Have you ever heard of a metal called titanium?

The painting substrates carried by PIGMENT TOKYO include not only commonly used materials like paper and canvas but also "titanium" metal sheets.

TranTixxii® is a design-oriented titanium material developed by NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION. It has developed an unparalleled brand in the world that pursues "beauty" in titanium.

In this article, we feature the story behind the development of TranTixxii®.

【ARTICLES】Interview on the Backstory of TranTixxii® Development

 

In the following, I'm going to introduce what kind of metal titanium is and what kind of effects it can produce when used as an art material.

【The Characteristics of Titanium】

・Higher in strength than iron and aluminum.

・High corrosion resistance, semi-permanently rust-free.

・Highly resistant to ultraviolet rays and seawater, as well as discoloration caused by acid rain, often used as the exterior of architectures.

【Features of TranTixxii®】

■Wide Color Variation

・A wide variety of colors are available by controlling the oxide film on the titanium surface with TranTixxii's proprietary technology.

■Interference Colors

・Rich interference colors appear.

・The color changes depending on the viewing angle, weather, time, and light condition.

■Light Weight

・Suitable weight for use as a painting substrate for artworks.

■High Corrosion Resistance

・Resistant to rust and corrosion, so it can be stored for a long time.

Here are the types and sizes available in PIGMENT TOKYO: (*As of May 6, 2021)

■Types

ND20 (23 colors each): Matte finish with uneven textured surface

SD3 (23 colors each): Glossy and reflective finish

■Size

Sample Size: 100mm x 100mm

Panel Size (mounted on a wood panel): F6, F10, F15, F25

For further details, please refer to the product page below.

We have a sample book to look at in the store. Feel free to ask our staff if you have any questions or concerns.

Fun fact, the wide variety of colors from the titanium is not created by paint.

When a thin oxide coating (colorless and transparent) is formed on the surface of titanium, the interference of light reveals colors, and by varying the thickness of this coating, a wide range of colors is created.

TranTixxii® was developed by focusing on the advantages of titanium. As a metal product, it has diverse possibilities, and I’m very confident to tell how great it is as a material simply from its features.

However, I am still curious about how it can be used in the actual practice of making art pieces.

Next, I'm going to experiment with four different colored titanium sheets.

■Titanium Panels × Effect Pigments

Effect pigments are beautiful even by their single use, but what kind of luminosity will they appear when they are applied to colored titanium panels?

Here is a Duo Chrome that polarizes in a subtle color.

【Art Materials Used】

■Image Left

Color Material: Duo Chrome RB

Medium: Acrylic emulsion

Substrate: Color Titanium Panel ND20 (#8)

■Image Right

Color Material: Duochrome RB/Kusakabe Cerulean Blue

Medium: Acrylic emulsion

Substrate: Color Titanium Panel ND20 (#76)

Duo Chrome is a type of pearlescent pigment consisting of mica coated with titanium dioxide or iron oxide. It is an effect pigment with a polarizing character. For example, the RB gives off a pinkish glow when applied to a white background and a bluish glow on a black background. Therefore, a slightly reddish-pink pearlescent color appeared in #8 (gold type) than in #76 (blue type) titanium panel.

On both sheets, the paint is applied in the following order.

・More water

・Heavy paint (more)

・Heavypaint (less)

I also applied a layer of Kusakabe's Cerulean Blue to #76 on the right. It's a little hard to tell from the image, but you can see a hint of Duo Chrome RB, so it’s better to adjust the way you paint and make good use of the background and paint effects.

I see the potential of the titanium panels for creating art pieces by taking advantage of the color, polarizing effect, and unevenly textured surface. Also, there would be more possibilities of different effects by changing the number of paints I apply to the surface.

Next, I painted Meoxal, a color with a passionate atmosphere of gold and orange, to the SD3, which has a shiny mirror finish.

The titanium panel I used was SD3, #0 (silver) with a mirror finish. #0 does not have any interference effect because it has not been coated with any oxide films. The images below are both the same, but I compared the difference in color appearance depending on the viewing angle.

【Art Materials Used】

Color Material: Meoxal F120-51 Victoria Red/Duo Chrome RB.

Medium: Acrylic emulsion

Substrate: Color Titanium Panel SD3 (#0)

Meoxal is a paste-type photoluminescent pigment based on high purity flake alumina. It has no polarizing effect. Duo Chrome RB was also applied to see if there was a polarization effect.

The left image is exposed to the light from above, and the right image is taken at a slight angle.

This panel is more susceptible to ambient color and light reflections, so it is easier to see the changes in the Duo Chrome than the ND20. The more tilt the angle is, the more reddish pink it appears.

The way the paint sits on the surface is also different between SD 3 and ND20, so always remember to take a few tries beforehand. According to your painting style, you may need adjustment of the medium and paint density, and whether or not to apply layers of paint.

Titanium panels will hold acrylic paints, but they may peel off a little depending on the type of acrylic paints you use. I recommend using a primer to avoid such incidents.

■Titanium Panel × Sumi Ink

【Art Materials Used】

Color Material : Daiwagaboku Akanegumo (Sumi Ink)

Substrate: Colored titanium panel ND20 (#0)

When I applied Sumi ink to ND20 which has uneven surfaces, the ink tends to repel since it has a lot of moisture.

I applied one coat to the light-colored areas and 3~4 coats to the darker areas near the center. After several coats, the Sumi ink can fix on the panel eventually, but if I lightly scratched it with a sharp object, it would come off.

It will require some ingenuity for display and long-term storage, but in other words, it’s possible to use ink on these titanium panels.

■Titanium Panel × Pebeo (Oil-based Alkyd Resin Paint)

【Art Materials Used】

■Image Left

Color Material: Oil-based Alkyd Resin Paints Pebeo

　Prism Pearl Bioline No.25 / Prism Vermillion No.12

Substrate: Color Titanium Panel ND20 (#58)

■Image Right

Color Material: Oil-based alkyd resin paint Pebeo

　Prism Pearl Bioline No.25 / Prism Vermillion No.12

　Vitreille Sky Blue No,36

Substrate: Color Titanium Panel ND20 (#88)

【Art Materials Used】

Color Material: Oil-based Alkyd Resin Paints Pebeo

　Prism Vermillion No,12

Substrate: Color Titanium Panel SD3 (#48)

Pebeo is an oil-based alkyd resin paint that is also highly unique as a painting material.

It is an oil-based solvent that can be painted on canvas, paper, glass, metal, etc. and gives a glossy finish.

Vitrail is a highly transparent paint while Prisme is opaque and produces a "beehive" effect as the paint dries. Both are oil-based, have glossy finishes and can be mixed.

In this case, I used a painting knife and poured it straight from the bottle, so the color surface was quite thick, but the surface of both ND20 and SD3 dried in about half a day.

I moved the painted panels around but they seem to be fixed on it quite well without peeling off.

The painting materials introduced in this article are just a few examples and I hope you find them useful as new ideas for your future art-making.

As a painting substrate, the color titanium plates have a great potential to create a huge range of styles and expressions. So, how about trying it as a spice for your creativity?

■The designing titanium, TranTixxii®

https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/product/trantixxii/