Opacity and Transparency

Terms referring to the ability of a substance to transmit light. An opaque paint is one that transmits no light and can [p. 283] readily be made to cover or hide what is under it. A semiopaque paint transmits very little light, but is incapable of concealing dark colors and strong markings under it unless an unusually heavy coat is applied. A transparent material transmits light freely; when a transparent glaze of oil color, for example, is placed over another color, it produces a clean mixture of the two hues without much loss of clarity. A semitransparent paint transmits much light, but is not clear; a semitransparent glaze, when placed over another color, will produce a pale or cloudy effect because of the reflection of light from the surface. Semitransparency and semiopacity are also known as translucency. Pigments are classed as opaque, semiopaque, and transparent.

In painting techniques, opaque and transparent pigments produce color effects in two different ways: Watercolor employs transparent color, relying on the brilliant white paper to create white and pale colors; casein, gouache, and pastel are completely opaque, using white pigment to obtain whites and pale colors; tempera is semiopaque, combining the effects of both systems; and oil painting is capable of utilizing opaque, translucent, and transparent effects, sometimes all in the same painting. [p. 284]

[Mayer, Ralph. The HarperCollins Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques. Second Edition. Revised and edited by Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center, Yale University School of Art. New York: HarperCollins. 1969. 1991.]

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