Zinc is amazing for increasing the value without loosing the color, BUT zinc is extremely prone to cracking and even peeling. Besides, zinc white doesn't attach very well to acrylic ground. One should only use zinc white sparsely and on a very rigid surface, not a normal canvas. I love zinc white but I am very aware of its problems
I'm a fairly new artist who paints with gouache and have always been confused about the whites. Now I see why my colors don't come out the way I expect them to. The sets of gouache I buy (Holbein) always contain permanent white so that's what I thought was supposed to be used for mixing. Thanks for simplifying this for me.
1. lead white (harder to get, and you gotta know what you´re doing, if you use it with care there´s no problem) 2. titanium, a inferior white but has its uses, specially when wanting opacity. 3. zinc white, AVOID it will ruin your work eventually.
Its just a matter of tinting strenght. I prefer much more Titanium White because its a more powerful and opaque. Zinc seems to me like weak white, and I can always dilute my paint with some medium if it need transparency. And as about the saturation of the mixture, people always gets this wrong. If you mix LESS titanium white with some color and then compare this mixture with a mixture of MORE Zinz white with the same color, as it should be so that they have the same VALUE, then you will see the SAME saturation. In other words, you can only compare saturation if the mixtures have the same value in the first place.
Do not use zinc white without first researching it's tendency to delaminate from the surface of previous oil layers. Use it if you will for it's transparency, but be aware of the dangers.
Just what I needed to know. Love getting the information without a lot of empty talk that really doesn't answer the question. I wanted to know if it was worth adding zinc white to my online cart. Now I know. YES! Thanks. 😸
Hi Someone, Thank you for your reply. We would actually recommend to get both. Maybe get a big tube Titanium, since you'll probably use way more of it in setting up your painting, and then get a small tube Zinc White, since you'll mostly use it in getting your nuances right. Hope that helps. Have fun painting!
I haven't tried this yet but what if you mix just a small amount of titanium white with the blue? Wouldn't that give you the same results as mixing a lot of zinc white with blue?
Yes, you probably could mix the same tone values that way, but it will be a bit harder, beceause of it's dominance. You'll easily load too much titanium in your colour, giving you a too high tone value, and less saturation. With Zinc you can take smaller steps, which can be very easy and comfortable. Especially if the colour you are working with is like 90% there, but you just want it a tiny step lighter.
@AlexP Yes you are right, zinc can give more volume to the mixture without loosing too much colour. Another difference is that Zinc is much more transparent, and Titanium is much more opaque. So as long as you are adding just a tiny bit of Titanium it's all good. But there will come a point where it's opaqueness will start to be evident in the mixture. Sometimes thats what you want, sometimes not so much.
I love ZINC white, but after learning of its brittleness, and all the paint delamination it can cause by forming the dreaded zinc soaps, even if indeed TITANIUM eats all color so to speak, I am forced to stop using ZINC white, and use only TITANIUM.
What about permanent white? In art school I used titanium, now shopping a few years later I can only find Zinc and Permanent white. I'd ideally like to get both Zinc and Titanium...but I can't find Titanium and am wondering if Permanent white is a substitute as it sounds like it "eats the color" like Titanium does.
Hi Casa, no worries. First of all these studies used Zinc White unmixed, which Zinc is not made for. It should always be mixed with colours. Then the cracking will not appear. If you want to use a pure white you can use Titanium. Secondly these studies were not carried out on canvas but on plastic so it’s no surprise that the dried films delaminated from the substrate after time. So as long as you use it to gently lift the tone value of colours there's no problem at all. But if you still doubting you could also use Mixing White for the same purpous. Hope that helps. Have fun painting!
@@theartcollective5064 I know we all *want* this to be true, because Zinc white is great for mixing - but the evidence leans away from 'mixing with other colours making it ok'. I wouldn't risk zinc now, and am using up my old tubes for quick studies, not long-term paintings.
@@GeoffBeggs Well, does the study show that if zink white is mixed with titanium that it will also crack, what amount zink white is bad, etc. There are no clear answers. Paint producers say different things. So someone is not telling the truth. I don't want my million $ art works cracking.
Straight to the point. There should be more people like you on youtube.
Thank You Hikaru!
Probably the most succinct video I've ever come across on UA-cam. Exactly what I needed to know. Thank you!
Thank You Rachel! That's very good to hear.
Like others said, straight to the point. Thank you so much!
I gotta say I like the focus and brevity. Thanks
Zinc is amazing for increasing the value without loosing the color, BUT zinc is extremely prone to cracking and even peeling. Besides, zinc white doesn't attach very well to acrylic ground. One should only use zinc white sparsely and on a very rigid surface, not a normal canvas. I love zinc white but I am very aware of its problems
I'm sorry but none of this is true. Seems like you read some bad info and are passing it on as fact.
Been using zinc white for 3 decades
Short and spot on,
here take my like,sub and respect
Thank you so much Vojin! Appreciated!
@@theartcollective5064 pleasure is all mine, we need videos like this when we gotta refresh the memory ♥
Thank you! That was informative, short, sweet, and to the point! This video is exactly what I was looking for. Subscribed!
I had no idea. Thanks for teaching me.
I'm a fairly new artist who paints with gouache and have always been confused about the whites. Now I see why my colors don't come out the way I expect them to. The sets of gouache I buy (Holbein) always contain permanent white so that's what I thought was supposed to be used for mixing. Thanks for simplifying this for me.
I was just searching for bob ross memes
Hahaha
😂 😂
Fantastic explanation when to use Titan and Zinc white. Short and sweet Thank you so much. I will have a look at your other videos. Very grateful 😊
Thank you for this straight to the point review
Thank you for this simple but flexible info
People also call zinc "blending" white and tidi, "highlight" white.
Explained well and crisp, thanks. This was so helpful!!
1. lead white (harder to get, and you gotta know what you´re doing, if you use it with care there´s no problem) 2. titanium, a inferior white but has its uses, specially when wanting opacity. 3. zinc white, AVOID it will ruin your work eventually.
Its just a matter of tinting strenght. I prefer much more Titanium White because its a more powerful and opaque. Zinc seems to me like weak white, and I can always dilute my paint with some medium if it need transparency. And as about the saturation of the mixture, people always gets this wrong. If you mix LESS titanium white with some color and then compare this mixture with a mixture of MORE Zinz white with the same color, as it should be so that they have the same VALUE, then you will see the SAME saturation. In other words, you can only compare saturation if the mixtures have the same value in the first place.
Do not use zinc white without first researching it's tendency to delaminate from the surface of previous oil layers. Use it if you will for it's transparency, but be aware of the dangers.
Just what I needed to know. Love getting the information without a lot of empty talk that really doesn't answer the question. I wanted to know if it was worth adding zinc white to my online cart. Now I know. YES! Thanks. 😸
The difference is clear between them thank you. I still don't know which one to get though 😂
Hi Someone, Thank you for your reply. We would actually recommend to get both. Maybe get a big tube Titanium, since you'll probably use way more of it in setting up your painting, and then get a small tube Zinc White, since you'll mostly use it in getting your nuances right. Hope that helps. Have fun painting!
Really informative 👍👍
Excellent video!
Thank you!
Thnx that was so clear
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the info
thank you!
thank you so much!!
What if you just use less titanium white in the mixture? Doesn't that just mean titanium is more cost effective?
It's not just value, but colour intensity. With Zinc you can lighten a colour but it has more saturation than it would with Titanium.
I haven't tried this yet but what if you mix just a small amount of titanium white with the blue? Wouldn't that give you the same results as mixing a lot of zinc white with blue?
Yes, you probably could mix the same tone values that way, but it will be a bit harder, beceause of it's dominance. You'll easily load too much titanium in your colour, giving you a too high tone value, and less saturation. With Zinc you can take smaller steps, which can be very easy and comfortable. Especially if the colour you are working with is like 90% there, but you just want it a tiny step lighter.
@AlexP Yes you are right, zinc can give more volume to the mixture without loosing too much colour. Another difference is that Zinc is much more transparent, and Titanium is much more opaque. So as long as you are adding just a tiny bit of Titanium it's all good. But there will come a point where it's opaqueness will start to be evident in the mixture. Sometimes thats what you want, sometimes not so much.
Well said!
Thank you so much
I love ZINC white, but after learning of its brittleness, and all the paint delamination it can cause by forming the dreaded zinc soaps, even if indeed TITANIUM eats all color so to speak, I am forced to stop using ZINC white, and use only TITANIUM.
YO!!!!!!!!! Thank you SO much!!!
oh no... I just ordered some zinc-white cuz they were out of titanium! have I made a mistake? :,(
So good haha
Well... just use less titanium in a mixture?
Yeah but zinc white turns brittle and cracks easily.
Not if you mix it with colour, only when used pure.
Is zinc white toxic?
What about permanent white? In art school I used titanium, now shopping a few years later I can only find Zinc and Permanent white. I'd ideally like to get both Zinc and Titanium...but I can't find Titanium and am wondering if Permanent white is a substitute as it sounds like it "eats the color" like Titanium does.
Aelyn Fae titanium white is sold at every art store and easily found online.
Permanent white is same as titanium white.
Don't I feel like the fool... Thinking all whites were the same lol
But using 10 times less titanium compared to zinc is not the same thing as using 10x more zinc than titanium ? ))
Thank you for not going on about the history!!
Zeker nederlands?
steenkolenengels
Recent studies have shown that zinc white cracks very fast in other words it is not Archival
Hi Casa, no worries. First of all these studies used Zinc White unmixed, which Zinc is not made for. It should always be mixed with colours. Then the cracking will not appear. If you want to use a pure white you can use Titanium. Secondly these studies were not carried out on canvas but on plastic so it’s no surprise that the dried films delaminated from the substrate after time. So as long as you use it to gently lift the tone value of colours there's no problem at all. But if you still doubting you could also use Mixing White for the same purpous. Hope that helps. Have fun painting!
@@theartcollective5064 I know we all *want* this to be true, because Zinc white is great for mixing - but the evidence leans away from 'mixing with other colours making it ok'. I wouldn't risk zinc now, and am using up my old tubes for quick studies, not long-term paintings.
@@GeoffBeggs Why is everyone lying or confused about what is going on with zink white.
@@GeoffBeggs Well, does the study show that if zink white is mixed with titanium that it will also crack, what amount zink white is bad, etc. There are no clear answers. Paint producers say different things. So someone is not telling the truth. I don't want my million $ art works cracking.
@@etienne7774 every time I reply it is deleted
You should delete this video. Knowing what we know now about zinc white, no one should use zinc white