Cadmium Orange Paint Colour - 40 Paints, 19 Brands

Why Cadmium Orange isn't one colour

Every brand makes its own Cadmium Orange, and no two are quite the same. They pick different pigments, grind them differently and mix them to their own recipe — so two tubes with the same word on the label can look noticeably different once they are on the paper.

We measured all 40 of them from 19 brands and compared them the way a lab would, using a number called Delta E. It is just a measure of how far apart two colours look to the human eye. Under 2 and almost nobody can tell them apart; over 10 and most people would call them different colours.

Useful when your usual Cadmium Orange is out of stock and you need the closest substitute, when you are deciding which brand to buy, or when a mix you got right last time will not come out the same again.

How far is each brand from the average?

Every brand's version measured against the average of all 40 paints. Below 2 is imperceptible to most people; above 10 is obviously a different colour.

Brand	Distance from the average	In practice
Lukas	Delta E 1.20	Near-identical
Old Holland	Delta E 1.20	Near-identical
Williamsburg	Delta E 1.20	Near-identical
Winsor & Newton	Delta E 1.20	Near-identical
Vallejo	Delta E 1.28	Near-identical
Holbein	Delta E 2.10	Very close
Royal Talens	Delta E 2.70	Very close
Golden	Delta E 3.04	Very close
Sennelier	Delta E 3.33	Very close
Amsterdam	Delta E 4.81	Very close
Matisse	Delta E 4.81	Very close
M. Graham	Delta E 4.92	Very close
Daler-Rowney	Delta E 5.49	Noticeably different
Michael Harding	Delta E 5.68	Noticeably different
Gamblin	Delta E 7.04	Noticeably different
Maimeri	Delta E 7.17	Noticeably different
Nevskaya Palitra	Delta E 7.17	Noticeably different
Schmincke	Delta E 7.17	Noticeably different
Atelier	Delta E 12.32	Clearly different

Which brands are interchangeable?

The closest pairs among 171 brand comparisons - swap one for another and most people would not see the difference.

AmsterdamvsMatisseDelta E 0.00Near-identical
LukasvsOld HollandDelta E 0.00Near-identical
LukasvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical
MaimerivsNevskaya PalitraDelta E 0.00Near-identical
Old HollandvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical
VallejovsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 0.76Near-identical

Which brands are clearly different?

The furthest apart. Same name on the tube, visibly different paint.

AteliervsNevskaya PalitraDelta E 19.29Clearly different
AteliervsMaimeriDelta E 19.29Clearly different
AteliervsSchminckeDelta E 19.26Clearly different
AteliervsDaler-RowneyDelta E 17.43Clearly different
AteliervsMatisseDelta E 16.63Clearly different
AmsterdamvsAtelierDelta E 16.63Clearly different

Pigments used

Brands do not always use the same pigment for the same colour name.

PO20

Amsterdam, Atelier, Daler-Rowney, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Lukas, M. Graham, Maimeri, Matisse, Michael Harding, Nevskaya Palitra, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Schmincke, Sennelier, Vallejo, Winsor & Newton

PO20, PY35

Williamsburg

PO20,PY35

Daler-Rowney

Lightfastness

How well the colour resists fading. ASTM I is the most permanent; V is fugitive.

I

Amsterdam, Atelier, Daler-Rowney, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Lukas, M. Graham, Maimeri, Matisse, Michael Harding, Nevskaya Palitra, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Schmincke, Sennelier, Vallejo, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Opacity

How much the paint covers what is underneath.

Opaque

Amsterdam, Atelier, Daler-Rowney, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Lukas, M. Graham, Maimeri, Matisse, Michael Harding, Nevskaya Palitra, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Schmincke, Sennelier, Vallejo, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Semi-Opaque

Golden

Brands that make it

Every brand in the database with a Cadmium Orange. Each links to that brand's full range.

Available in

The kinds of paint this colour is made as.

Closest other colours

If you cannot get this one, these sit nearest to it across the same brands.

Every Cadmium Orange we have measured

All 40 paints, with the measurements the comparisons above are built from.

Brand	Line	Medium	Hex	Lab*	Pigment	Opacity	Lightfastness
Amsterdam	Expert Series	acrylic	`#ff8200`	67.5, 41.8, 74.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Atelier	Free Flow	acrylic	`#ef4a23`	55.5, 61.5, 56.3	PO20	Opaque	I
Atelier	Interactive	acrylic	`#f05422`	57.1, 57.9, 58.1	PO20	Opaque	I
Daler-Rowney	Artists' Watercolour	watercolor	`#ff9123`	70.6, 34.7, 69.6	PO20,PY35	Opaque	I
Daler-Rowney	Cryla Artists' Acrylic	acrylic	`#f5842a`	66.6, 37.5, 63.4	PO20	Opaque	I
Gamblin	Artist's Oil Colors	oil	`#ff6b35`	63.4, 53.7, 56.5	PO20	Opaque	I
Golden	Fluid	acrylic	`#ff6b35`	63.4, 53.7, 56.5	PO20	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#ff6b35`	63.4, 53.7, 56.5	PO20	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#fe6923`	62.8, 53.7, 63.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#ff6f20`	64.4, 52.7, 65.8	PO20	Opaque	I
Golden	OPEN	acrylic	`#ff6e1e`	64.2, 52.9, 66.4	PO20	Semi-Opaque	I
Golden	QoR Modern Watercolors	watercolor	`#ff961e`	71.7, 32.0, 71.8	PO20	Opaque	I
Golden	SoFlat	acrylic	`#fe6923`	62.8, 53.6, 63.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Holbein	Acryla Gouache	gouache	`#ff7837`	65.7, 47.7, 57.8	PO20	Opaque	I
Holbein	Artists' Oil Color	oil	`#ff7034`	64.2, 51.3, 57.7	PO20	Opaque	I
Holbein	Artists' Watercolor	watercolor	`#ff7334`	64.8, 50.0, 58.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Holbein	Heavy Body Acrylic	acrylic	`#ff8200`	67.5, 41.8, 74.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Lukas	1862 Artists' Oil	oil	`#ff802a`	67.2, 43.4, 64.4	PO20	Opaque	I
M. Graham	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#ff6e32`	63.9, 52.2, 58.3	PO20	Opaque	I
M. Graham	Artists' Watercolor	watercolor	`#ff7637`	65.4, 48.6, 57.5	PO20	Opaque	I
Maimeri	Puro	oil	`#ff9128`	70.6, 34.8, 68.0	PO20	Opaque	I
Matisse	Flow Formula	acrylic	`#ff8200`	67.5, 41.8, 74.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Matisse	Fluid	acrylic	`#ff8200`	67.5, 41.8, 74.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Matisse	Structure Formula	acrylic	`#ff8200`	67.5, 41.8, 74.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Michael Harding	Artists Oil Colours	oil	`#ff6e32`	63.9, 52.2, 58.3	PO20	Opaque	I
Nevskaya Palitra	Master Class	oil	`#ff9128`	70.6, 34.8, 68.0	PO20	Opaque	I
Old Holland	Classic Oil Colors	oil	`#ff802a`	67.2, 43.4, 64.4	PO20	Opaque	I
Royal Talens	Rembrandt Oil Colors	oil	`#ff7a2a`	66.0, 46.3, 63.4	PO20	Opaque	I
Royal Talens	Van Gogh	watercolor	`#ff8c1e`	69.5, 37.2, 70.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	Mussini Oil Colors	oil	`#ff8723`	68.5, 39.8, 67.9	PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	Norma Professional	oil	`#ff8c1e`	69.5, 37.2, 70.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	PRIMAcryl	acrylic	`#ff9600`	71.6, 31.7, 76.8	PO20	Opaque	I
Sennelier	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#ff7828`	65.6, 47.2, 63.9	PO20	Opaque	I
Sennelier	Extra-Fine Acrylique	acrylic	`#ff8c00`	69.5, 36.8, 75.5	PO20	Opaque	I
Vallejo	Acrylic Artist Color	acrylic	`#ff7828`	65.6, 47.2, 63.9	PO20	Opaque	I
Williamsburg	Handmade Oil Colors	oil	`#ff802a`	67.2, 43.4, 64.4	PO20, PY35	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Artists' Oil Colour	oil	`#ff7332`	64.8, 49.9, 59.1	PO20	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Designers Gouache	gouache	`#ff7a3a`	66.1, 46.8, 56.9	PO20	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Acrylic	acrylic	`#ff8a00`	69.1, 37.8, 75.2	PO20	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Watercolour	watercolor	`#ff7637`	65.4, 48.6, 57.5	PO20	Opaque	I

Cadmium Orange