As I explained before MICA-Powders are the main component employed to produce metallic (or iridescent), interference (or pearlescent) acrylic paint, due to their ability to reflect the light and give a shimmering effect.
MICA Powders vs MICA Powder Pigments
The term “MICA” identifies a material in powder form that is normally made from a natural silicate mineral stone called “muscovite” and in its raw form comes out of the ground in large pearlescent sheets or flakes with naturally shimmering, iridescent property. Due to these characteristics, MICA is used to create interference pigments and to add shimmer to epoxy resin, soap, candles, cosmetics and even translucent polymer clay.
There are two types of MICA powders, natural and synthetic, with different characteristics:
Production process: While natural mica powder comes from rocks, synthetic mica is made in a lab by melting manganese, metal, and aluminium, and then cooling to produce a crystal.
Colour purity: Synthetic mica has a higher purity than natural MICA, and therefore bolder, more consistent colours are possible.
Particle size: Synthetic mica is smoother in texture. Therefore, it’s a popular choice in cosmetics like eyeshadow and lipstick.
Mining: Some prefer synthetic mica to natural mica due to the environmental and mining practices. Because natural mica is mined in poverty-stricken areas, there are concerns over child labour practices.
MICA Powder Pigment is the coloured powder we all know and a combination of two components: MICA particles and normal coloured pigment powder. For this reason when you mix MICA Powder Pigments to normal paints or with one another you will not only get a shimmering effect but also a completely new colour.
The main difference between MICA and “Pigment Powders” is that MICA is not a pigment, but only a very low coloured (if not colourless) powder, and its main purpose is to create a sparkling or shiny effect, whereas pigments (powders) are the colours themselves, known by specific and common names (ultramarine blue, cadmium red, Hansa yellow etc.) and are often matt.
What we usually buy under the name “MICA Powder” or "MICA" is in reality a combination of both and the sparkling effect of the products we buy depends on the amount of MICA powder and the sizes of the MICA particles contained: the bigger the MICA quantity and the size of the particles are, the bigger the sparkles; the smaller the MICA quantity and the size of the particles are, the more satiny or pearl-like the final mixture will look.
In commerce MICA Powders are sold in form of MICA Powder Pigments, in different sets, variations and at different prices. I started by buying a set of 50 colours (5g for each colour) on amazon (about € 16,00). They are very shining and can be mixed together to create customized colours.
The most used (but expensive) in the field of acrylic pouring are the so-called “The Little Piggy” Pigments (shortly “TLP”), which are MICA-Powder based, non-toxic, and specifically developed to be used in acrylic pouring. The price is about € 16,00 and in Europe you can find them on www.eu.fluid-art.co .
A cheaper alternative (about € 8,00) are the Pearl EX Pigments by Jacquard. They are available in 54 colours, non-toxic and can be used to create metallic or pearlescent effect by mixing them directly into acrylics, varnishes and other art materials.
Interference MICA Powders
Sometimes instead of the term “interference” you can find the term “Pearlescent” to indicate the colour shift of the MICA when dried. In fact pearlescent mica powders appear normally white when wet, in their powder dried form or under direct sunlight. But shift your angle just a bit or wait for them to dry and you will see their hidden hue.
Interference MICA Powders follow the rules of RGB color mixing.
Chameleon Pigment Powders (Colour Shifting Pigments)
Chameleon Pigment Powders are MICA based powders with a special coating on them which reflects the light but, differently from normal MICA Pigment Powders, the reflection causes a colour shift according to the angle at which the surface is observed. For this reason they are also called “Colour Shifting Pigment Powders” and they can’t be replicate by mixing normal MICA powder pigments.
These kind of colours are often used in the car industry or to decorate twisted cups, toys or model cars but lately they are becoming very popular in resin art and pouring art.
In commerce they are available on amazon in different sets of 10 or more colours. The usual quantity for each colour is 5g and the price range pro set goes from € 15,00 to € 30,00.
They offer the maximum result on a black background.
How to use Chameleon Powders.
Alone
In order to use them as normal paints maintaining the original colour you can mix them with an acrylic binder in a (starting) ration of 1:1 (one part chameleon powder to one part acrylic binder). Use a palette knife to create a sort of paste with the same consistency of normal acrylic paint. (Tip: To improve the brightness you can mix them into a colourless and transparent glossy acrylic varnish).
MIxed with black MICA powder or black paint
Another way to use them is to add them either to black MICA powder or black acrylic paint.
In the first case the black MICA powder will darken the chameleon and partially strengthen the shifting colour effect. In the second case the black acrylic paint makes the chameleon powder more opaque and the colour shifting effect will be less visible.
Finally chameleon powder mixed with either white or coloured acrylics will lose completely its property.
How to use chameleon powders in a pouring
In order to use chameleon powders in a pouring, I create a compound formed by powder, acrylic binder, glossy acrylic varnish and acrylic thickener (see also Mixing MICA Pigment Powders for Pouring).
Mixing of MICA Powders
As normal pigments they also need to be mixed to an additive such as an acrylic binder, vinyl glue or polyurethane varnish to be used as normal paint.
The ratio MICA Powder to acrylic binder should be 3:1 or 3 parts MICA to ½ acrylic binder, depending on how much fluid the binder is. While mixing them with a palette knife, the MICA will tend to create lumps and air bubbles. Continue to mix the compound slowly until the lumps and the air bubbles are away. In the end you should get a consistency that when painted with a brush on a piece of paper (without water) is similar to the normal paint tube once on the paper.
In order to improve the shimmer of MICA-powders you can add glossy acrylic varnish or gel-gloss to the compound. Remember that the gel-gloss will whiten the compound while wet but will dry transparent giving back the shimmer.
Mixing MICA Powder Pigments for Pouring
In order to use the MICA pigment powders for pouring there are some points to keep in mind:
You will need a very big amount of MICA pigments to create the paint (ca. 10g) to start.
In addition to the varnish and the acrylic binder you should use a thickener (2-3 small drops to start and then increase very slowly if necessary) to give the compound a consistency.
Once you reached the consistency which is similar to normal paint, you can start to add the pouring medium slowly. Remember that the main task of pouring medium is to make the paint more fluid by breaking the bond between the pigments through the binder. The quicker you add it the more you have the risk of ruining the created paints.
Update: In order to use MICA powders in a pouring painting, you can add them to pearl white to create a metallic paint (read more here).
MICA Powder Pigments and acrylic paint
The effect of MICA will be stronger with transparent, semi-transparent or pearl (white) acrylic paints. On the contrary opaque paints, due to the fact that they contained titanium white (PW6) in their composition, prevent the shimmering effects. Furthermore the pigmentation of the MICA will interact with the paint hue creating a new one. For example mixing a yellow MICA Pigment Powder together with red acrylic paint will get back an orange with a yellowish shimmer.
MICA Powder Pigments and MICA Interference Powders
When mixed together, MICA interference powders will desaturate the pigmented ones changing the colour reflected when exposed to light at different angles or creating completely different colours.
MICA Powder Pigments mixed to another
The colour mixing follows the normal rules of colour theory, so that you can get a green by mixing yellow and blue MICA powders or an orange by mixing yellow and red MICA powders. In the same way you can get colour tints by using white MICA powder pigment or colour shades by using black MICA powder pigment.
Interference MICA Powders and acrylic paints
Besides being the main component of the pearlescent acrylic paints, Interference MICA powders can be added to normal paints to create the so-called “dynamic paints”, which can change their colours according to light exposure. In this case you have firstly to create a compound made of interference MICA powder, acrylic binder and glossy gel and, after it, you can add this mixture to the desired paint. In order to increase the interference effect you can add more MICA powder (with a slightly amount of water) to the new colour.
I hope you could find this post useful and helpful in making your artworks pop.
Thank you for reading. If you like the post, feel free to leave a like, a comment and don’t forget to follow my blog, my Instagram and share the content on your social media.
Have a colourful and sparkling day!
Laura
Comments