PIGMENT TOKYO has introduced various ways to make different types of paints through articles and workshops. The advantage of making your paints is that you can create one-of-a-kind, uniquely customized colors.

I know it may seem challenging to mix the binder with effect pigments or other color materials from different eras and countries, which are not usually available in art supply stores. However, it’s actually quite simple once you get used to it. 

For me, the best part of making your own paint instead of buying the paint tubes from the store is that you could experience the excitement of not knowing what the result could turn out to be while mixing the colors!

For this article, I added glittering effect pigments that are also featured in some previous articles like “Making Ornaments with [Mi] Colors,” “New Mineral Pigments of Modern Times,” “The Sparkle of Gems; Gem Tone,” and “Having Fun with Effect Pigments” to mineral pigments.

By referring to those previous articles, let’s compare the paints made with one type and more than two types of pigments.

To make it easier to observe how the effect pigments influence the mineral pigments, I decided to use a single color of mineral pigment, Kissho Mizuiro Gunjo No. 12.

Most effect pigments have fine particles and light-specific gravity, so if you want to blend well, choose mineral pigments with fine particles.

Although, some painting techniques try to optimize the characteristic of using different specific gravity which will be introduced later in this article.

To begin with, let's mix the Gem Tone series with Mizuiro Gunjo No.12. The ratio is about 1:1 by volume and I used acrylic emulsion as the binder this time.

Since the color of the effect pigments is affected by the underlying color, the left row is painted on a white background and the right row is painted on a black one.

【Art Materials Used】

Pigments: Gem Tone Emerald, Gem Tone Topaz
Binder: Acrylic Emulsion
Substrate: Bamboo Washi for Watercolor 

As you can see, the result is less shiny after mixing with mineral pigments compared to only using the Gem Tone series. By doing this, I’m able to lower the glazing effect from the Gem Tone series with the help of Mizuiro Gunjo. 

The luster appeared more when applied to a black background but both achieved the same effect from the mixture of equal amounts of mineral pigment.

Next, let's try mixing mineral pigments with the [Mi] series.

【Art Materials Used】

Pigments: [Mi] Scenic White, [Mi] Royal Twinkle
Binder: Acrylic Emulsion
Substrate: Bamboo Washi for Watercolor 

[Mi] series pigments change their colors depending on dark or light base colors.

Therefore, Scenic White appeared as a cold-bluish silver color after mixing with the mineral pigment. However, when applied on a black surface, its silver shade came out more obviously.

Royal Twinkle is almost a white powder on its own, but with the mixture of Mizuiro Gunjo, the brightness is slightly reduced and light purplish color appears from certain angles; while on a black background, it turns out as a reddish-purple-like color which is just intense as the effect pigment on its own.


Last but not least is the [Xi] Micro Silver.

【Art Materials Used】

Pigments: [Xi] T61-10  Micro Silver

Binder: Acrylic Emulsion

Substrate: Bamboo Washi for Watercolor

Compared to [Mi] Scenic White which is closer in color, a cooler and more metallic shade appeared. This color also has more luster on a black background and less light reflection on a white background.

Besides these examples, a combination of effect pigments and mineral pigments can produce amazing results. As mentioned earlier in the article, effect pigments have fine particles and light specific gravity, so when mixed with pigments that have heavier specific gravity, they may not mix well or may separate from each other. 

By taking advantage of this phenomenon, I created a paint that has a granulating effect by using the pigments I have introduced in this article.

The mineral pigment I use is the same Kissho Mizuiro Gunjo No.12.

After moistening the substrate with a brush in advance, carry paint with a wet brush and apply it to the surface.

If you want to paint on a black background, it has to be water-resistant. Otherwise, the paint will move around, so my suggestion is to use acrylic paints as primers.

I picked out some of the effect pigments used in this article that produced interesting results.

【Art Materials Used】

Pigments:  Gem Tone Emerald
Binder: Acrylic Emulsion
Substrate: Bamboo Washi for Watercolor 

The granulation of Gem Tone Emerald and Mizuiro Gunjo No. 12 has a texture similar to colored metal leaves. When it was painted flat, it looked shinier on the black base, however, when it was applied with plenty of water, it reflected a little more light on the white ground. Since the amounts of medium and paint are less than in the flat application, so the underlying colors are showing through a little.

【Art Materials Used】

Pigments: [Xi] T61-10  Micro Silver

Binder: Acrylic Emulsion
Substrate: Bamboo Washi for Watercolor

In the case of [Xi] Micro Silver, the granulation on the white background turned out like sky and clouds, on the other hand, it appeared like a hazy aluminum or heavy metallic color on the black background. It is surprising how easily the underlying color can affect this much to the result.

【Art Materials Used】
Pigments: [Mi] Royal Twinkle
Binder: Acrylic Emulsion
Substrate: Bamboo Washi for Watercolor 

[Mi] Royal Twinkle has the most beautiful granulation result among the pigments I tried in this article. Particularly, the color gradation from light blue to purple on the white background is mesmerizing and depending on the angles to see, it shows different textures of the Royal Twinkle pigment and the mineral pigment.  Moreover, it has a decent luster and even on a black background, an exquisite gradation from reddish purple to bluish purple spreads out like a ripple.

Even for me, it is very interesting that I could create unexpected colors by simply mixing mineral pigments and effect pigments. I used the Shin-iwa (artificial) mineral pigment but it can be replaced by natural mineral pigments or a combination of heavy metallic pigments and effect pigments for finding more interesting expressions that cannot be achieved by only conventional Japanese painting materials.

Please note that the adhesive strength will be reduced if you add too much water to the mixture which will cause the paint to peel off. Furthermore, since some types of effect pigments are difficult to fix to the surface, it is better to add more glue or binder than usual formulas.

The ability to explore applied color material expression methods, such as mixing pigments of different types or daring to separate them, is the true joy of handmade paints.

Therefore, PIGMENT TOKYO invites you to try making your paints with our materials!

Art Materials Expert at PIGMENT TOKYO

Akira Oya

Born in 1989 in Tokyo. Master of Fine Art and Design at Nihon University College of Art. While working at PIGMENT TOKYO as an Art Materials Expert, he also continues his career as a visual artist.

Born in 1989 in Tokyo. Master of Fine Art and Design at Nihon University College of Art. While working at PIGMENT TOKYO as an Art Materials Expert, he also continues his career as a visual artist.