MIXORA CONCEPT
Opacity
How strongly a paint film hides the surface or color beneath it.
Opacity depends on pigment, binder, concentration, film thickness and ground. A transparent paint can reach a color through glazing while an opaque paint reaches it by covering.
What “Strong evidence” means
The core definition or effect is well established across authoritative standards, foundational research or a broad research literature. The label does not make every practical prediction certain.
VISUAL EXPLANATION · MARKER BOARDOne coat of an opaque yellow may cover a dark ground better than several thin layers of a transparent yellow.
Opacity is not the same as tint strength or darkness.
Is the target meant to cover the ground or interact optically with it?
A material that changes reflected or transmitted light through selective absorption and scattering.
→color × bridgeSpectral reflectanceThe fraction of incoming light a surface returns at each wavelength.
→colorTint strengthHow strongly a color influences a mixture, often judged by how much it changes white or another standard paint.
→SOURCES & TRUST
References
Last reviewed
- 01Modern Color Mixing GuideGeneral reference
GOLDEN Artist Colors · GOLDEN Artist Colors
Practical artist-paint reference showing mass tone, undertone and mixing behavior. - 02Colorimetry, 4th EditionReference source
CIE · 2018 · International Commission on Illumination
Definitions and standard colorimetric practice.
What the source labels mean
- Primary source
- Original work, experiment, standard or historical text.
- Academic source
- Scholarly research or review published for an academic audience.
- Reference source
- An expert standard, encyclopedia or institutional explanation that summarizes a field.
- General reference
- A practical specialist resource useful for application, but not treated as decisive research by itself.