve the needed hue. With the use of these non-toxic pigments, you have complete control over how much you add to the acrylic paint without the use of anything else.
Creation of Unique Colours
Pigments give you the chance to create your custom colours which are unique only to you. Just make sure to note the amount of pigment/s you have used for achieving the specific colour, so you can obtain the same hue the next time you mix different pigments.
Long Shelf Life
The most frustrating thing about ready-made paints is that they can dry out easily when used immediately. Powder pigments for art, on the other hand, can last you literally a lifetime, only when stored properly. This gives you the chance to use paint that's always fresh, vibrant and vivid. With pigments like this, you'll no longer have to worry about not using the entire paint all at once.
Incredibly Versatile
Aside from being used with acrylic and watercolour paints for art, these pigments allow for being used with a large selection of other painting solutions and on different media. That being said, they can be used for making crayons, pastels and inks which can be used literally on any type of paper like canvas, handmade paper, plasters, clays and so on. Nowadays, you can choose from a wide range of pigment colours so achieving the needed hue and finish would be super easy.
As you can see, the benefits of using these art supplies are huge, but in order to use them, you'll need a binder. The binding medium plays a major role in transforming your pigment into the smoothest and most usable version.
Binders
Nowadays, you have a plethora of binders to choose from like linseed oil, encaustic binders, casein, egg tempera, etc. Each of these binders is different and has a different finish.
- Linseed oil – The obtained pigment is flexible and durable;
- Casein – Pigments mixed with casein dry quickly to a matte finish;
- Egg Tempera – Unlike casein, pigments mixed with this agent obtain a unique sheen;
- Encaustic Binders – Usually hot wax is used for mixing a pigment and this is considered the classic way of mixing pigments.
Dispersing Agent
The binder on its own isn't enough for the pigment to blend well, so you'll also need to use a dispersing agent. Aside from making the pigment smoother, this agent helps the paint from clumping and more importantly, it makes the painting smoother and with a nicer finish.
