Why You Should Buy Pigments, Not Paint
Pigment vs paint: which should you choose?
Art is unique to each person. Some paint, some sculpt, some build, some draw. The main point behind creating art is self-expression - to craft something beautiful with your own two hands. But when it comes to the battle of pigment vs paints, there’s only one clear winner in our opinion. And yes, you guessed it! It’s pigments.
In this article, we’ll enlist the benefits of pigments and the main reasons why you should buy pigments, not paint.
First, What Are Mica Pigment Powders?
Natural Muscovite flakes
Mica is a naturally occurring, non-toxic mineral. It is finely ground to create a shimmering powder that can be used for many different projects. The most common rock-forming mineral in the mica family is called muscovite, famous for emitting a pearly or glasslike appearance. Mica-based pigments are also inert, non-reactive, and can not dissolve in almost any medium, making them hugely versatile!
Like we mentioned above, mica powder is renowned for having shimmery metallic hues and pearlescent effects. And that’s not where the good news ends! There are a few extra characteristics that make MEYSPRING’S mica pigment powders extra special:
- 100% Vegan: There are no animal products in our mica pigment powders.
- 100% Cosmetic Grade: Raw material, FDA approved to use in cosmetics for eyes, lips, skin, etc.
- 100% Ethically Sourced: We do not buy from companies that exploit children as workers.
- 100% Cruelty-Free: Our pigment powders have never been tested on animals.
- 100% Mineral Pigments: Our pigment powders are made from muscovite flakes mostly coated with iron oxides and other naturally occurring minerals.
Why You Should Buy Pigments, Not Paint
Below, you'll find our list of reasons why when it comes to pigment vs paint, mica pigment powders take the win.
Pigments are versatile
Many artists prefer to stick to one single medium, while others prefer to try their hand at different painting styles. Pigments allow you to have the best of both worlds: you can create your own mixtures for all sorts of art projects, from traditional painting to epoxy art! When you think about this range, the possibilities seem (and are) endless.
Pigments won’t dry out
Harsh fact: pre-made paints will dry out over time. You can remix them (depending on the type of paint you purchased), but the result may not be as smooth as when you first got them. On the contrary, pigments made with mica powder will never dry out! This allows you to create an arsenal of different colors you can count on for any future projects.
They’re less expensive
According to ArtNews, “Creating your own paint is a great way to cut costs while exerting greater control over the shades and effects you desire. Dry pigment powder can be combined with binders to create a variety of painting media, from oils to acrylics, and you usually need just a small amount of pigment.”
Pigment powder can be more cost-effective than traditional paint. Also, when you purchase a tube of paint, you have no way to measure or “stretch” the amount of paint in that jar. However, a pigment powder jar (such as MEYSPRING pigment powders) contains 50g of resin pigment. Since our recommended ratio is 1:1 ( 1g of MEYSPRING pigment to 1 oz of resin), this means you will have a lot of material left for future projects. A little bit of this pigment goes a long way!
You can do basically anything
Can you imagine putting on acrylic or oil-based painting on your face for your makeup? Yeah, neither can we. Mica pigment powders allow you to step outside the realm of traditional art and let you create anything you want, whether it’s epoxy resin, UV resin, acrylic paints, calligraphy inks, car paint, and even cosmetics such as eyeshadow, lip products, and blush. You can even decorate the surface of candles and color polymer clay with them. We’d like to see paint top that!
They can help you create amazing effects
Special effects (like cells and 3D effects) can make your art pieces come alive. And they’re much easier to create when you work with mica pigment powders than when you work with paint. You can also work with real metallic pigments, which can provide a solid, shiny finish when mixed into the resin, resulting in jaw-dropping “liquid metal” looks and floating gold and silver effects.
Beautiful highlights, details, and floating gold effects in this resin geode made with MEYSPRING Gilded Gold - True Metallic Pigment Powder by resin artist @lamara_inspired_resinart. She used almost all the pigments in our Geode Art Collection to create this piece.
They aren’t toxic
“Artists are often quite knowledgeable about the compelling feats they can achieve with paint, but they aren’t always aware of what their paints are made from.”
Like we already mentioned, mica is a natural, non-toxic, inert, non-reactive mineral. The same can’t be said for other types of paintings, which may contain harmful chemicals or maybe even lead or turpentine (though that’s less common nowadays). But with mica pigment powder, you won’t have to worry about damaging your body. At MEYSPRING, we take great care to ensure our products are vegan, cosmetic grade, and skin-safe.
However, no matter what project you’re planning on creating, make sure that you’re following resin art safety guidelines at all times.
Pigment vs Paint: A Clear Winner
Pigment powders last longer, won’t dry out, are non-toxic, are more versatile, and can help you create tons of different effects in many different art forms. They’re also less expensive in the long term! To us, that makes pigment powders a clear winner when it comes to the battle between choosing pigment vs paint. Sorry, paint. You had a nice run, but it’s time for pigments to shine, shimmer, and pearl their way through.
You can shop all of our mica pigment powders right here!
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