the complete palette

 
This page is a complete listing of the over one hundred distinct pigments currently used in watercolors and serves as an index to the pigments listed in the guide to watercolor pigments.

Excluding iridescent or pearlescent pigments, fluorescent pigments or dyes, and the unique mineral complexes used in the Daniel Smith PrimaTek™ paints, nearly every watercolor manufactured today is made with pigments in this list.

Pigments are organized into 28 color categories around artist's color wheel. Each category includes the currently used watercolor pigments for that color, and suggests a single pigment watercolor paint (by name and manufacturer) that represents the pigment's unique attributes.

When a pigment under a single color index name is available as one or more distinct colors, two paints are listed that illustrate the pigment's range. If the color range is extremely large (cadmium yellow, iron oxide), it is listed in all the color categories that describe it.

One or more "recommended" pigments in each color category are shown in boldface (like this). All these pigments are lightfast, versatile, and handle well in watercolors. As a group they are available in most watercolor paint lines, though I include several exceptional pigments only offered by a single brand.

Convenience mixtures (primarily greens and dark shades), and "color" labels for highly variable basic pigments (such as the earth pigments), are shown in italics (like this).

The names of fugitive or impermanent pigments are shown in gray type (like this); they are included for completeness but I urge you not to use them.

The manufacturer serial numbers indicate the paints actually tested in the guide to watercolor pigments. If these product numbers differ from those on your tube of paint, then the tube is a different size (for example, 7.5 fl.oz. instead of 14 fl.oz.) or the manufacturer has (1) redesigned the label or packaging, (2) changed the ingredients, (3) changed the ingredients supplier(s), (4) changed the paint formulation, (5) changed the paint manufacturing methods — or any combination of these — and your paint may not match the color descriptions or paint ratings given here.  

The location of the 28 color categories is summarized as a color wheel small diagram called a palette scheme. The palette scheme below shows the approximate positions of the 28 color categories on the artist's color wheel. The denser spacing of color categories across the red to yellow side of the circle corresponds to the larger number of pigments and finer color differences made in that part of the hue range.

palette scheme for the complete palette
click on a palette scheme anywhere it appears to see a key identifying the color categories symbolized by each diamond

 
Palette schemes are used throughout this site to illustrate the selection of paints in artists' palettes, hue contrasts in different color harmonies, the location of hues in hue circles, and so on.