A metallic color is a color that appears to be that of a polished

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

. The visual sensation usually associated with metals is its metallic shine. This cannot be reproduced by a simple solid

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

, because the shiny effect is due to the material's brightness varying with the surface angle to the light source. In addition, there is no mechanism for showing metallic or

fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...

colors on a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

without resorting to rendering software which simulates the action of light on a shiny surface. Consequently in

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and in

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

one would normally use a metallic paint that glitters like a real metal. For example, to create a painting that gave the impression of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

appearing in the painting, a metallic paint that glitters in an approximation of real gold would be used; a solid color does not aesthetically "read" as gold. Especially in sacral art in Christian churches, real gold (as

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

) was used for rendering gold in paintings, e.g. for the

halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s. Gold can also be woven into sheets of silk to give an East Asian traditional look. More recent art styles, for example

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

, also used a metallic, shining gold. However, the metallic finish of such paints was added using fine

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

powder and pigment rather than actual gold. The use of metallic colors is not limited to those colors that approximate the appearance of actual metals. In some instances, it has been noted, "beetles with bright metallic colors are made up into tie pins and cuff links". One popular modern use of metallic colors is for

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

s, which use

metallic paint Metallic paint, also called metal flake or polychromatic, is a type of paint that is most common on new automobiles, but is also used for other purposes. Metallic paint can reveal the contours of bodywork more than non-metallic, or "solid" paint. ...

to achieve a particular shine. Such colors "are made from a combination of different pigments and aluminum flakes that have different weights and particle sizes".

Crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax an ...

-maker

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylva ...

has manufactured several lines of "metallic" products, including " Metallic FX" crayons,Crayola.com - Crayola Metallic Crayons
and " Metallic Colors" colored pencils, which have flecks of sparkles to achieve the metallic effect.

Textures and samples

File:BLUE METALLIC TEXTURE (7241672566).jpg, Metallic blue File:GOLD METALLIC TEXTURE (7241678418).jpg, Gold / Golden File:Green METALLIC TEXTURE (7241685310).jpg, Metallic green File:ORANGE METALLIC TEXTURE (7241675362).jpg, Metallic orange File:PINK METALLIC TEXTURE (7241673936).jpg, Metallic pink File:PURPLE METALLIC TEXTURE (7241677422).jpg, Metallic purple File:SILVER METALLIC TEXTURE (7241694514).jpg, Silver

References

{{commons category, Metallic colors Color appearance phenomena

Textures and samples

See also

References