Jaune Brillant is the odd one out among the yellows, because there is a red in it. Holbein lists PR170 and PY83, given as Monoazo and Disazo Pigments, tinted with PW6 titanium dioxide. The Munsell hue of 3.0YR lands much closer to orange than to yellow despite the name, and a value of 7.5 with a chroma of 6.5 makes it light and soft: pale apricot rather than anything you would call bright.

This is a skin-tone colour first and a yellow second. Portrait and figure illustrators use it as a mid-light flesh note straight from the tube, then push it with small amounts of Crimson or Burnt Sienna for warmer complexions. Outside portraiture it does peach blossom, sunlit stucco, terracotta in soft light and the inside of a shell. Because the white is built in, it holds its own over darker underpainting, which matters when you are lifting a lit cheek or forearm back out of shadow you have already laid down.

What Makes This Colour Special

Pigment, lightfastness and series as published by Holbein. Holbein does not publish an opacity rating for individual colours; the range as a whole is described by Holbein as opaque.

Acrylic Gouache, Not Traditional Gouache

If you have not used acrylic gouache before, the short version is this. Holbein Acrylic Gouache dries to a matte, opaque finish and is water resistant once dry, so it does not reactivate with water like traditional gouache. You get the flat, dense colour gouache is loved for, in a paint that stays put. Holbein gives an open time of roughly 10 to 30 minutes, so squeeze out small amounts as you go rather than loading up the palette. Soft synthetic watercolour brushes suit it well, since they carry enough paint to lay a flat area without dragging.

Why Holbein Acrylic Gouache Is in Serious Studios

• Genuinely opaque. Holbein describes the range simply as an opaque acrylic paint. It covers, including over darker colour, which is the whole point of reaching for gouache rather than watercolour.
• Velvety matte, no sheen. Holbein describes the colour as opaque, intense, smooth and velvety. It dries flat, which is why it photographs and scans without glare.
• Water resistant once dry, so you can layer. Holbein’s own wording, and the reason the range exists. A dry layer will take another one over the top without lifting.
• The colour you mix is the colour you get. Holbein states it does not shift in colour tone from wet to dried colour. Anyone who has watched a perfect grey dry into a different grey will appreciate that.
• Built to use straight from the tube. Holbein says it is specifically designed to be used directly from the tube and will dry to even, uniform paint layers.
• Works on more than paper. Holbein lists paper, canvas, cloth, stone, wood, leather, plexiglass and concrete, with excellent adhesion, and full compatibility with all acrylic mediums.

Getting the Most Out of This Tube

Straight from the tube is the default. This is what Holbein designed it for, and it is where you get those even, flat, uniform layers. Add a little water to loosen it, but go easy: very diluted washes can dry streaky across a large flat area, so build coverage in thin even coats rather than flooding it on.

Watch the palette, not the clock. Holbein gives an open time of roughly 10 to 30 minutes and notes the drying time is much like ordinary watercolour. The practical consequence is that paint left sitting on the palette will go off and will not come back, so squeeze out small amounts as you need them.

It plays well with acrylic mediums. Holbein states the range is compatible with all acrylic mediums, so you can change the body or extend the working time if you want to. Soft synthetic brushes suit it, since they hold enough paint to lay a flat area without dragging.

Questions About Holbein Jaune Brillant