Usually, yes. The binder that holds acrylic paint together is a synthetic polymer, so the base of the paint contains no animal material, and most acrylic colours are vegan by default. The main exceptions are a few pigments, and the most common one is bone black (PBk9), a black made from charred animal bones. Once you can read the pigment codes on a label, you can spot these exceptions in seconds.
This page covers acrylic paint only. Oil paint, watercolor, and drawing media each raise different questions, and we cover them on their own pages. And if you are looking at a finished painting rather than a tube of paint, the label cannot help you at all. Ask us, and VanArtHub will put the materials question directly to the artist before you buy.
Key takeaways
- The acrylic binder is a synthetic polymer, so the base of the paint contains no animal ingredients.
- A small number of pigments come from animals. Bone black (PBk9) is the most common, and Golden states its version is made from carbonized cattle bones.
- Carbon black (PBk7) and Mars black (PBk11) are non-animal blacks that do the same job in almost every case.
- Pigment codes printed on the label tell you what is inside a colour, whatever name the brand gives it.
- A vegan tube does not guarantee a vegan painting, because canvas sizing and gesso can contain animal glue.
Why acrylic paint starts out vegan
Every paint is pigment held in a binder, and the binder is what defines the medium. Acrylic's binder is an acrylic polymer emulsion: a synthetic material made in a factory and carried in water. Nothing in it comes from an animal.
That makes acrylic unusual among paints. Egg tempera binds pigment with egg yolk. Casein paint uses milk protein. Traditional oil paint uses plant-based linseed oil but brings its own complications, such as beeswax stabilizers in some brands. With acrylics, the binder question is settled before you start. What remains is the pigment question.
The pigment exceptions
Pigments are the coloured powders inside the paint, and a few of them are animal products. The one you will actually meet in an acrylic range is bone black, also sold as ivory black. Its Colour Index code is PBk9, and it is made by charring animal bones. Golden Artist Colors states that its Bone Black pigment is made from carbonized cattle bones, and lists Bone Black, Jenkins Green, several Neutral Grays, Prussian Blue Hue, and Terre Verte Hue among its products that contain it. That last part matters: an animal-derived pigment can sit inside a mixed colour whose name gives no hint of it.
Carmine is the other name to know. It is a red dye extracted from the dried bodies of cochineal insects. If a red is named carmine, ask the maker what pigment it actually uses before assuming anything. For the full list of animal-derived colours across every medium, see our guide to animal-derived pigments.
The vegan blacks that replace bone black
Avoiding PBk9 does not mean giving up black. Carbon black (PBk7) and Mars black (PBk11) are both non-animal pigments, and nearly every acrylic range carries at least one of them. According to Golden's Just Paint journal, they run slightly cooler in tone than bone black. In a finished painting, few viewers would ever notice the difference.
How to read an acrylic paint label
Brands invent colour names freely, but pigment codes are standard across the industry. Look for the line on the tube, or on the maker's website, that starts with the word Pigment and lists codes such as PBk9 or PBk7. The letters name the colour family (PBk means pigment black, PR means pigment red) and the number identifies the exact pigment.
| Code on the label |
Usual name |
Source |
Animal-free? |
| PBk9 |
Bone black or ivory black |
Charred animal bones |
No |
| PBk7 |
Carbon black |
Non-animal carbon |
Yes |
| PBk11 |
Mars black |
Synthetic, non-animal |
Yes |
| No codes listed |
House blends |
Unknown |
Ask the maker |
Formulations change, so treat any list, including this one, as a starting point rather than a permanent answer. When a label lists no pigment codes, or a colour is a house blend, email the maker and ask directly. Reputable makers answer these questions.
The paint is only part of the artwork
A vegan tube of acrylic does not make the finished painting vegan on its own. Most paintings sit on a canvas that was sized and primed before the first brushstroke. Traditional sizing and traditional gesso use rabbit-skin glue, which Golden describes as refined rabbit collagen. Modern acrylic gesso and acrylic sizing are synthetic. You cannot tell which one was used by looking at the front of a painting, so the honest route is to ask the artist. We explain that whole bottom layer in vegan canvas and gesso.
One more point, since buyers often ask both questions at once: acrylics are water-based and need no solvent, which also makes them a low-fume choice for the studio and the home. If indoor air quality is part of what you are weighing, see our sustainable art hub's guide to low-VOC paints and mediums.
Common questions
Is Golden acrylic paint vegan?
Not every colour. Golden states that its Bone Black pigment is made from carbonized cattle bones, and lists Bone Black, Jenkins Green, several Neutral Grays, Prussian Blue Hue, and Terre Verte Hue among products containing it. Many other colours use non-animal pigments, but check the pigment codes for each colour or ask the maker, because formulations change.
What does PBk9 on a paint tube mean?
PBk9 is the Colour Index code for bone black, also sold as ivory black. It is made from charred animal bones, so it is not vegan. The non-animal alternatives are carbon black (PBk7) and Mars black (PBk11).
Is ivory black made from real ivory?
No. Modern ivory black is the same pigment as bone black (PBk9), made from charred animal bones. Only the historical name survives.
Do vegan blacks look different from bone black?
According to Golden's Just Paint journal, carbon black and Mars black are slightly cooler in tone than bone black. The difference is small, and in a finished painting most people will not see it.
Can I buy an acrylic painting that is fully vegan?
Yes, if the artist used non-animal pigments and an acrylic-primed canvas. You cannot check this by looking at the artwork, so ask the seller to put the question to the artist before you buy.
Acrylic is the simplest paint to buy vegan: a synthetic binder, a short list of pigments to avoid, and clear codes on the label. Browse our original acrylic paintings, and for every other material question, start with the full vegan art guide.
