Pigments are the key ingredient in paints and coloured art materials and, with a little knowledge and a bit of experimentation, it’s not difficult to produce good quality artist paints. Yes it will take longer than just squeezing it out of a tube, but there are advantages to doing it yourself.
- Quality Control - Making your own paints means you can omit the fillers and extenders which are often added to commercially made paints to reduce the manufacturing costs. Take advantage of rich hues and vibrant coloured paints that haven’t been diluted with cheaper ingredients.
- Omit unwanted chemicals. All of our pigments are non-toxic. If you are worried about what chemicals may be in your commercially made paints, making your own art materials will allow you to take control. You can determine what ingredients go into your paints, protecting your health and the environment.
- Save Money - Buying the materials to make your own paints is cheaper than buying them ready made. And the time you spend making the paints will allow you to become more knowledgable about the materials you are using.
- Long Shelf life - Unlike ready made paints that will eventually dry out, powdered pigments will last indefinitely if stored correctly. This will allow you to make enough paints for your requirements and ensure that your paints are always fresh and easy to use.
- Create bespoke Colours - By pre mixing pigments together you can create your own custom colours, unique to you. Just be sure to make a note of the quantities of each pigment you use in the paint so you can mix it again.
- Be Versatile - The same pigments can be used to make different types of paint, so if you like to work with different media, you can be consistent with your colours. As well as paints, powdered pigments can be used for making inks, pastels and crayons, they can also be used to tint handmade paper, plasters and clays.
- Enjoy the process. Making your own paints will give you a greater understanding of your art through the materials you are using. By getting to the grass-roots of paint making, you will discover the way that different pigments react with different binders, how some pigments result in an opaque paint and others a translucent medium. You can even experiment with different colour mixes and different types of binder. Who knows you may invent a new type of paint!
- Become part of the community - There is an ever growing community of artists who are passionate about making their own art materials. Experiment with different applications and become part of the makers movement that are producing some amazing bespoke art products.
- Share your Handmade paints - People love products that are handmade and once you are confident with the paint making process, you can share your paints with friends. Don’t forget, handmade paints make great presents.
- Become a professional Maker - Making your own paint could be the first step of an exciting new journey. Many artists love the idea of using bespoke handmade paints. Perfect your paint making process and you could soon be providing boutique art supplies to customers around the world.
Don’t know where to start? Why not take a look at our ever growing list of recipes and ideas for pigment uses go to https://thepigmentplace.com/pages/how-tos .