natural pigment
Earth-derived dye source
A natural pigment is a coloring substance derived from plants, animals, minerals, or other organic sources rather than synthesized chemically.
Artists and craftspeople used natural pigments for millennia before synthetic alternatives emerged: ochre from iron-rich earth, ultramarine from lapis lazuli, carmine from crushed insects.
The cave paintings were made with natural pigments mixed with animal fat.
- ochreIron-rich earth pigment
- burnt siennaReddish-brown pigment color
- raw umberUnheated brown earth pigment
- melaninNatural coloring compound
- malachiteGreen copper carbonate stone
cinnabar · Tyrian purple · chlorophyll · carotenoids · achiote · lapis lazuli · azurite · logwood · gamboge · hematite · cave painting · flavonoids · colorant · plant dye · vermillion · sienna · hemoglobin · earth