Pigments

Costs are kept to an economical level by replacing some of the more costly pigments with less expensive alternatives. Pigments derive from a number of sources: Some are natural products, notably the earths, eg. umbers, ochres; others come from metal compounds and are sometimes termed 'traditional' or 'genuine', eg. ultramarine.

The distillation of petroleum yields an ever widening range of organic pigments which are often termed as 'modern'. Many of the pigments used in Cotman are organic.

Colour Range

The Cotman Water Colour range has a more uniform consistency than the Professional Water Colour range and this benefits beginners as there is less to learn about each individual pigment. The Cotman Water Colour range also relates to the Winsor & Newton Professional Water Colour range, e.g. Burnt Sienna in both ranges has the same hue. This enables artists to use colours from both ranges with minimal adjustment to their technique.

White in the Range

Traditionally the white of the paper provides the brilliance to water colour and can be used as highlights. However, some artists utilize Chinese White for highlights at the end of their painting or in dulling some colour mixtures down.