Inorganic pigments—those that lack carbon-hydrogen bonds—typically comprise metal oxide crystals.

Organic pigments can be made in a lab or in nature—the term indicates the presence of carbon-hydrogen bonds, not their source.

Not all colored materials can become pigments—the process of grinding materials down into smaller particles may destroy the color-producing molecules.

Studies of tattoo inks have identified over 100 pigments, which have historically included toxic metals but now include organic compounds.

Creating a perfect red pigment that is vivid, durable, and nontoxic is likely impossible.

The majority of the 100,000 natural compounds that produce colors are pigments, which can be categorized based on their chemical structure.

Lead, arsenic, uranium, and other toxic elements were once used in pigments for producing vibrant colors.

Paints are primarily made of pigments from rocks, plants, insects, or synthetic sources, combined with binding agents, solvents, and other potential additives for specific purposes.

Cow urine, cuttlefish ink, and burned white lead were among the substances used as pigments throughout history.

Some organisms' colors come from structural color—tiny structures that distinctly scatter different colors of light, eliminating some while reinforcing others that become visible.

Incinerated skeletons, animal blood, and fermented animal waste were among the ingredients used to make the pigments in some of art history's most famous paintings.

Watch how the rich blue pigment YInMn, also known as MasBlue, is created from three silver metals: yttrium, indium, and manganese.

By converting ultraviolet light into visible light and reflecting specific visible colors, fluorescent pigments can often provide much brighter, neon-like color than traditional pigments.

From dragon's blood to bone black, explore a timeline of pigments used throughout history, including each pigment's composition, preparation methods, and uses.

Violet is the rarest color in nature because it is the most energetically demanding visible light for pigments to reflect and for nanostructures to scatter.

The Forbes Pigment Collection contains samples of over 3,000 pigments, which are used as reference materials to distinguish original artwork from restorations and forgeries.

Fossilized pigment granules have enabled scientists to deduce the colors of long-extinct organisms, including dinosaurs.

The oldest colors in the geological record are bright pink pigments from about 1.1 billion years ago, according to researchers.

The world's oldest known synthetic pigment—Egyptian blue—was created about 5,000 years ago.

Tattoo inks are largely unregulated by the FDA

Blood can be blue, green, magenta, or transparent due to differences in the oxygen-carrying respiratory pigments they contain.

Instead of consuming water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and sugar, anoxygenic photosynthesis involves alternative reactants and products.

Some organisms can change color by quickly revealing or hiding various pigments, as seen in octopuses, squids, and other cephalopods.

Leaves have orange and yellow pigments year-round, but they are masked until the fall, when shorter days reduce the production of chlorophyll, a green pigment.

The color of bird feathers comes from a combination of pigments and structural color, with the latter enabling some to glow in ultraviolet light.

The same pigments that enable photosynthesis—chlorophyll a and b—are also responsible for giving most plants their green color.

Explore the chemical compounds found in fireworks

Humans can distinguish about 10 million colors—a number that is limited by photopigments that only activate when exposed to specific wavelengths of light.

Flamingos get their pink color from pigments in their food, but they cannot be any color because their bodies cannot process every type of pigment.

The centuries-old history of titanium white goes back to the Inca

Chromium contaminants in a ruby crystal gave the world's first laser its red color

Starting with red, colorful objects will appear to lose their colors the deeper they are submerged because water scatters light, reducing the amount available to reflect off objects and be observed.

Egg yolks and carrots have the same pigments that contribute to the yellow and orange colors of fall foliage.

See examples of hyperaccumulators, the plants that can harvest heavy metals

When processing light, the brain can perceive colors with no natural wavelength

The pharmaceutical industry evolved, in part, from the discovery of synthetic dyes

Metals are considered noble if they are highly resistant to corrosion, rust, and tarnishing, and include gold, platinum, and palladium.

Photonic integrated circuits use light instead of electrons within circuit components

The world's most expensive blue pigment, ultramarine blue, is made from lapis lazuli—rocks found mostly in the remote mountains of Afghanistan.

The five most common chemicals found in modern food

An overview of the metals obtainable through deep-sea mining of nodules and crusts

Scientists can simulate 100 years of studio light exposure in 300 hours using a xenon chamber, enabling them to test a pigment's resistance to fading.

The outermost shell of electrons in an atom dictates how it bonds to other atoms, including those of the same element, and the properties of the materials composed of those atoms.

Clean energy technologies are more mineral-intensive than burning fossil fuels

Hippos produce their own sunscreen from glands beneath their skin—a fluid containing pigments that absorb sunlight in the ultraviolet and visible range.

Colored diamonds result from elemental impurities, structural deformities, and exposure to radiation.

Blacklights can illuminate certain biological materials, including blood, teeth, and fingernails, because they contain fluorophores—molecules that visibly glow immediately after exposure to higher-energy light.

Visualize the minerals used in a lithium-ion battery

Although they rely on radioactive elements to operate, everyday technologies such as electronic exit signs, some wristwatches, and smoke detectors are not dangerous, unless they are damaged and their radioactive material is inhaled or swallowed.

An overview of oxygenic photosynthesis, which releases oxygen from breaking down water

Humans need vitamins, but research is mixed on taking supplements