One of the soft ready-made tints in the range, and a genuine time-saver. Holbein blends PG7 and PY3 with titanium white to make it, so it is a tint rather than a pure chroma colour. The published figures show it: Munsell value 9.0 sits near the top of the light scale while chroma 4.0 keeps it gentle. A fresh, cool, slightly sweet green that stays quiet on the page.

Pre-mixed pale tints matter more than people expect once you work flat. Matching a soft mint by hand across a large area, or hitting the same one again a week later, is genuinely difficult, and a tube removes the problem. Designers use colours like this for backgrounds, packaging and pattern work, and it is lovely for the cool light side of foliage. The white already in the mix means it covers well over darker colours.

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

Worth knowing if the range is new to you. Acrylic gouache has the matte, opaque, flat finish of gouache, but the acrylic binder means it dries permanently and is water resistant once dry rather than re-wetting. Holbein rates the range as opaque and compatible with all acrylic mediums. Most illustration work sits happily on heavyweight paper or a mixed media pad, and there is plenty in our pads and paper range.

Not jelly gouache, the semi-moist cup format, and not traditional gouache either. If you want the re-wettable kind, our wider gouache range has it.

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 Pale Mint