Cobalt Green Paint Colour - 26 Paints, 16 Brands

Why Cobalt Green isn't one colour

Every brand makes its own Cobalt Green, 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 26 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 Cobalt Green 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 26 paints. Below 2 is imperceptible to most people; above 10 is obviously a different colour.

Brand	Distance from the average	In practice
M. Graham	Delta E 1.47	Near-identical
Daniel Smith	Delta E 1.54	Near-identical
Gamblin	Delta E 1.76	Near-identical
Lukas	Delta E 1.85	Near-identical
Old Holland	Delta E 1.85	Near-identical
Royal Talens	Delta E 1.85	Near-identical
Williamsburg	Delta E 1.85	Near-identical
Sennelier	Delta E 1.89	Near-identical
Holbein	Delta E 1.90	Near-identical
Winsor & Newton	Delta E 2.60	Very close
Liquitex	Delta E 2.64	Very close
Vallejo	Delta E 3.22	Very close
Michael Harding	Delta E 3.27	Very close
Maimeri	Delta E 6.20	Noticeably different
Golden	Delta E 6.87	Noticeably different
Nevskaya Palitra	Delta E 7.90	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.

LukasvsOld HollandDelta E 0.00Near-identical
LukasvsRoyal TalensDelta E 0.00Near-identical
LukasvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical
Old HollandvsRoyal TalensDelta E 0.00Near-identical
Old HollandvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical
Royal TalensvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical

Which brands are clearly different?

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

GoldenvsNevskaya PalitraDelta E 14.61Clearly different
GoldenvsMaimeriDelta E 11.60Clearly different
LiquitexvsNevskaya PalitraDelta E 10.08Clearly different
GamblinvsNevskaya PalitraDelta E 9.43Noticeably different
GoldenvsVallejoDelta E 9.34Noticeably different
GoldenvsMichael HardingDelta E 9.32Noticeably different

Pigments used

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

PG19

Golden, Sennelier

PG26

Daniel Smith, Golden, Holbein, Lukas, Maimeri, Winsor & Newton

PG50

Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, M. Graham, Michael Harding, Nevskaya Palitra, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Sennelier, Vallejo, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Lightfastness

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

I

Daniel Smith, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, Lukas, M. Graham, Maimeri, Michael Harding, Nevskaya Palitra, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Sennelier, Vallejo, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Opacity

How much the paint covers what is underneath.

Opaque

Golden, Liquitex, Maimeri, Vallejo

Semi-Opaque

Golden, Nevskaya Palitra, Sennelier, Winsor & Newton

Semi-Transparent

Daniel Smith, Gamblin, Holbein, Lukas, M. Graham, Michael Harding, Old Holland, Royal Talens, Sennelier, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Brands that make it

Every brand in the database with a Cobalt Green. 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 Cobalt Green we have measured

All 26 paints, with the measurements the comparisons above are built from.

Brand	Line	Medium	Hex	Lab*	Pigment	Opacity	Lightfastness
Daniel Smith	Extra Fine Watercolors	watercolor	`#008a70`	51.1, -38.3, 5.0	PG26	Semi-Transparent	I
Gamblin	Artist's Oil Colors	oil	`#008367`	48.5, -37.7, 6.6	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	Fluid	acrylic	`#008367`	48.5, -37.7, 6.6	PG50	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#008367`	48.5, -37.7, 6.6	PG50	Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#30594b`	34.4, -17.9, 3.1	PG26	Semi-Opaque	I
Golden	OPEN	acrylic	`#30584b`	34.1, -17.2, 2.9	PG26	Semi-Opaque	I
Golden	QoR Modern Watercolors	watercolor	`#3c8c6e`	52.8, -32.0, 8.8	PG19	Semi-Opaque	I
Holbein	Artists' Oil Color	oil	`#00876c`	50.0, -38.1, 5.8	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Holbein	Artists' Watercolor	watercolor	`#008e76`	52.6, -38.3, 3.7	PG26	Semi-Transparent	I
Holbein	Heavy Body Acrylic	acrylic	`#008c73`	51.8, -38.3, 4.4	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Liquitex	Professional Heavy Body	acrylic	`#00826e`	48.4, -35.3, 2.3	PG50	Opaque	I
Lukas	1862 Artists' Oil	oil	`#008a6c`	51.0, -39.4, 7.2	PG26	Semi-Transparent	I
M. Graham	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#008269`	48.2, -36.7, 5.0	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
M. Graham	Artists' Watercolor	watercolor	`#009178`	53.6, -39.1, 4.0	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Maimeri	Puro	oil	`#4b9173`	55.1, -29.5, 9.2	PG26	Opaque	I
Michael Harding	Artists Oil Colours	oil	`#008c69`	51.6, -41.0, 9.8	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Nevskaya Palitra	Master Class	oil	`#419b7d`	58.1, -34.3, 7.8	PG50	Semi-Opaque	I
Old Holland	Classic Oil Colors	oil	`#008a6c`	51.0, -39.4, 7.2	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Royal Talens	Rembrandt Oil Colors	oil	`#008a6c`	51.0, -39.4, 7.2	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Sennelier	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#008769`	49.9, -38.9, 7.4	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Sennelier	l'Aquarelle	watercolor	`#378c6e`	52.6, -33.2, 8.5	PG19	Semi-Opaque	I
Vallejo	Acrylic Artist Color	acrylic	`#008c78`	52.0, -36.9, 1.7	PG50	Opaque	I
Williamsburg	Handmade Oil Colors	oil	`#008a6c`	51.0, -39.4, 7.2	PG50	Semi-Transparent	I
Winsor & Newton	Artists' Oil Colour	oil	`#007d69`	46.6, -34.5, 2.6	PG26	Semi-Transparent	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Acrylic	acrylic	`#008c78`	52.0, -36.9, 1.7	PG50	Semi-Opaque	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Watercolour	watercolor	`#009880`	56.1, -39.8, 3.1	PG26	Semi-Transparent	I

Cobalt Green