It’s no secret that my favorite earth yellow is Daniel Smith’s Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (PBr7). But I also like a yellow ochre; for example, Holbein’s Yellow Ochre (PY42). They’re so similar that I wouldn’t want to have both in my palette at the same time, so which should I choose? Which is better in which situation?
Comparison in Various Situations
Yellow Ochres vary quite a bit, so bear in mind that these conclusions mainly have to do with this specific Holbein Yellow Ochre.
Hue
These two colors have an almost identical hue!
It’s no surprise that I was drawn to this one, since the hue is almost identical to MANS: very cheerful and yellowy, more goldenrod than brown.
Similarly, Daniel Smith’s Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (MANS) is the yellowest version of the traditional sienna/brown pigment PBr7.
Winner: Tie.
Usefulness
Sunrise/Sunset Skies
Both of these colors can be used in dilute to add a bit of yellow to skies, because they resist going green more than a typical yellow would. However, MANS resists turning green even more than Yellow Ochre does, and it dilutes to just as nice a yellow, so it’s especially great for this purpose.
Earth Tones
MANS looks browner in masstone so can be more versatile for various earth tone use cases (dirt, etc.), and it has nice gentle granulation.
Winner: Personally, I find MANS more useful and versatile.
Opacity
This is one of the main differences between the two colors. YO is (usually) opaque/semi-opaque, MANS is transparent. YO is easier to get deep and high-chroma for heavy, deep, intense colors, while MANS lends itself better to textured granulating mixes and transparent glazes.
Winner: It depends.
Granulation
MANS is gently granulating. This particular YO is non-granulating; some versions do granulate. Neither is better or worse, just depends on what you want. Granulation can give a textured appearance which is nice in mixed foliage greens and clouds, but sometimes a flat appearance is desired.
Winner: It depends.
Texture
This is a nitpicky little issue, but I have found that YO is texturally nicer in the pan – MANS has a tendency to form hard peaks and valleys, and YO doesn’t.
Winner: Yellow Ochre.
Color Mixes
Transparent Red Oxide (PR101)
Transparent Brown Oxide (PR101)
The MANS mix looks more integrated, while in the YO mix, the TBO granulation floats to the top, giving it a “cinnamon dusted creme brulee” appearance.
Quinacridone Coral (PR209)
I found the MANS mixes to be fiery and luminous, and the YO mixes to be more subtly pastel-ish. Of course, the quality of the light in the two images could also be affecting my memory.
Deep Scarlet (PR175)
I had an easier time getting luminous mixes from the MANS, and heavier, darker, more chromatic mixes from the YO.
Quinacridone Magenta (PR122)
Again, MANS seems to lend itself better to diluted, transparent mixes, while the YO seems to lend itself better to darker and more muted mixes.
Dioxazine Violet (PV23)
Both of these make fairly muted, brownish khaki mixes.
Indanthrone Blue (PB60)
Both more or less neutralize DS Indanthrone Blue and make grayish mixes. A little bit of either one added to Indanthrone Blue makes it a dark slate blue. The MANS mixes are more textured while the YO mixes have a cloudy, opaque quality.
Ultramarine Blue (PB29)
Cerulean (PG36)
The MANS mixes mix more to a gray, while the YO keeps itself more separate, fading to a background gold with floating blue granulation on top.
Phthalo Turquoise (PB16)
Cobalt Turquoise (PG50)
The pigmented mixes with MANS were more streaky though that is likely largely a paper difference. The hue is similar when mostly-PG50; on the mostly-yellow side, the MANS mixes are more sage green/gold while the YO mixes appear more brownish.
Phthalo Green Blue Shade (PG7)
The MANS mixes are much more granulating while the YO mixes are warmer.
Conclusion
They are similar, but have slightly different strengths. Both have an earthy yellow hue; the main differences come down to mainly to opacity and mixability. I find MANS mixes better with transparent colors while YO mixes nicely with opaque earths like Cerulean Blue and Cobalt Turquoise. MANS is nice in skies and invaluable for making “misty blues” while YO is better for mixing muted greens.