BROWN Art Supply Pigment Database Watercolor Gouache Acrylic Ink Pencil Color Chart Swatch

         

Artist reference guide to Brown pigments in art supplies. Color chart swatch cards of common pigments in watercolor, gouache, acrylic paint and ink. Cards include lightfast ratings from the brand (any conflicting fugitive test results may be noted separately based on my independent studies). Arranged by ingredient pigment number code (color index for the chemical ingredient). Each image shows the brand, manufacturer color name, how the color appears in masstone (full strength) or diluted (with water), opacity, lifting (erasing with a damp brush), layering (2nd coat after dry) and how well it could hold a smooth gradient in wet.

PBr1 Permanent Brown FG: Uncommon, not widely available as an artist pigment. Lightfastness not rated. Reddish Brown synthetic Azomethine compound flagged as toxic in cosmetic use. CI 12480.

PBr6 Iron Oxide Hydroxide Brown:

PBr6 Mixtures:

           

PBr7 Brown Iron Oxide:

AKA Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna or Raw Umber. LFI / BW8. Natural form of Ferric Oxide. Yellow-brown, brown, or dull red tones depending on mineral content & processing. Burnt ones have been heat treated (calcined) to darken the color. Natural earth that has been filtered to remove clay and manganese oxides (see PBr8 for unfiltered). This pigment number describes brown earth that is capable of being incredibly variable colors. Each source of iron oxide from around the world may contain trace minerals that alter the hue from yellow, brown, red to near-black. RECOMMENDED PIGMENT: The deep warm dark brown version called "Burnt Umber" is on my palette list. It's a helpful brown for everything from portraits spanning dark to light skin tones, botanical branches/trees, landscapes and mixing your own black or warm/cool shadow colors with Ultramarine Blue PB29. Be aware that some companies substitute PR101 mixed with PBk7/Black pigments to mimic Burnt Umber, which does not have the same gentle granulation and can be more staining than the PBr7 version.

                                                      

PBr7 Mixtures:

                                            

PBr8 Manganese Brown:

Lightfastness varies by batch and brand (raw earth has varying mineral contents) so LF testing your own sample is recommended. Less common than PBr7, but a very similar natural pigment. PBr7 has had the manganese oxides filtered out of it. PBr8 is the earth as it was found including more trace minerals, clay and notable Manganic hydroxide occuring naturally as manganite. Color varies by location mined. Can be deep or pale, similar to raw umber with less granulation and slightly more color separation which was notable via salt reaction. Not to be confused with NBr8 (which is another natural brown earth, but NBr8 includes more fugitive peat soil and coal, available as Vandyke Brown in Holbein or Aquarius). CI 77730, 77728.

       

PBr9 Copper Ferrocyanide:

Uncommon. Lightfastness not officially rated by ASTM, but I have seen drastic fading in these paints by 6 months window light. Genuine PBr9 is toxic. This historical pigment often confused with Van Dyke Brown NBr8, as PBr9 has been called Van Dyke Red. The Blick/Grumbacher watercolors are labeled as PBr9, however I have not verified if they are accurately classified (actually containing Cupric ferrocyanide Cu2Fe(CN)6·xH2O Cupric potassium ferrocyanide CuK2Fe(CN)6 going by the C.I. Constitution number 77430). It is possible the following swatch cards are actually NBr8 mislabeled - THEY DO FADE JUST LIKE NBr8. Fugitive in my own tests. Note that Grumbacher and Blick (store brand) are the same paints rebranded. Very gritty, sandy, unpleasant texture similar to dirt.

 

PBr10 Calcium Orthoplumbate: Uncommon. LFI. Toxic. May contain insoluble lead, and is typically used as a rust inhibitor or primer. CI 77227.

PBr11 Magnesium Ferrite:

Highly recommended, this color is on my main palette (top lightfast pigments page here). Extreme granulation texture. Orange-brown hue, similar to terra cotta clay in color. This lightfast pigment separates out from any color you mix it with. Ideal for use in textural landscapes and purposefully color-separating effect mixtures. Use this pigment to easily mimic replicas of Daniel Smith Primatek mineral colors (like Serpentine, Green Apatite, Burnt Tiger's Eye, Jadeite and Diopside). I have only seen PBr11 offered in watercolor by Daniel Smith and Roman Szmal, but you may also be interested in PY119 Magnesium Brown by Winsor and Newton which is slightly more finely ground (smaller particle size compared to PBr11) and just a touch more yellow. It performs similarly in mixtures, but is labeled as "PY119" with a more subtle texture. I suspect that Magnesium Brown may actually be mislabeled as PY119 but really be PBr11 or a custom hybrid (as PBr11 is the color index code for a Magnesium - not PY119 Zinc - based iron oxide brown).

 

 

You may see some brands label colors that are very opaque in masstone as transparent or semi transparent. This appears to be due to the fact that you can see through the cracks of sediment in these types of harshly granulating colors in wet washes. Some granulating colors flake into tiny chunks (diluting clear) with no underlying or staining color (such as PBk11 Lunar Black). I will put notes on the cards when my experience differs from manufacturer ratings, since you should go into this knowing it's not a transparent layering/glazing color.

 

PBr12 Cassel Brown: Uncommon. Lightfastness not rated. Toxic. Confusingly given the names "Oak Stain" (Walnut NBr7?) or also as "Cassel" or "Van Dyke" (NBr8?). I have not yet found a source for PBr12, but it is classified as Sodium salts of humic acid; CAS 68131-04-04.

PBr22 Pigment Brown 22: Uncommon. Lightfastness not rated. No known sources. Noted as a reddish brown made of "Nitro" CAS 29398-96-7.

PBr23 Pigment Brown 23:

Lightfastness not officially rated, independent tests show LFI-LFII with no notable fading before 9 months of south facing window light. Dull red to brown color. More resistant to heat and acid than Brown Iron Oxides. The closest match to PBr25 I've found for a transparent, smooth brown watercolor (but PBr23 is less red leaning, more yellow-brown). Gubbio Red from Kremer has an unusual texture, but the Roman Szmal watercolor, Schmincke or Holbein Azo Brown acrylics are very smooth and highly lightfast. Oddly, Sennelier has four mixtures containing PBr23, yet does not offer it as a single pigment watercolor. 

   

PBr23 Mixtures: