Yellow Pigments Overview
The Yellow Hue Family
Historic Yellows:
Important Notes:
- I include paint brands that use only a single pigment
- Paint names can be deceiving. What’s important is where a paint is found on the colour wheel and what its chemical makeup is (represented by the Pigment Number)
- I’m “rounding up” the manufacturers’ published Munsell Notations to the closest chip found in the Munsell Book of Color.
Table of Contents
Cadmium Yellow
Pigment Number: PY35, NY20, PY110, PY139
Munsell Notations by Brand
- Gamblin: Deep: 10YR 8/14; Medium: 2.5Y 8.5/14; Light: 7.5Y 8.5/10
- Williamsburg: Deep: 9YR 8/17; Medium: 2.75Y 8/17; Light: 6Y 9/15 PY35
- Michael Harding: Deep: 5YR 7/16; Light: 2Y 8/14
- Rublev: Deep: 10YR 7/13 (PY35); Medium: 5Y 8.5/13 (PY35); Light: 5Y 8/10 (PY35)
- Old Holland: Deep: 7.5YR 7/16; Medium: 2.5Y 8/16;Light: 5Y 8/14
When I was first learning to paint at Toronto’s Academy of Realist Art, we were advised to use Yellow Ochre Pale for our flesh tones. Cadmium Yellow was deemed too powerful a yellow for a beginner. I can appreciate that advice better now. Years later, I tend to have three Cadmium Yellows in my paintbox. They are Gamblin’s Cadmium Yellow Deep, Medium, and Light, which are the most chromatic yellows available for hues 10YR, 2.5Y, and 5Y. If I add them to my flesh palette, I know I’ll be using them sparingly.
Cadmium yellow is an inorganic pigment made from cadmium sulphide. It is known for its brilliance (high chroma), strong hiding power, and permanence (in the modern formulations).
Cadmium yellow is a good substitute for chrome yellow.
An alternative to cadmium yellow is Hansa Yellow (not featured on this page). It is cheaper and as bright but transparent, not opaque.
Technical Links:
For a brief overview of its history and how it’s made, refer to the Pigments through the Ages page for cadmium yellow.
The Color of Art Pigment Database, Yellow Pigments
Yellow Ochre
Pigment Number: PY43
Munsell Notations by Brand
- Gamblin: 10YR 5/10
- Williamsburg: 10YR 6/8; French Yellow Ochre Deep: 7.5YR 5/8
- Michael Harding: 10YR 5/7 (PY42), French Yellow Ochre 8YR 5/6 (PY43)
- Rublev: 10YR 6/8 (PY43)
- Old Holland: Deep 7.5YR 5/10 Light 7.5YR 6/10
Yellow Ochre is the oldest yellow pigment and among the first pigments used by humans.
Its transparency varies widely among brands. Some are quite opaque. Others are semi-transparent and valued for use in glazing.
I often use yellow ochre to tone my panels and canvases. It dries very quickly. I think of it as a low-to-mid chroma yellow.
Mixed with ivory black, yellow ochre and yellow ochre pale can produce some subtle shades of green.
Some artists are wary of yellow ochre because of its clay content, which may cause shrinking and swelling with changes in relative humidity. Mars Yellow (described below) is a good alternative pigment.
I paint primarily on panels or linen glued to panels, so it’s not a concern for me.
Technical links:
For a brief overview of its history and chemistry, refer to the Pigments through the Ages page for yellow ochre.
I like this apt description of yellow ochre from the Natural Pigments website for their Rublev brand: “Yellow Ochre is a mild, earthy yellow that subtly shifts mixtures without dominating them. Its muted warmth aligns closely with natural skin tones, making it ideal for middle values where colors appear most vividly in figurative painting. This authentic natural ochre is renowned for its golden, translucent, and warm qualities. These attributes make it a versatile choice for artists seeking to expand the possibilities of the Zorn Limited Palette. By mixing with other mineral colors, Yellow Ochre can create sensitive greens and add a subtle warmth to flesh tones without casting shadows, allowing for nuanced and delicate layering. In essence, Yellow Ochre’s unique properties make it an essential component for artists looking to achieve a balanced and harmonious palette, where every color interaction is intentional and expressive.”
Mars Yellow
Pigment Number: PY42
Munsell Notations by Brand
- Williamsburg: Deep: 7.5YR 5/8; Light: 10YR 5/8
- Rublev: 10YR 5/5
- Old Holland: 10YR 5/8
Mars yellow is a synthetic hydrated iron oxide. Williamsburg offers a deep and light version. The deep one, which appears darker and redder, has iron oxide red added (PR101) to the iron oxide yellow (PY42).
Mars yellow is a good substitute for yellow ochre. I think of it as a low-to-mid chroma yellow. Compared to most yellow ochres, it is also more opaque with a higher tinting strength.
Raw Umber
Pigment Number: PBr7, PBr6
Munsell Notations by Brand
- Gamblin: 10YR 2/2
- Williamsburg:
- Michael Harding: 1.5Y 2/1
- Rublev: French Umber 10YR 3/1; Cypress Umber 7.5YR 2/1; Green Umber 2.5Y 2/1
- Old Holland: 5YR 3/6
Raw umber is fast drying, which makes it appealing for sketching (or transferring) drawings to panels or canvasses and for completing underpaintings.
The opacity of raw umber varies among brands.
I tend to rely on two brands of raw umber: one from Old Holland and one from Williamsburg.
Naples Yellow
Pigment Number: PY53 (PY41)
Munsell Notations by Brand
- Gamblin: 2.5Y 8/8
- Williamsburg: 10YR 7/8
- Michael Harding: 7.5YR 6/10
- Rublev: 5Y 8/10 (PY41, genuine naples yellow)
I like to use it as a low-chroma yellow when mixing flesh tones (relatively low, compared to cadmium yellow). Yellows that are lower in chroma are easier to manage in mixtures.
The genuine Naples Yellow pigment is very rare, so few companies offer PY41. You will only find the genuine pigment in Rublev Colours and Michael Harding artists oil colors. Genuine Naples Yellow (lead antimoniate) tends to have a higher chroma than the common, cheapter version.
Technical Notes:
Naples Yellow is also known as Lead antimonate yellow and is one of the oldest synthetically produced pigments known.
For a brief overview of its history and chemistry, refer to the Pigments through the Ages page for Naples Yellow.
From JustPaint.org article: Also known as Antimony Yellow and Juane Brilliant, Naples Yellow is a lead-based pigment made from Lead Antimoniate. It was produced as early as the 15th century, although it is said to have been found on tiles of ancient Babylonia. The first known formulae date from 1758.
Lead Tin Yellow
Pigment Number: not applicable, none listed
Munsell Notations by Brand
- Michael Harding: 5Y 9/6; 5Y 9/4 (light version)
- Rublev: 7.5Y 8.5/8
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Chrome Yellow
Pigment Number: PY34
Munsell Notations by Brand
- Gamblin: 10Y 9/6
- Rublev: Light: 2.5Y 8.5/14; Medium: 10YR 8/14
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Cadmium Lemon
Pigment Number: PY35
Munsell Notations by Brand
- Gamblin: 10Y 8.5/10
- Williamsburg: 10Y 9/10
- Michael Harding: 7.5Y 9/11
- Old Holland: 5Y 8/12
I like to use Cadmium Lemon to mix bright greens. It’s not an ideal pigment for flesh tones, though; it’s too chromatic and too far away from orange to be useful for portraits.
The opacity of cadmium lemon varies among brands. Old Holland’s is labelled semi-opaque, while Williamsburg declares their cadmium lemon to be opaque.
Its chemical makeup is cadmium zinc sulfide.