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

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

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

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

, 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 colors on a

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

without resorting to rendering software which simulates the action of light on a shiny surface. Consequently in art 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, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

one would normally use a metallic paint that glitters like a real metal. Especially in sacral art in Christian churches, real gold (as gold leaf) was used for rendering gold in paintings, e.g. for the halo of

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

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 ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

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

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium 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 an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s, which use metallic 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-maker Crayola 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