Cadmium Scarlet is a bold, warm orange-red known for its opacity, intensity, and visual impact. Historically favored for strong focal points and direct color statements, it sits firmly in the orange family while retaining enough red influence to feel powerful and energetic.
Understanding Cadmium Scarlet on the Palette
Cadmium Scarlet occupies the orange side of the red–orange spectrum, leaning warm and forward on the color wheel. Its hue makes it especially effective for sunlight, florals, fruit, and foreground elements that require immediate attention.
As an opaque watercolor, Cadmium Scarlet behaves very differently from transparent oranges. Rather than relying on glazing and optical mixing, it establishes color through direct application and solid coverage, giving it strong physical presence on the page.
Pigment Information: What Cadmium Scarlet Is Made Of
Cadmium Scarlet is traditionally made from cadmium sulfoselenide pigments (commonly PR108).
Typical characteristics include:
- Opaque
- High chroma
- Dense pigment load
- Strong covering power
- Excellent lightfastness
Handling & Mixing Characteristics
Cadmium Scarlet is known for:
- Strong, opaque washes
- Immediate color payoff
- Reduced luminosity compared to transparent pigments
Because of its opacity:
- It can dominate mixtures easily
- It tends to mute transparent colors
- It performs best when used deliberately and sparingly
It is most effective when paired with other opaque pigments or used intentionally as an accent color.
Why Cadmium Scarlet Works in Color Theory Systems
As a secondary orange, Cadmium Scarlet:
- Creates strong complementary contrast
- Anchors warm color passages
- Makes hue relationships easy to identify
Its solidity and opacity make it useful for teaching color placement and contrast, even though many artists now favor safer alternatives.
Color Schemes Using Cadmium Scarlet
In the past, I used Cadmium Scarlet as the SECONDARY ORANGE on the color wheel because it is a pure opaque watercolor that is perfect for its complementary color listed below. But, now I prefer to use Cadmium Free Scarlet because Cadmium paints are toxic.
The following color schemes are based on Stephen Quiller’s “Quiller Color Wheel” and his book “Color Choices: Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory.“
Complementary
The complementary color sits on the opposite side of the color wheel. For Cadmium Scarlet, the complementary color is:
This pairing produces strong visual contrast and muted neutrals when mixed.
Split-Complementary
The split-complementary colors are the two colors located on either side of the complementary color on the color wheel. The following are the split-complementary colors for Cadmium Scarlet:
This scheme softens contrast while maintaining balance between warm and cool.
Analogous
Going clockwise on the color wheel from ORANGE to YELLOW, the analogous colors for Cadmium Scarlet are:
These combinations create strong, cohesive warm passages with high visual energy.
Triadic
This Triadic consists of three SECONDARY colors. In addition to Cadmium Scarlet, the other colors that make up this Triadic color scheme are:
This triad produces dynamic interaction while maintaining structural balance across the palette.
Cadmium Scarlet Compared to Other Oranges
- Cadmium Scarlet: opaque, bold, warm
- Cadmium Orange: lighter, more yellow-leaning
- Cadmium Free Scarlet: safer, often more transparent
Cadmium Scarlet stands out for its weight and immediacy rather than subtlety.
Best Uses for Cadmium Scarlet
Cadmium Scarlet is most effective for:
- Bold focal areas
- Floral accents
- Sunlit highlights
- Teaching opacity vs transparency
- Direct, painterly techniques
Limitations of Cadmium Scarlet
Despite its strengths, Cadmium Scarlet:
- Reduces luminosity in mixes
- Can overpower transparent pigments
- Contains toxic heavy metals
Because cadmium pigments contain heavy metals, they are considered toxic and must be handled with care. For these reasons, many artists now prefer cadmium-free alternatives such as Cadmium Free Red Deep, Cadmium Free Scarlet, Cadmium Free Orange and Cadmium Free Lemon.
A Note on Cadmium Scarlet’s Role on the Palette
Cadmium Scarlet represents a traditional, assertive approach to color—one rooted in opacity and directness. While modern alternatives offer safer and more transparent options, understanding Cadmium Scarlet remains valuable for color theory education and historical context.