Cadmium Yellow Medium Paint Colour - 29 Paints, 15 Brands

Why Cadmium Yellow Medium isn't one colour

Every brand makes its own Cadmium Yellow Medium, 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 29 of them from 15 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 Medium 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 29 paints. Below 2 is imperceptible to most people; above 10 is obviously a different colour.

Brand	Distance from the average	In practice
Schmincke	Delta E 0.20	Near-identical
Amsterdam	Delta E 0.37	Near-identical
Matisse	Delta E 0.37	Near-identical
Vallejo	Delta E 0.37	Near-identical
Old Holland	Delta E 0.38	Near-identical
Williamsburg	Delta E 0.38	Near-identical
Sennelier	Delta E 0.53	Near-identical
Gamblin	Delta E 0.67	Near-identical
Winsor & Newton	Delta E 0.67	Near-identical
Golden	Delta E 0.90	Near-identical
Royal Talens	Delta E 1.68	Near-identical
Atelier	Delta E 1.72	Near-identical
M. Graham	Delta E 1.96	Near-identical
Maimeri	Delta E 1.96	Near-identical
Nevskaya Palitra	Delta E 2.40	Very close

Which brands are interchangeable?

The closest pairs among 105 brand comparisons - swap one for another and most people would not see the difference.

AmsterdamvsMatisseDelta E 0.00Near-identical
AmsterdamvsVallejoDelta E 0.00Near-identical
GamblinvsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 0.00Near-identical
MatissevsVallejoDelta E 0.00Near-identical
Old HollandvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical
Old HollandvsSennelierDelta E 0.17Near-identical

Which brands are clearly different?

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

M. GrahamvsNevskaya PalitraDelta E 4.13Very close
M. GrahamvsRoyal TalensDelta E 3.63Very close
MaimerivsNevskaya PalitraDelta E 3.51Very close
MaimerivsRoyal TalensDelta E 3.47Very close
AteliervsNevskaya PalitraDelta E 3.12Very close
AteliervsRoyal TalensDelta E 3.08Very close

Pigments used

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

PY35

Amsterdam, Golden, Maimeri, Matisse, Williamsburg

PY35, PO20

Royal Talens, Schmincke, Vallejo

PY37

Atelier, Gamblin, Golden, M. Graham, Nevskaya Palitra, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Schmincke, Sennelier

PY37, PO20

Winsor & Newton

PY37,PO20

Winsor & Newton

Lightfastness

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

I

Amsterdam, Atelier, Gamblin, Golden, M. Graham, Maimeri, Matisse, Nevskaya Palitra, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Schmincke, Sennelier, Vallejo, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Opacity

How much the paint covers what is underneath.

Opaque

Amsterdam, Atelier, Gamblin, Golden, M. Graham, Maimeri, Matisse, 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 Yellow Medium. 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 Medium we have measured

All 29 paints, with the measurements the comparisons above are built from.

Brand	Line	Medium	Hex	Lab*	Pigment	Opacity	Lightfastness
Amsterdam	Expert Series	acrylic	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY35	Opaque	I
Atelier	Free Flow	acrylic	`#fdd437`	86.1, -0.3, 76.7	PY37	Opaque	I
Atelier	Interactive	acrylic	`#fbd407`	85.8, -2.1, 85.6	PY37	Opaque	I
Gamblin	Artist's Oil Colors	oil	`#ffd300`	85.9, 0.1, 86.4	PY37	Opaque	I
Golden	Fluid	acrylic	`#ffd300`	85.9, 0.1, 86.4	PY37	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#ffd300`	85.9, 0.1, 86.4	PY37	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#ffdd18`	88.5, -4.7, 85.8	PY35	Semi-Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#ffc600`	84.1, 12.9, 94.6	PY35	Opaque	I
Golden	OPEN	acrylic	`#ffc500`	83.7, 12.6, 95.3	PY35	Semi-Opaque	I
Golden	QoR Modern Watercolors	watercolor	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY37	Opaque	I
Golden	SoFlat	acrylic	`#ffdd18`	88.5, -3.9, 85.8	PY35	Semi-Opaque	I
M. Graham	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#ffd700`	86.9, -1.9, 87.1	PY37	Opaque	I
Maimeri	Puro	oil	`#ffd728`	87.0, -1.4, 81.6	PY35	Opaque	I
Matisse	Flow Formula	acrylic	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY35	Opaque	I
Matisse	Fluid	acrylic	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY35	Opaque	I
Matisse	Structure Formula	acrylic	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY35	Opaque	I
Nevskaya Palitra	Master Class	oil	`#ffcd2d`	84.5, 3.8, 78.3	PY37	Opaque	I
Old Holland	Classic Oil Colors	oil	`#ffd000`	85.2, 1.6, 85.9	PY37	Opaque	I
Royal Talens	Rembrandt Oil Colors	oil	`#ffd000`	85.2, 1.6, 85.9	PY37	Opaque	I
Royal Talens	Van Gogh	watercolor	`#ffc800`	83.2, 5.7, 84.5	PY35, PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	Horadam Aquarell	watercolor	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY35, PO20	Opaque	I
Schmincke	Mussini Oil Colors	oil	`#ffd000`	85.2, 1.6, 85.9	PY37	Opaque	I
Schmincke	PRIMAcryl	acrylic	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY37	Opaque	I
Sennelier	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#ffcd00`	84.5, 3.2, 85.4	PY37	Opaque	I
Sennelier	Extra-Fine Acrylique	acrylic	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY37	Opaque	I
Vallejo	Acrylic Artist Color	acrylic	`#ffd200`	85.7, 0.6, 86.2	PY35, PO20	Opaque	I
Williamsburg	Handmade Oil Colors	oil	`#ffd000`	85.2, 1.6, 85.9	PY35	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Artisan Water Mixable Oil	oil	`#ffd300`	85.9, 0.1, 86.4	PY37, PO20	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Acrylic	acrylic	`#ffd300`	85.9, 0.1, 86.4	PY37,PO20	Opaque	I

Cadmium Yellow Medium