Ultramarine Blue Paint Colour - 28 Paints, 14 Brands

Why Ultramarine Blue isn't one colour

Every brand makes its own Ultramarine Blue, 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 14 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 Ultramarine Blue 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
Holbein	Delta E 0.99	Near-identical
M. Graham	Delta E 1.14	Near-identical
Daniel Smith	Delta E 1.19	Near-identical
Matisse	Delta E 1.30	Near-identical
Gamblin	Delta E 1.38	Near-identical
Williamsburg	Delta E 1.38	Near-identical
Schmincke	Delta E 1.46	Near-identical
Michael Harding	Delta E 1.64	Near-identical
Golden	Delta E 1.79	Near-identical
Vallejo	Delta E 1.79	Near-identical
Sennelier	Delta E 2.81	Very close
Winsor & Newton	Delta E 2.90	Very close
Liquitex	Delta E 4.07	Very close
Atelier	Delta E 18.75	Clearly different

Which brands are interchangeable?

The closest pairs among 91 brand comparisons - swap one for another and most people would not see the difference.

GamblinvsWilliamsburgDelta E 0.00Near-identical
Daniel SmithvsM. GrahamDelta E 0.11Near-identical
Daniel SmithvsMichael HardingDelta E 0.48Near-identical
M. GrahamvsMichael HardingDelta E 0.54Near-identical
HolbeinvsMatisseDelta E 0.56Near-identical
GamblinvsM. GrahamDelta E 0.77Near-identical

Which brands are clearly different?

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

AteliervsLiquitexDelta E 22.61Clearly different
AteliervsSennelierDelta E 21.56Clearly different
AteliervsWinsor & NewtonDelta E 21.43Clearly different
AteliervsVallejoDelta E 20.29Clearly different
AteliervsSchminckeDelta E 19.87Clearly different
AteliervsMatisseDelta E 19.37Clearly different

Pigments used

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

PB29

Atelier, Daniel Smith, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, M. Graham, Matisse, Michael Harding, Schmincke, Sennelier, Vallejo, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

PB29, PW6

Golden

Lightfastness

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

I

Atelier, Daniel Smith, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, Liquitex, M. Graham, Matisse, Michael Harding, Schmincke, Sennelier, Vallejo, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Opacity

How much the paint covers what is underneath.

Semi-Opaque

Golden

Semi-Transparent

Atelier, Daniel Smith, Gamblin, Golden, Holbein, M. Graham, Matisse, Michael Harding, Schmincke, Vallejo

Transparent

Golden, Liquitex, Sennelier, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton

Brands that make it

Every brand in the database with a Ultramarine Blue. 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 Ultramarine Blue 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	`#0a6cb5`	44.4, 2.6, -45.6	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Daniel Smith	Extra Fine Watercolors	watercolor	`#2a3c98`	29.4, 25.6, -52.5	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Gamblin	Artist's Oil Colors	oil	`#243c96`	28.9, 24.1, -52.0	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	Fluid	acrylic	`#343476`	25.1, 20.7, -38.1	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#243c96`	28.9, 24.1, -52.0	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#2447a1`	32.8, 20.9, -52.4	PB29, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#343578`	25.7, 20.4, -38.6	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	Heavy Body	acrylic	`#353463`	24.1, 14.0, -27.8	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	OPEN	acrylic	`#343578`	25.7, 20.4, -38.6	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Golden	QoR Modern Watercolors	watercolor	`#323c96`	29.7, 26.1, -50.8	PB29	Transparent	I
Golden	SoFlat	acrylic	`#2447a1`	32.9, 21.0, -52.5	PB29, PW6	Semi-Opaque	I
Holbein	Artists' Oil Color	oil	`#283a96`	28.6, 25.9, -52.6	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Holbein	Heavy Body Acrylic	acrylic	`#233791`	27.1, 25.4, -51.9	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Liquitex	Basics	acrylic	`#232d87`	23.6, 28.4, -51.5	PB29	Transparent	I
M. Graham	Artists' Oil Colors	oil	`#263a94`	28.3, 24.9, -51.8	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
M. Graham	Artists' Watercolor	watercolor	`#2d3e9b`	30.3, 25.8, -52.8	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Matisse	Flow Formula	acrylic	`#233791`	27.1, 25.4, -51.9	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Matisse	Fluid	acrylic	`#233791`	27.1, 25.4, -51.9	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Matisse	Structure Formula	acrylic	`#233791`	27.1, 25.4, -51.9	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Michael Harding	Artists Oil Colours	oil	`#283c9b`	29.5, 26.5, -54.1	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Schmincke	Horadam Aquarell	watercolor	`#324196`	31.0, 22.7, -48.6	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Schmincke	PRIMAcryl	acrylic	`#282d91`	24.9, 32.7, -55.6	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Sennelier	Abstract Acrylic	acrylic	`#2d328c`	26.0, 28.3, -50.7	PB29	Transparent	I
Vallejo	Acrylic Artist Color	acrylic	`#323791`	28.0, 27.6, -50.5	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Vallejo	Acrylic Studio	acrylic	`#323791`	28.0, 27.6, -50.5	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Vallejo	Fluid Acrylic	acrylic	`#323791`	28.0, 27.6, -50.5	PB29	Semi-Transparent	I
Williamsburg	Handmade Oil Colors	oil	`#243c96`	28.9, 24.1, -52.0	PB29	Transparent	I
Winsor & Newton	Professional Acrylic	acrylic	`#2d3291`	26.4, 30.1, -53.1	PB29	Transparent	I

Ultramarine Blue