Untitled Document

Artist Material BRDF Library

A research effort is underway at the Munsell Color Science Laboratory (MCSL) to develop a practical gonio-imaging system for use in a museum setting to more accurately document artwork. The gonio-imaging system is capable of capturing BRDF data, used to simulate the appearance of artwork from multiple viewing angles and under various lighting conditions. Necessary in the development of the system was the creation a physical library of artist material samples from which BRDF data could be obtained. The 600 unique samples created for this purpose represent the most common materials and techniques used by artists both past and present. The BRDF data obtained from the samples is avaiable here as a searchable database. Included in the database:

Documentation of sample preparation including written descriptions and video clips
Raw image data for each sample
BRDF data for all samples

sample_prep sample_cabinet

Table of included materials:

Medium	Substrate	Color	Application Technique	Overcoat
Oil	Coarse Linen Canvas Fine Cotton Canvas Masonite	Venetian Red Chromium Oxide Green Portland Gray Medium Ivory Black Titanium White	Brush Palette Knife (Smooth) Palette Knife (Impasto)	Unvarnished Gamvar Golden MSA Matte Golden MSA Gloss
Acrylic	Coarse Linen Canvas Fine Cotton Canvas Masonite	Red Oxide Chromium Oxide Green Neutral Gray Bone Black Titanium White	Brush Palette Knife (Smooth) Palette Knife (Impasto)	Unvarnished Gamvar Golden MSA Matte Golden MSA Gloss
Watercolor	Hot-Pressed Watercolor Paper Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper	Terra Rosa Chromium Oxide Green Ivory Black	Wash: mixed 15:1 water to paint Wash: mixed 30:1 water to paint Wash: mixed 60:1 water to paint	None
Gouache	Hot-Pressed Watercolor Paper Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper	English Red Chromium Oxide Green Brilliant Ivory Black Titanium White	Brushed: no water added Brushed: mixed 50:50 with water Wash: mixed 10:1 water to paint	None
Ink	Hot-Pressed Watercolor Paper Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper	Brick Red Green Black	Wash	None
Egg Tempera	Masonite	Mars Venetian Red Chromium Oxide Green Gray Bone Black Titanium White	Brush	None
Colored Pencil	Sketch Paper Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper	Burnt Sienna Moss Green Slate Grey Black White	Applied in one direction Applied in all directions	None
Marker	Sketch Paper Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper	Crimson Red Mahogany Red Dark Olive Green Dark Green Cool Grey 80% Warm Grey 90% Black	Applied in one direction Applied in all directions	None
Pastel	Sketch Paper	Red Earth 6 Yellow Green Earth 6 Grey 15 Serious Black Titanium White	Applied in all directions and blended	Matte Fixative Gloss Fixative
Charcoal	Sketch Paper Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper	Black	Applied in one direction Applied in all directions	Matte Fixative Gloss Fixative
Graphite	Sketch Paper Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper	Gray	Applied in one direction Applied in all directions	None
Conté Crayon	Sketch Paper Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper	Black	Applied in one direction Applied in all directions	None

Aggregated Datasets:

Instrument	Description	Download
BYK Gardener BYK-mac multi-angle spectrophotomer	Reflectance spectra of 600 samples taken at illumination angles of -15, 15, 25, 45, 75, 110 degrees over the wavelength range 400-700nm.	Microsoft Excel Workbook (802KB Zip)
MCSL Imaging Goniospectrometer	Surface Normal Maps of 600 samples (material descriptions included)	Archive of EXR Files (146MB Zip!)

Instrument

Description

Download

BYK Gardener

BYK-mac multi-angle spectrophotomer

Reflectance spectra of 600 samples taken at illumination angles of -15, 15, 25, 45, 75, 110 degrees over the wavelength range 400-700nm.

Microsoft Excel Workbook (802KB Zip)

MCSL Imaging Goniospectrometer

Surface Normal Maps of 600 samples
(material descriptions included)

Archive of EXR Files (146MB Zip!)

Sample Panel Summary:

Mouse over thumbnail image to see panel detail, click for detail page and data.

PanelNum	Medium	Substrate	Technique
1	Oil	Canvas - Gessoed (x4) Coarse Linen	Applied Side-to-Side with palette knife - very slight impasto
2			Applied with palette knife - "bumpy"impasto
3			Brushed - one direction (vertically)
4		Canvas - Pre-Gessoed Fine Cotton	Applied Side-to-Side with palette knife - very slight impasto
5			Applied with palette knife - "bumpy"impasto
6			Brushed - one direction (vertically)
7		Masonite - Gessoed (x4)	Applied with palette knife - very slight impasto
8			Applied with palette knife - "bumpy"impasto
9			Brushed - one direction (vertically)
10	Acrylic	Canvas - Gessoed (x4) Coarse Linen	Applied Side-to-Side with palette knife - very slight impasto
11			Applied with palette knife - "bumpy"impasto
12			Brushed - one direction (vertically)
13		Canvas - Pre-Gessoed Fine Cotton	Applied Side-to-Side with palette knife - very slight impasto
14			Applied with palette knife - "bumpy"impasto
15			Brushed - one direction (vertically)
16		Masonite - Gessoed (x4)	Applied with palette knife - very slight impasto
17			Applied with palette knife - "bumpy"impasto
18			Brushed - one direction (vertically)
19		Canvas - Raw Coarse Linen	Applied with palette knife - "bumpy"impasto
20	Pastel/Graphite	Paper	Some Blended w/ tissue paper
21	Marker/Charcoal		Applied in Various Driections
22	Gouache		Brushed in Various Directions
23	Colored Pencil		Applied in Various Driections
24	Watercolor		Brushed and Washed