How does the colour get into the box?
Whether deep blue underwater worlds, sunny yellow desert landscapes or a multi-coloured
fantasy painting - with a watercolour box, a little water and the right brush, any
colourful masterpiece can be conjured up on paper. But how exactly do all these paints
actually get into the box? We followed the colourful production process, from loose
colour through to the finished set.
1. It all starts off with – powder! Long before the paint ends up in the watercolour box, it is pre-sorted by the sack
in powder form. Pre-sorted by colour, of course: the K12 watercolour box from Pelikan
contains the 12 colours Black, Magenta, Vermillion, Yellow, Orange, Ochre Yellow,
Purple, Ultramarine Blue, Cyan Blue, Teal, Chartreuse and Burnt Siena. These colours
comply exactly with standard DIN 5023, defined by the German Institute for Standardisation
for a school watercolour set with 12 colours. The aim of this standardisation is to
provide school children with educationally verified teaching aids, and to offer all
art students equal foundations for learning – for example, the basic principles of
chromatics.
2. From powdered colour to colour tablet: Because the loose powder would naturally swirl about in the watercolour box and
become unintentionally mixed up, it must now be transformed into the correct format
for the watercolour set. To this end, it is first of all collected in a large sack.
From here, the powder is poured into a small mould in precisely measured quantities.
Colours in powder form are also called “pigments”. However, in this step the state
of the colour is already changing: the process takes place under high pressure, and
the individual grains of powder are pressed closely together, resulting in a solid,
hard colour tablet. The colour now has the correct form for the watercolour set!
3. There are also fixed DIN standard regulations for the colour tablets themselves:
They must have a minimum diameter of 30 mm and a minimum volume of 3.5 cm². In addition,
the 12 shades must subsequently be placed in a preset sequence in the box – in each
watercolour set, for example, the yellow colour tablet is at the top left, while the
black tablet is at the bottom right. The sequence is the same as the arrangement of
colours in the chromatic circle, the “classification system”, which is used in chromatics.
The chromatic circle illustrates the general relationship between all colours, and
presents the primary colours (Yellow, Magenta, Cyan Blue) and the secondary and tertiary
colours, all of which can be mixed from the three former colours, as an easily comprehensible
model. The complementary colours are always as far apart - or exactly opposite - as
possible.
4. Naturally a case must now be created, to contain the colour tablets! To do this,
synthetic granules are first of all melted down, and then poured into the appropriate
mould. The moulds for the colour tablets are made from grey granules, while the lid
comprises white granules. This is expedient, since the inside of the lid will later
contain the mixing areas in which the colours are mixed together. These must be white,
as newly mixed shades are naturally most easily visible on a white base.
5. Once the plastic has hardened and is set, the box is also as good as ready – it
only needs to be “filled”. First of all, the 12 colour tablets are positioned in the
individually interchangeable colour dishes. The abovementioned sequence must be carefully
observed! In accordance with the DIN standard, the watercolour set must also contain
a tube of opaque white with a minimum content of 5 ml, and space for at least one
brush. The surface is especially sturdy and shatter-proof, to ensure that the watercolour
set will provide pleasure for a long time to come.
6. Nearly finished – now all that’s missing is the folding sleeve to enclose the box.
This is printed with bright colours and provided with all essential information –
the package is ready, and the watercolour set can safely make its way to the shop
shelf. From here it will end up not only in many children’s bedrooms, but also with
many amateur painters, hobbyists and small artists – and of course, in all well organized
satchels, as the perfect tool for art lessons!
(Images and text: Pelikan)
