Cerulean Blue Hue Paint Colour - 28 Paints, 10 Brands

Why Cerulean Blue Hue isn't one colour

Every brand makes its own Cerulean Blue Hue, 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 28 of them from 10 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 Cerulean Blue Hue 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 28 paints. Below 2 is imperceptible to most people; above 10 is obviously a different colour.

Brand	Distance from the average	In practice
Liquitex	Delta E 0.31	Near-identical
Atelier	Delta E 1.12	Near-identical
Winsor & Newton	Delta E 1.51	Near-identical
Lukas	Delta E 1.74	Near-identical
Schmincke	Delta E 2.12	Very close
Sennelier	Delta E 2.20	Very close
Holbein	Delta E 2.43	Very close
Daler-Rowney	Delta E 4.48	Very close
Gamblin	Delta E 6.00	Noticeably different
Golden	Delta E 13.28	Clearly different

Which brands are interchangeable?

The closest pairs among 45 brand comparisons - swap one for another and most people would not see the difference.

HolbeinvsSchminckeDelta E 0.37Near-identical
SchminckevsSennelierDelta E 0.46Near-identical
HolbeinvsSennelierDelta E 0.55Near-identical
AteliervsLiquitexDelta E 1.19Near-identical
SchminckevsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 1.39Near-identical
SenneliervsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 1.44Near-identical

Which brands are clearly different?

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

GamblinvsGoldenDelta E 19.35Clearly different
Daler-RowneyvsGoldenDelta E 17.99Clearly different
GoldenvsHolbeinDelta E 16.01Clearly different
GoldenvsSennelierDelta E 15.71Clearly different
GoldenvsSchminckeDelta E 15.64Clearly different
GoldenvsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 14.73Clearly different

Pigments used

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

PB15

Atelier

PB15, PW6

Sennelier

PB15:3, PB29, PG7, PR6

Liquitex

PB15:3, PW4

Holbein

PB15:3, PW6

Daler-Rowney, Golden, Liquitex, Schmincke, Sennelier, Winsor & Newton

PB15:3, PW6, PG7

Lukas

PB15:3,PW6

Holbein, Schmincke, Sennelier, Winsor & Newton

PB15:4, PW6

Sennelier

PB29, PB15.3, PW6, PG7

Atelier

PW4, PB15:4

Gamblin

PW6, PB15:0, PG7

Golden

PW6, PB15:1, PB16

Lukas

PW6, PB15:3

Liquitex

Lightfastness

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

I

Atelier, Daler-Rowney, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, Lukas, Schmincke, Sennelier, Winsor & Newton

Opacity

How much the paint covers what is underneath.

Opaque

Atelier, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, Lukas, Sennelier, Winsor & Newton

Semi-Opaque

Daler-Rowney, Holbein, Liquitex, Schmincke, Sennelier, Winsor & Newton

Semi-Transparent

Atelier, Gamblin

Brands that make it

Every brand in the database with a Cerulean Blue Hue. 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 Cerulean Blue Hue we have measured

All 28 paints, with the measurements the comparisons above are built from.

Brand	Line	Medium	Hex	Lab*	Pigment	Opacity	Lightfastness
Atelier	A2 Lightfast	acrylic	`#0795d4`	58.3, -10.0, -41.3	PB15	Semi-Transparent	I
Atelier	Free Flow	acrylic	`#4d82b0`	52.6, -3.9, -29.7	PB29, PB15.3, PW6, PG7	Opaque	I
Atelier	Interactive	acrylic	`#2b8dc6`	55.7, -8.3, -37.4	PB29, PB15.3, PW6, PG7	Opaque	I
Daler-Rowney	Aquafine	watercolor	`#5096c8`	59.6, -7.1, -32.4	PB15:3, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Gamblin	Artist's Oil Colors	oil	`#4e9bc3`	60.8, -11.8, -27.8	PW4, PB15:4	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#006d9d`	43.3, -8.0, -33.2	PB15:3, PW6	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#006196`	39.2, -3.5, -35.6	PW6, PB15:0, PG7	Opaque	I
Golden	SoFlat	acrylic	`#006d9d`	42.4, -12.9, -34.9	PB15:3, PW6	Opaque	I
Holbein	Acryla Gouache	gouache	`#3e94c3`	58.2, -10.8, -31.9	PB15:3, PW4	Opaque	I
Holbein	Heavy Body Acrylic	acrylic	`#2891c8`	57.0, -10.2, -36.6	PB15:3,PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Holbein	Mat Acrylic	acrylic	`#4b91c3`	57.7, -6.8, -32.5	PB15:3,PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Liquitex	Basics	acrylic	`#4191c3`	57.4, -8.6, -33.1	PW6, PB15:3	Opaque	I
Liquitex	Professional Heavy Body	acrylic	`#2d8cbe`	55.1, -10.3, -33.9	PB15:3, PB29, PG7, PR6	Semi-Opaque	I
Liquitex	Soft Body	acrylic	`#2382b9`	51.6, -7.5, -36.4	PB15:3, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Lukas	1862 Artists' Oil	oil	`#2a8ab9`	54.2, -11.3, -32.4	PW6, PB15:1, PB16	Opaque	I
Lukas	Berlin Water-Mixable Oil	oil	`#2a8ab9`	54.2, -11.3, -32.4	PB15:3, PW6, PG7	Opaque	I
Schmincke	AKADEMIE Acrylic	acrylic	`#2d8cc3`	55.3, -8.6, -36.3	PB15:3,PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Schmincke	Horadam Aquarell	watercolor	`#4b96c3`	59.2, -9.6, -30.2	PB15:3, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Sennelier	Abstract Acrylic	acrylic	`#328cc3`	55.5, -7.9, -36.1	PB15:3,PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Sennelier	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#3791c3`	57.1, -10.1, -33.6	PB15:3, PW6	Opaque	I
Sennelier	Extra-Fine Acrylique	acrylic	`#4196cd`	59.3, -8.0, -35.8	PB15:3,PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Sennelier	Gouache	gouache	`#4691c3`	57.5, -7.7, -32.8	PB15, PW6	Opaque	I
Sennelier	Rive Gauche	oil	`#4191c3`	57.4, -8.6, -33.1	PB15:4, PW6	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Artisan Water Mixable Oil	oil	`#2391c8`	56.9, -10.6, -36.8	PB15:3, PW6	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Cotman Watercolour	watercolor	`#3494ca`	58.2, -9.8, -35.8	PB15:3, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Galeria	acrylic	`#2382b9`	51.6, -7.5, -36.4	PB15:3, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Acrylic	acrylic	`#2391c8`	56.9, -10.6, -36.8	PB15:3,PW6	Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Winton Oil Colour	oil	`#3494ca`	58.2, -9.8, -35.8	PB15:3, PW6	Opaque	I

Cerulean Blue Hue