Real Color Wheel for Pigment Artists

For mixing complement opposition colors dark.

The Original RCW painting, 12-19-95, had 4 tints to white on 12 colors with 8 shades to dark neutral.

Painting #816, acrylic, 15x22 on 1/8 mahogany plywood covered with polyester woven cloth.

Liquitex had the first correct magenta back then and called it Acra Violet, PR122.
That is why I used his brand to add all the available colors to the RCW color wheel.
They are at the cutting edge of color, along with Grumbacher and D.S..

The Real Color Wheel's are 36, 12, 6 or 3 colors.

Concentric Ring Numbers of the RCW.

-1. Outer rings, lighter pigment or tint hue of this color.
0. 100% full chroma for opaque pigments, 50% top-tone tint for transparent pigments.
1. 10 shades to dark.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Mass-Color of transparent pigments.
7.
8.
9.
10. 10% intensity of this color.


The dots on the colorwheel locate different pigments on different concentric rings.

The Pigment Color Section description for Cadmium Yellow Lemon Opaque is, RCW36#1ring0
#0 is the Pure Yellow section of 10 graduated rings. It has five chip colors located in it.
Rings 00, 0, 2, 5 and 10 have pigments in them, and some new ones from Daniel Smith.

Brown has the darkest intensity of Yellow. Mix this low intensity brown with it's opposite color Ultramarine blue for a neutral dark.

THIS IS HOW AND WHY THE RCW WORKS.

Element Color = Crystal Color = Chemical Color = Pigment Color
They all become dark on the same color path.

While painting, darks should be made to match nature by mixing in the opposite complementary color and not by adding black pigments.

This RCW 36 colorwheel has the brand pigment names and the more important generic Chemical Class names.
It also includes the pigment chemical name in these Chemical Classes, the Color Index Name, and the Color Index Number.
Just what you need to make the most reliable choice among brands in all media.

Each brand name pigment is a chosen color made from one or more Chemical Classes in combination.
Each Chemical Classes color travels on a graduated path changing color and Pigment Color/Color Index number as it moves. The PC number also has a graduated path of different related colors.

Blue-Violet is between Cyan and Magenta and is Ultramarine Blue in color. Blue-Violet is a photo industrial color term for the blue filter used to make the yellow printing plate. Red, Green and Blue are primary colors on the Light color wheel only.

Red and Blue pigment colors are secondary colors and can be made mixing the pigment primary colors of transparent Yellow and Cyan or Cyan and Magenta. Red is not the opposite of Green, they are both secondary colors capable of being mixed.

The same brown to yellow color intensity scale of yellow is found in both element crystal compounds and class chemical compounds. The elements lead and iron have oxides with similar ranges of color from yellow to brown and red to brown in both the synthetic chemicals and natural oxides, just like their crystal counterpart. Pigment color oppositions match the color elements crystal oppositions, which match the chemical class colors with their paths of darker color intensities.

Example.. From the element Copper we get Copper Phthalocyanine as a Chemical Class with a path from green PG7 to cyan PB15.

To paint a sky you need the purest cyan near the horizon line and by adding magenta you get the sky's zenith color of ultramarine blue.

Example.. The same brown to yellow color intensity scale of yellow is found in element oxides, crystal compounds, Chemical Class compounds and vegetable colors.
The elements lead and iron have oxides with similar ranges of color paths from yellow to brown and red to brown in the synthetic chemicals, natural oxides and vegetable colors, just like their crystal counterpart.

For we pigment artists, pigment color oppositions should match the element's crystal opposition.

The Chemical Class colors tend to move in a lateral path, crystal color paths also move from light to dark, both are represented on the RCW.
Crystal color paths to darker color intensities move right across black to the opposing color. The 36 colors on the RCW color wheel and their tints match the lights RGB color wheel, but not the RGB subtractive path to dark.

The Pigment Color numbers mark that color's position on that Chemical Class path. Combinations of and Chemical Colors make new brand colors. Brand color names are arbitrary, Pigment Color numbers and Color Index numbers are not, but they don't give the pigment's attributes. They are from transparent to translucent, mono-toned or dual-toned and are never granular.

This RCW color wheel, based on color element crystals, works in pigment, dye and stage lighting.

Yellow and red both darken to brown in crystals, natural pigments and chemical class pigments.

Yellow to Brown
Crystal compounds.
The Chrysoberle crystal with the element Beryllium is the standard yellow centering to brown transparent crystal.
The Citroen Quartz crystal with the element iron includes from yellow to orange to brown.
The Chalcopyrite crystal with iron will show colors from, yellow, orange, tan, red and brown.

Yellow to Brown Chemical compound class pigments,
Diarylide Yellow makes these colors.
Diarylide Yellow AAA,
Diarylide Orange, PO34 
Diarylide Red, PR166, Disazo Scarlet
Diarylide Brown  PY12 brown.

Yellow to Brown Chemical compound class pigments,
Monoazo-Aceoacety Benzimidazolone makes this scale of intensity of yellow colors.
Benzimidazolone makes these colors from yellow to brown only, like the Chrysoberle crystal and calcimined lead oxides.
Benzimidazolone Yellow H3g, PY154 CI# 11781, yellow to yellow-orange.
Benzimidazolone Yellow PY151. Naples Yellow Hue
Benzimidazolone Orange, PO62, 11775. D.S = Permanent Orange.
Benzimidazolone Orange H5g, PO62. Schmincke = Chrome Orange
Benzimidazolone Orange H5g, PO62, Lukas W/C = Helio Genuine Orange.
Benzimidazolone Orange HL, PO36, 11780.
Benzimidazolone Red, Deep Scarlet, PR175, 12513.
Benzimidazolone Carmine, Hf3c, PR176, 12515.
Benzimidazolone Brown, Permanent Brown, PBr25, 12510.
Benzimidazolone Maroon, Napthamide Maroon, PR171, 12512
Benzimidazolone Bordeaux PV32, 12517
Nickel Complex PY153, PG10F Indian Yellows

Yellow to Brown Oxide Pigments,  Opaque and Translucent
- Mars chemical compound colors colors are synthetic iron oxides and follow the same color color intensity scale getting darker as iron oxides. Both are matched in the Real Color Wheel.
- Old Holland, Iron Oxides, Gold Ocher Light orange side, opaque. Brown Ocher Pale red side. Brown Ocher darker yellow side. Red Ocher dark red side translucent. Brown Ocher Deep is close to Iron Oxide Burnt Umber, translucent.
- Talens, Burnt Umber translucent, PR101, Iron Oxide Brown natural.
- Blockx, Iron Oxide, Venetian Red natural opaque PR101
- Blocks, Iron Oxide, Italian Earth natural translucent high silica content.
- Schmincke, Grumbacher Iron Oxide Raw Sienna, PBr7, translucent high silica content.
- Old Holland, Iron oxide natural colors, Gold Ocher PY43, Brown Ocher Pale,
- Lefranc & Bourgeous, Vandyke Brown, PBr8 Manganese Brown.

Yellow to Orange Chemical Class compound pigments,
Tereachloroindolinone.
Isoindolinone Yellow, PY10, transparent
TC Isoindolinine Orange, PO61, Transparent

Yellow to Magenta Chemical class for magenta to red to orange to Yellow pigments,
Quinacridone.
Quinacridone Magenta Y form, RCW36#12ring5mass-tone, PR122, 73915,  the main and most light fast magenta used as the Thalo Green opposition.
Quinacridone Red, RCW36#10ring1, PR192, Red translucent with magenta under-tone.
Quinacridone Gold, RCW36#3ring5mass-tone, Yellow Oxide O/s hue in mass-tone, translucent.

Xanthene PTMA class, makes magenta hueRhodamine Yellow shade, PR82, RCW36#13ring1, True Magenta print out color with out a deep mass-tone. Maimeri calls it Garanium Lake,  I hear it's not permanent.
Graphtol Violet CI4rl, RCW36#12ring10,  PV46, the lowest intensity magenta is close enough to primary ring 13 to make an excellent dark neutral opposition when mixed with Thalo Green.

ALIZARIN to Brown Chemical Class compound pigments,
Anthraqinone A Vat Pigment makes these colors.
Alizarin Crimson 1.2 Dinydroxy Anthraqinone, transparent
Pyanthrone, Red Oxide hue, translucent
Perylene Red BL, Red, transparent
Perlene Red, Red-orange. translucent
Pyantrone Red, Red-Burnt Sienna hue

Cyan darkens to ultramarine blue hue in these transparent crystals and class chemicals... and the sky above us.

Crystal compounds
Cyan to blue in color depth.
AZURITE crystal, Cu3[CO3]2[0H]2. COPPER, Standard Azure/Cobalt color, RCW36#22ring1, [MCCC]. Includes Cyan, Azure (cobalt blue) and ultramarine blue hue, transparent, translucent and opaque, shows blue in mass.
CALCITE crystals, CaCO3, trigonal crystals, also aggregate and mass, colorless transparent to translucent. 
CALCITE crystals w/COPPER, "Iceland Spar crystal", Cyan, allochromatic, polarizing filter. In this crystal light cyan turns into dark ultramarine blue, like in the the Real Color Wheel.

BERYL crystal, Be3Al2[Si03]6, H7.5,SG-2.7, hexagonal crystal system.  The BERYLLIUM element in the Beryl crystal shows yellow to cyan to blue.
BERYL crystal with IRON element shows green, yellow-green, yellow, orange, red, scarlet, magenta, purple, blue, azure, cyan and turquoise. The iron element at it's best will display the whole rainbow spectrum in Beryl.
EUCLASE crystal, BeASi04[0H], H6.7, SG-3, monoclinic system. BERYLLIUM, standard color cyan, RCW36#25ring5mass-tone, [CCCC], yellow to cyan, transparent.
CALCITE crystals w/COBALT, "Sphaeroc Cobaltite crystal", standard Magenta Cool, RCW36#13ring5mass-tone, [MMMM], allochromatic.

Chemical class compound pigments,
Cyan to blue.
The Copper Phthalocyanine chemical class.
PB15:1 is a primary pigment  color. PB15:2 and PB15:3 are not as pure and get bluer. This color range is as the cyan Iceland Spar crystal, it shows from cyan to ultramarine blue and less useful a as cyan pigment color. The pigment's mass-tone color looks darker then ultramarine blue hue. Perhaps an even higher Color Index number will show a transparent blue, as is possible in the Azurite crystal.
The chemical class of Ultramarine blue is a complex silicate of sodium and aluminum with sulphur, it makes only slight variations this blue hue.
Ultramarine Blue PB29, translucent and Phthalocyanine Blue PB15 transparent (Cyan) combined will tint from blue to cyan. Holbein, calls it Cobalt Blue Tint.

True Transparent Test, the under-tone of any tested pigment will not show lighter on a black paper.

Translucent pigments are semi-transparent or semi-opaque, weak opaque colors. Both strong and weak opaque colors all will lighten a black paper, so they are not transparent.
Aureolin, PY40, Potassium Cobaltinitrite, is not transparent as has always been claimed, it's a translucent, a weak opaque. Chemicals can make a transparent dark brown pigment, oxides can make translucent and opaque pigments.

Here are the transparent yellow chemical pigments. Indian Yellow can be made with these Chemical Class colors;
Dioxine Yellow Nickel Complex which makes Nickel Dioxine Yellow.
Disazo, which makes Dairylide Yellow HR70.
Anthraquinone, which makes Anthrapyrimidine Yellow.
Tetrachloroindolinone, which makes Isoindolinone Yellow R, the brown/side Indian Yellow.

Using Transparent Yellow.
Indian Yellow is a set of two colors, transparent yellow-orange to yellow and yellow ocher hue to yellow. One is a strong yellow to mix with magenta making orange to crimson rose, including bright red, the other is for darker yellow browns and browner greens before adding burnt umber to the Ultramarine Blue mix. These two transparent duel-toned colors mix into a lot of greens.

    * Daniel Smith, Indian Yellow (hue), Anthrapyrimidine Yellow, Vat Yellow 20, PY108. 68420. duel-toned from yellow hue to yellow.
    * Lefranc and Bourgeois, Indian Yellow (Imitation), PY153 Nickel Dioxine Yellow Complex,  is a translucent duel-toned yellow-orange mass-tone to cadmium yellow hue under-tone and top-tone. Makes great reds and warm yellows.
    * Grumbacher Indian Yellow Hue, PY1 Arylide Yellow G / PO1 Hansa Orange, translucent, less dual-toned then Nickel Dioxine Yellow.
    * Talens, Indian Yellow, PY110 Isoindolinone, from yellow-orange-ocher to yellow. Makes clean reds and warm yellows.
    * Talens, Gamboge, PY97 Arylide Yellow Fgl, Duel-toned orange-ocher to yellow.
    * Schmincke, Chrome Yellow Deep (misnamed, not lead chrome), PY83 Diarylide Hr70, from yellow pale to yellow deep duel-tone. Makes clean reds and warm yellows.
    * Sennelier, Yellow Lake, PY83 Diarylide Hr70 / PY43 Yellow Ocher Iron Oxide. These are the same pigments as in Old Holland's Indian Yellow Brown Side. Duel-toned translucent.
    * Schmincke, Permanent Yellow Deep, (Indian Yellow hue), Pr154 Benzimidazolone Yellow H3g / PY10 Isoindolinone Yellow R. Makes clean reds and yellow-orange yellows.
    * Sennelier, Yellow Lake, PY83 Diarylide Hr70 / PY43 Yellow Ocher, is not transparent so it is not really a Lake (transparent) color. It's translucent because of the addition of Yellow Ocher Oxide.
    * Old Holland, PY153, PG10. They are the keepers of the flame.