What Do the Marks on Paint Tubes Tell You?

When choosing paints, in addition to the shade itself, you may also want to know:

- whether the paint is opaque or transparent
- the quality of the pigment it contains

This information is essential for every artist.

Transparency

How can you tell whether paint is transparent or opaque?

Paint packaging displays a square symbol (sometimes a circle), which may be empty, filled in, or half-colored. Here is what each one means:

transparent
semi-transparent
opaque
semi-opaque

Lightfastness

How can you tell how durable and lightfast paint is?

This rating indicates the paint's lightfastness, or how long it will retain its original appearance without fading when displayed in galleries.

+++ At least 100 years of durability
++ 25 to 100 years of durability
+ 10 to 25 years of durability

When you order paints from our website, you’ll find a palette of available shades for each one.

In addition to the shade name, the palette includes a square showing the level of coverage, and one or more asterisks (*) indicating the shade’s lightfastness.