7 Shocking Ways To Make The Color Black: From Simple Paint Mixing To The World’s Darkest Material

The color black, often perceived as the absence of light, is one of the most fundamental and complex shades in the visual world. As of December 2025, the methods for creating black—whether for a painter’s canvas, an industrial coating, or a scientific instrument—have evolved dramatically, moving from simple pigment mixing to cutting-edge nanotechnology. Understanding how to create truly deep, rich black requires distinguishing between subtractive color mixing (paint), additive color (light, which is outside this scope), and the physics of light absorption. Creating black in a physical medium like paint or ink relies on the subtractive color model, where pigments absorb light wavelengths. The quality and depth of the black you achieve depend entirely on the method and materials you choose, ranging from a vibrant, nuanced "chromatic black" to the most light-absorbing substance ever created.

Method 1: The Art of Chromatic Black (Mixing Colors)

For artists, simply buying a tube of "Black" paint often results in a flat, lifeless shade. The most sophisticated and nuanced black, known as *Chromatic Black*, is achieved by mixing other colors. This technique allows the black to have a subtle undertone—a warm, cool, or earthy hue—that makes it feel more alive and integrated into a painting.

A. The Primary Color Foundation

The most basic principle of subtractive color theory dictates that mixing the three primary colors—Red, Blue, and Yellow—will result in a dark, near-black shade.

• The Formula: Equal parts of a high-quality Cadmium Red, Ultramarine Blue, and Cadmium Yellow.
• The Result: While this mixture creates a dark color, it often leans toward a muddy brown or a dull grey. To achieve a deeper black, artists typically need to adjust the ratios, often adding more of the darkest color (usually blue) to deepen the value.

B. The Complementary Color Shortcut

A more effective and popular method for artists is mixing two complementary colors, which are colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. When mixed, these pairs cancel each other out, creating a dark neutral.

• Earthy Black (Warm): The combination of Burnt Sienna (an orange-red Earth color) and Ultramarine Blue is a classic and highly effective pairing. This mix creates a warm, deep black with a rich, velvety texture.
• Cool Black (Purplish): Mixing a dark blue, such as Pthalo Blue or Prussian Blue, with a dark orange/red, like Alizarin Crimson or a deep red, produces a cool, purplish black.
• Green-Based Black: A mix of Sap Green and Alizarin Crimson can also yield a rich, dark color.

The key to a good chromatic black is using transparent pigments. Opaque colors reflect more light, making the resulting black appear lighter and duller, whereas transparent colors allow for a deeper, more light-absorbing mixture.

Method 2: The Power of Pure Pigments (The Blackest Paints)

When an artist or designer needs a true, neutral, and intense black without any chromatic undertones, they turn to pure black pigments. These pigments are manufactured materials specifically designed for maximum light absorption.

A. Traditional and Industrial Pigments

The majority of commercial black paints, inks, and toners rely on a form of Carbon Black. This is essentially a fine powder of pure elemental carbon.

• Lamp Black: One of the oldest pigments, historically made from the soot of burning oil or resin. It produces a soft, slightly warm, and deep black.
• Ivory Black (or Bone Black): Traditionally made from charred animal bones, this pigment is a very deep, slightly bluish black. Modern versions are usually synthetic carbon black with iron oxide additives.
• Mars Black: A synthetic iron oxide pigment that is very opaque, fast-drying, and highly stable. It is a dense, neutral black ideal for industrial coatings and matte finishes.

B. Achieving the "Blackest" Commercial Paint

Manufacturers constantly refine their formulas to create the deepest, most neutral black available to consumers. For example, in the world of architectural coatings, Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black is frequently cited as one of the truest, deepest neutral blacks available in a standard paint, achieved by carefully balancing small amounts of red, yellow, and white to remove any blueish tone.

Method 3: The Ultra-Black Revolution (Science and Nanotechnology)

The quest for the "blackest black" is a scientific pursuit focused not on mixing pigments, but on engineering materials that absorb virtually all incident light. This is where the world of nanotechnology has delivered groundbreaking results, creating substances that make three-dimensional objects appear flat and featureless.

A. Vantablack: The Pioneer

Vantablack (Vertically Aligned NanoTube Array Black) was, for a time, the benchmark for the darkest material on Earth. Developed by Surrey NanoSystems, it is not a paint but a coating of millions of carbon nanotubes that are grown on a substrate.

• Mechanism: When light hits the surface, it enters the gaps between the nanotubes and is trapped, bouncing around until it is almost entirely absorbed.
• Absorption Rate: Vantablack absorbs up to 99.965% of visible light, making it so dark that the human eye cannot perceive any depth or texture on the coated object.
• Limitation: Due to its complex, high-temperature manufacturing process and proprietary nature, Vantablack is primarily restricted to scientific, defense, and aerospace applications, such as calibrating telescopes and optical sensors.

B. The MIT Breakthrough and Its Successors

In September 2019, scientists at MIT unveiled a material that surpassed Vantablack, achieving an absorption rate of 99.995%. This new material also used a coating of carbon nanotubes, but the research demonstrated that the blackness was an accidental discovery during an unrelated experiment, showcasing the continuous advancement in ultra-black technology.

C. Commercial and Artistic Alternatives

Because Vantablack is not commercially available to the public (famously licensed exclusively to artist Anish Kapoor), a market for "poor man's Vantablack" paints has emerged for artists and hobbyists.

• Black 2.0 and Black 3.0: Created by artist Stuart Semple, Black 2.0 and the newer Black 3.0 are acrylic paints designed to be the "mattest, flattest, blackest paint" that is non-toxic and easily applied with a brush. While not as dark as Vantablack, they are excellent alternatives for artistic use.
• Black 4.0: The latest iteration, Black 4.0, is a further refinement, with some reports suggesting it outperforms its predecessors and is a viable, high-quality alternative to Vantablack for certain applications.
• Acktar Black: Used in industrial and optical applications, Acktar Black is a highly effective ultra-black coating that is superior to Vantablack in its ability to absorb light at extreme angles, making it excellent for blocking stray light in sensitive instruments.

The Physics of Blackness: Absorption vs. Pigment

The fundamental difference between mixing pigments and creating an ultra-black material lies in the mechanism of light interaction. When you mix paint (Method 1), you are relying on the chemical properties of pigments to absorb certain wavelengths, leaving a residual mixture of unabsorbed light that results in a dark color. This is the subtractive color model. When scientists create Vantablack or its successors (Method 3), they are manipulating the physical structure of the material at a nanoscale level. The carbon nanotubes create a microscopic, light-trapping forest. The darkness is not just a chemical property but a structural property, which is why these materials can absorb so much more light than any traditional pigment. This distinction is crucial: a chromatic black is a beautiful illusion for the eye, while an ultra-black material is a scientific marvel that nearly achieves the true physical definition of black: the complete absence of reflected light.