<blockquote>
<p>Is it possible to get similar results from a high-quality PBk6 (Carbon black) or PBk7 (Lamp Black) acrylic paint?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They may not achieve the same level of light absorption and perceiver depth as the most-hyped ultra-black paints like Vantablack or Black 3.0. These specialized ultra-black paints are formulated with unique properties that allow them to absorb an exceptionally high amount of light.</p>
<p>So the simple answer is, No.</p>
<p>But, here are some few tips to help you achieve the desired output:</p>
<ol>
<li>apply multiple <strong>thin</strong> layers of black paint, allowing each layer to dry before adding the next.</li>
<li>Opt for <strong>matte</strong> or <strong>satin</strong> finishes rather than glossy ones (they absorb more light)</li>
<li>consider manipulating the lighting conditions under which your artwork will be displayed. Place it under <strong>low or controlled lighting</strong> env.</li>
<li>pairing the black paint with <strong>contrasting colors</strong> or incorporating strong compositional elements can improve the visual enhancement of the overall effect of the black.</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-06T17:49:00.033Z
I haven't heard about applying several thin layers of black instead of one thick layer before. Can you elaborate on how or why this achieves a different effect?
Elmy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-06T17:58:51.037Z
Depending on the paint origin, it may be impossible to apply a so called "one thick layer". In some cases such a thickness may destroy your artwork base. Instead you may add multiple layers to achieve  more light absorption. for more information you may consider watching related YouTube videos.
Art History
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-07T08:52:45.050Z
Showing works under low lighting is a non-answer, though :) "You want the deepest black? Just watch the painting in an unlit basement on a moonless night".
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-07T09:26:34.663Z
That was not m answer. that was part of it. And I didn't say moonless night. I just said you may manipulate the lighting.
Art History
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-07T09:41:52.633Z
I know, but that part of your answer is beside the point. And I was joking, hence the emoticon.
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-05T16:22:41.780Z
2023-11-05T16:22:41.780Z
Art History
<p>I have a large body of work that I need to complete, and I had been using Stuart Semple's Black 2.0 and Black 3.0. It seems he's out of stock, at the moment, and I'm on a deadline. I have not done much experimentation with other matte black media, so I'm hoping I can learn from some of the community's experience.</p>
<p>What are some good alternatives to Black 3.0, Mussou Black, and the strictly-licensed VantaBlack, for a very dark, very matte, black paint? Each of these is out of stock or prohibitively expensive.</p>
<p>I'm more familiar with acrylic paints, and their fast drying time is helpful, but I'm not opposed to other media, so long as I can get an impasto texture from it, and it's not prohibitively difficult to work with.</p>
<p>Is it possible to get similar results from a high-quality PBk6 (Carbon black) or PBk7 (Lamp Black) acrylic paint? I presume that Semple's black is little more than carbon in a matte acrylic medium, but there's clearly something about it that you can't reproduce with Windsor-Newton and a matte spray finish... or am I mistaken?</p>
<p>EDIT: For others' reference, I stumbled across this guy's YouTube video, which shows the process of making black paint to be (unsurprisingly) substantially more involved than is immediately obvious. Even knowing what he does, he was not able to get a pure black, and it took an enormous amount of work to grind it to a usable consistency: (Channel: &quot;The Alchemical Arts&quot; Video title: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ9UDPaKBA8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">&quot;Not so simple Charcoal Black pigment!&quot;</a>)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-31T15:04:02.617Z
Otto Piene used real smoke to get those visually very deep dark blacks, but that might require a lot of experimentation.
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-31T15:22:51.310Z
As soon as I get home from my day job, I'm going to toss some whole-lump charcoal in a Magic Bullet blender with some matte acrylic base medium, and see what happens. Hopefully it'll wash out... lol
Matt
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-31T20:33:02.510Z
@Matt Very nice idea, please share your results. Charcoal is pretty much pure carbon, so there shouldn't be many impurities, but you should probably use as little acrylic medium as possible to reduce the risk of introducing a milkyness (is that even a word? You know what I mean...).
Elmy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-31T20:39:53.687Z
Good call. I'm concerned that either 1) the lump charcoal will not be pure enough (unburnt wood fibers and such), 2) I won't be able to pulverize it finely enough, 3) the acrylic medium will affect the color/texture/translucency too much. I'll let you know how it goes ;-)
Matt
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-01T13:10:18.400Z
Ultra-black paints and coatings  have their uses in scientific fields as well; there's some overlap between artistic and engineering materials.  A while ago there was some work using cupric oxide (CuO, black copper oxide) instead of carbon.
Chris H
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-02T16:14:37.920Z
An astronomy group I stumbled across recommended "Sennelier Matt Abstract Acrylic Pouch, 60ml, Mars Black" which I found VERY cheaply on Amazon ($5USD for 60ml). Given the low price, I'm not optimistic that it will compare, but I'll test it out and let y'all know what I find.
Matt
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-03-03T19:45:54.900Z
@Matt, a couple of thoughts if you're still experimenting with carbon. 1. You can buy extremely fine carbon powder (as activated charcoal for "medicinal purposes", graphite for lubrication, etc.). It's available inexpensively in pouches with enough to go a very long way. 2. If you pulverize your own from lump charcoal, you'll get a mix of particle sizes. Run it through a very fine sieve to separate out the super-fine particles for pigment. You can get those sold as sieves. There are also disposable paper funnels with very fine mesh on the sides for straining lumpy paint.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-03-03T20:00:07.957Z
One other thought: matte acrylic medium is just acrylic medium with fine powder, like silica, so the glossy surface isn't smooth. It is likely to desaturate the black. You might want to use plain acrylic medium, but water it down so that when it dries, there's just enough to bind the carbon, and use as little as possible to create a spreadable paint. It might even help to use carbon particles that aren't the ultra-fine size normally used for pigments. If the particles are a little larger, they will create the matte surface, and diluted acrylic medium will leave a thinner coating on top.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-06T17:17:16.883Z
I got the chance to use the "Sennelier Matte Abstract Acrylic Pouch, 60ml, Mars Black" and found it to be a good, but otherwise typical black acrylic paint. Although "less than glossy," it was by no means "matte."
Matt
<material-selection><paint>
Alternatives to the most-hyped ultra-black paints?
Matt
# Alternatives to the most-hyped ultra-black paints?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-01-31)

I have a large body of work that I need to complete, and I had been using Stuart Semple's Black 2.0 and Black 3.0. It seems he's out of stock, at the moment, and I'm on a deadline. I have not done much experimentation with other matte black media, so I'm hoping I can learn from some of the community's experience.

What are some good alternatives to Black 3.0, Mussou Black, and the strictly-licensed VantaBlack, for a very dark, very matte, black paint? Each of these is out of stock or prohibitively expensive.

I'm more familiar with acrylic paints, and their fast drying time is helpful, but I'm not opposed to other media, so long as I can get an impasto texture from it, and it's not prohibitively difficult to work with.

Is it possible to get similar results from a high-quality PBk6 (Carbon black) or PBk7 (Lamp Black) acrylic paint? I presume that Semple's black is little more than carbon in a matte acrylic medium, but there's clearly something about it that you can't reproduce with Windsor-Newton and a matte spray finish... or am I mistaken?

EDIT: For others' reference, I stumbled across this guy's YouTube video, which shows the process of making black paint to be (unsurprisingly) substantially more involved than is immediately obvious. Even knowing what he does, he was not able to get a pure black, and it took an enormous amount of work to grind it to a usable consistency: (Channel: "The Alchemical Arts" Video title: ["Not so simple Charcoal Black pigment!"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ9UDPaKBA8))

**Tags:** material-selection, paint

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Otto Piene used real smoke to get those visually very deep dark blacks, but that might require a lot of experimentation.  
> **username_0**: As soon as I get home from my day job, I'm going to toss some whole-lump charcoal in a Magic Bullet blender with some matte acrylic base medium, and see what happens. Hopefully it'll wash out... lol  
> **username_2**: @username_0 Very nice idea, please share your results. Charcoal is pretty much pure carbon, so there shouldn't be many impurities, but you should probably use as little acrylic medium as possible to reduce the risk of introducing a milkyness (is that even a word? You know what I mean...).  
> **username_0**: Good call. I'm concerned that either 1) the lump charcoal will not be pure enough (unburnt wood fibers and such), 2) I won't be able to pulverize it finely enough, 3) the acrylic medium will affect the color/texture/translucency too much. I'll let you know how it goes ;-)  
> **username_3**: Ultra-black paints and coatings  have their uses in scientific fields as well; there's some overlap between artistic and engineering materials.  A while ago there was some work using cupric oxide (CuO, black copper oxide) instead of carbon.  
> **username_0**: An astronomy group I stumbled across recommended "Sennelier username_0 Abstract Acrylic Pouch, 60ml, Mars Black" which I found VERY cheaply on Amazon ($5USD for 60ml). Given the low price, I'm not optimistic that it will compare, but I'll test it out and let y'all know what I find.  
> **username_4**: @username_0, a couple of thoughts if you're still experimenting with carbon. 1. You can buy extremely fine carbon powder (as activated charcoal for "medicinal purposes", graphite for lubrication, etc.). It's available inexpensively in pouches with enough to go a very long way. 2. If you pulverize your own from lump charcoal, you'll get a mix of particle sizes. Run it through a very fine sieve to separate out the super-fine particles for pigment. You can get those sold as sieves. There are also disposable paper funnels with very fine mesh on the sides for straining lumpy paint.  
> **username_4**: One other thought: matte acrylic medium is just acrylic medium with fine powder, like silica, so the glossy surface isn't smooth. It is likely to desaturate the black. You might want to use plain acrylic medium, but water it down so that when it dries, there's just enough to bind the carbon, and use as little as possible to create a spreadable paint. It might even help to use carbon particles that aren't the ultra-fine size normally used for pigments. If the particles are a little larger, they will create the matte surface, and diluted acrylic medium will leave a thinner coating on top.  
> **username_0**: I got the chance to use the "Sennelier Matte Abstract Acrylic Pouch, 60ml, Mars Black" and found it to be a good, but otherwise typical black acrylic paint. Although "less than glossy," it was by no means "matte."  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2023-11-05. Score: 3

> Is it possible to get similar results from a high-quality PBk6 (Carbon black) or PBk7 (Lamp Black) acrylic paint?

They may not achieve the same level of light absorption and perceiver depth as the most-hyped ultra-black paints like Vantablack or Black 3.0. These specialized ultra-black paints are formulated with unique properties that allow them to absorb an exceptionally high amount of light.

So the simple answer is, No.

But, here are some few tips to help you achieve the desired output:

1. apply multiple **thin** layers of black paint, allowing each layer to dry before adding the next.
2. Opt for **matte** or **satin** finishes rather than glossy ones (they absorb more light)
3. consider manipulating the lighting conditions under which your artwork will be displayed. Place it under **low or controlled lighting** env.
4. pairing the black paint with **contrasting colors** or incorporating strong compositional elements can improve the visual enhancement of the overall effect of the black.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I haven't heard about applying several thin layers of black instead of one thick layer before. Can you elaborate on how or why this achieves a different effect?  
> **username_5**: Depending on the paint origin, it may be impossible to apply a so called "one thick layer". In some cases such a thickness may destroy your artwork base. Instead you may add multiple layers to achieve  more light absorption. for more information you may consider watching related YouTube videos.  
> **username_1**: Showing works under low lighting is a non-answer, though :) "You want the deepest black? Just watch the painting in an unlit basement on a moonless night".  
> **username_5**: That was not m answer. that was part of it. And I didn't say moonless night. I just said you may manipulate the lighting.  
> **username_1**: I know, but that part of your answer is beside the point. And I was joking, hence the emoticon.  

---

