Cadmium Yellow Deep Paint Colour - 30 Paints, 16 Brands

Why Cadmium Yellow Deep isn't one colour

Every brand makes its own Cadmium Yellow Deep, 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 30 of them from 16 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 Yellow Deep 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 30 paints. Below 2 is imperceptible to most people; above 10 is obviously a different colour.

Brand	Distance from the average	In practice
Holbein	Delta E 0.25	Near-identical
Gamblin	Delta E 0.39	Near-identical
Amsterdam	Delta E 0.44	Near-identical
Golden	Delta E 0.44	Near-identical
Old Holland	Delta E 0.44	Near-identical
Williamsburg	Delta E 0.44	Near-identical
Schmincke	Delta E 0.45	Near-identical
Winsor & Newton	Delta E 0.52	Near-identical
M. Graham	Delta E 0.54	Near-identical
Daler-Rowney	Delta E 1.63	Near-identical
Royal Talens	Delta E 1.93	Near-identical
Michael Harding	Delta E 2.16	Very close
Sennelier	Delta E 2.16	Very close
Nevskaya Palitra	Delta E 2.39	Very close
Maimeri	Delta E 2.59	Very close
Atelier	Delta E 7.66	Noticeably different

Which brands are interchangeable?

The closest pairs among 120 brand comparisons - swap one for another and most people would not see the difference.

AmsterdamvsGoldenDelta E 0.00Near-identical
AmsterdamvsOld HollandDelta E 0.00Near-identical
AmsterdamvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical
GoldenvsOld HollandDelta E 0.00Near-identical
GoldenvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical
Old HollandvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical

Which brands are clearly different?

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

AteliervsMaimeriDelta E 10.03Clearly different
AteliervsSennelierDelta E 9.81Noticeably different
AteliervsMichael HardingDelta E 9.80Noticeably different
AteliervsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 8.17Noticeably different
AteliervsWilliamsburgDelta E 8.08Noticeably different
AteliervsSchminckeDelta E 8.08Noticeably different

Pigments used

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

PO20

Royal Talens

PY35

Maimeri

PY35, PO20

Schmincke, Sennelier

PY35,PO20

Amsterdam, Daler-Rowney

PY37

Atelier, Nevskaya Palitra, Winsor & Newton

PY37, PO20

Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, M. Graham, Michael Harding, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Schmincke, Sennelier, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

PY37,PO20

Holbein, Winsor & Newton

Lightfastness

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

I

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

Opacity

How much the paint covers what is underneath.

Opaque

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

Brands that make it

Every brand in the database with a Cadmium Yellow Deep. 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 Yellow Deep we have measured

All 30 paints, with the measurements the comparisons above are built from.

Brand	Line	Medium	Hex	Lab*	Pigment	Opacity	Lightfastness
Amsterdam	Expert Series	acrylic	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY35,PO20	Opaque	I
Atelier	Interactive	acrylic	`#f8a21d`	73.5, 22.9, 73.1	PY37	Opaque	I
Daler-Rowney	Artists' Watercolour	watercolor	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY35,PO20	Opaque	I
Daler-Rowney	Cryla Artists' Acrylic	acrylic	`#fcb337`	78.0, 16.4, 69.2	PY35,PO20	Opaque	I
Gamblin	Artist's Oil Colors	oil	`#ffb700`	79.1, 14.5, 81.7	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Golden	QoR Modern Watercolors	watercolor	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Holbein	Acryla Gouache	gouache	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Holbein	Artists' Oil Color	oil	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Holbein	Artists' Watercolor	watercolor	`#ffb600`	78.9, 15.1, 81.6	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Holbein	Heavy Body Acrylic	acrylic	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37,PO20	Opaque	I
M. Graham	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#ffb400`	78.4, 16.1, 81.2	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
M. Graham	Artists' Watercolor	watercolor	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Maimeri	Classico	oil	`#ffc323`	82.1, 8.7, 78.7	PY35	Opaque	I
Maimeri	Puro	oil	`#ffbe1e`	80.8, 11.2, 78.9	PY35	Opaque	I
Michael Harding	Artists Oil Colours	oil	`#ffbe00`	80.8, 10.9, 82.9	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Nevskaya Palitra	Master Class	oil	`#ffb423`	78.5, 16.5, 75.9	PY37	Opaque	I
Old Holland	Classic Oil Colors	oil	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Royal Talens	Rembrandt Oil Colors	oil	`#ffb600`	78.9, 15.1, 81.6	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Royal Talens	Van Gogh	watercolor	`#ffaf00`	77.2, 18.7, 80.5	PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	Horadam Aquarell	watercolor	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY35, PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	Mussini Oil Colors	oil	`#ffaf00`	77.2, 18.7, 80.5	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	Norma Professional	oil	`#ffbe00`	80.8, 10.9, 82.9	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	PRIMAcryl	acrylic	`#ffbe00`	80.8, 10.9, 82.9	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Sennelier	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#ffb400`	78.4, 16.1, 81.2	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Sennelier	l'Aquarelle	watercolor	`#ffc800`	83.2, 5.7, 84.5	PY35, PO20	Opaque	I
Williamsburg	Handmade Oil Colors	oil	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Artists' Oil Colour	oil	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Designers Gouache	gouache	`#ffbc00`	80.3, 11.9, 82.5	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Acrylic	acrylic	`#ffb700`	79.1, 14.5, 81.7	PY37,PO20	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Watercolour	watercolor	`#ffb900`	79.6, 13.5, 82.0	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I

Cadmium Yellow Deep