History Of Graphic Design

Casein paint is derived from milk casein, a protein that is found in milk and often times used as a binding agent in foods. There are two main types of casein, edible and technical. Edible casein is widely used in medicines and foods, both as a binder and for nutritional value. Technical casein is used lots of products, including paints, cosmetics, adhesives and much more. Paint made from casein is fast-drying and water-soluble. It generally has a glue-like consistency, but can be thinned with water to the degree that fits a particular artist’s style and desired result. It can be used on canvas panels, illustration boards, paper, wood and masonite. It generally dries to a matte finish. However, because the dried paint is inflexible and brittle it is not usually used on flexible surfaces such as canvas. Casein was widely used by commercial illustrators until the late 1960s when, with the advent of acrylic paint, casein became less popular. 

Visually casein paint can resemble oil painting more than most other water based paints, and works well as an underpainting. It has been used since ancient Egyptian times as a form of tempera paint and is still used today. Artists value it because, unlike gouache, it dries to an even consistency making it ideal for murals. 

You can quickly make your own casein paint. Simply take some skim milk cottage cheese and wash off any of the milky fluids. The lumps of casein left behind are then dissolved by adding, in a pot, water and some ammonia. The ammonia should be preferably in the form of ammonium carbonate. Stir the mixture while it warms until it begins to froth and the lumps dissolve. Do not boil but keep simmering and continue to stir until the frothing stops. Let the syrup cool and use that as your medium.

Santa Clara Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde created a series of more than 70 paintings of everyday Native American life in New Mexico for Bandelier National Monument between 1937 and 1943, painted mostly on masonite using casein paints. The photo above is titled “Three Women Grinding Corn” and it is from 1940.

sources: wisegeek.com, Wikipedia

Tempera paint, also known as egg tempera paint, is a type of artist’s paint most popular in the Byanatine world and the Middle Ages in Europe. It was the main medium for panel painting and illuminate manuscripts. Prominent egg tempera artists include nearly every painter of the Italian Renaissance before 1500 AD. For example, every surviving panel painting by Michelangelo is egg tempera. The painting on the left is a tempera on wood painting by Niccolo Semitecolo from 1367.

The paint is made by binding pigment in an egg medium. Egg yolk dries quickly and adheres firmly. Tempera was traditionally created by hand grinding dry powdered pigments into egg yolk which acts as the primary binding agent or medium. Other materials such as honey, water, milk and plant gums were often included as well. It dries rapidly. The colors, which are painted over each other, resemble a pastel when unvarnished and display deeper colors when varnished. The paint is normally applied in thin, semi-opaque or transparent layers. When it dries it produces a smooth matte finish. True tempera paintings are quite permanent, the colors do not change over time, whereas oil paintings darken, yellow and become transparent with age.

Italy, Greece and Russia were the major centers of tempera painting. It was, for the most part, replaced by oil painting in the 1500s, though it is still popular today in Greece and Russia. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries there were intermittent revivals of tempera technique in Western art.

Making tempera paint is very easy: 

Place a small amount of the pigment paste onto a palette, dish or bowl.

Add about an equal volume of the egg medium and mix well making sure there are no lumps of pigment. Some pigments require slightly more egg medium, some require less.

Add distilled water (usually less than a teaspoon per egg yolk), trial and error will dictate just how much water is required. 

Most often only the contents of the yolk are used. The white of the egg and the membrane of the yolk are discarded. You can isolate the yolk and dry the membrane slightly by rolling it on a paper towel. Then pick up the yolk gently by the membrane, dangle it over a receptacle and puncture the membrane with a knife or other sharp instrument to drain off the liquid inside.

If the paint contains too much yolk, the paint will look greasy and clumpy; too much water makes it run. So, it’s important to adjust the amount of water and yolk to achieve a consistent paint. As tempera dries, you will probably need add more water to preserve the consistency and to balance the thickening of the yolk on contact with air.

Different preparations use the egg white or the whole egg for different effect. Also other additives such as oil and wax emulsions can modify the medium. Adding oil for instance in no more than a 1:1 ratio with the egg yolk by volume will produce a water soluble medium with many of the color effects of oil paint, although it cannot be painted thickly.