Although alizarin crimson is far from being one of the most popular reds when it comes to arts and crafts, it is still a relatively popular color with many artists carrying it in their palette. Due to fewer people carrying it in their collection, we often see people reaching out to ask for the best alizarin crimson substitute colors so they are able to try and use an alternative that they currently have in their paint collection rather than buy a new tube.
Thankfully, there are a number of options available that are very close to alizarin crimson and can be used instead of it making it an easy color to sub in when needed. That said though, there are some very slight subtleties that can make it a better option to just purchase a tube of cheap, alizarin crimson paint if possible. This does tend to be for high-end artwork though and many of our readers will be fine using an alternative.
We will be going over the six most commonly used alizarin crimson substitutes in our article below to try and help our readers chose the best option for them. We will have a sample of each alternative color option followed by a short text breakdown for each. If you don’t currently carry any of the recommended alizarin crimson alternative colors in your palette then simply picking up a tube of alizarin crimson is probably going to be the best option moving forward.
Alizarin Crimson Color Code – #e32636
The Best Alizarin Crimson Substitutes
Please note that we have three color options that are good right out of the tube and serve well as a substitute to alizarin crimson when needed. The other three color options that we have will need mixing with other colors to bring them down to a level close to alizarin crimson. If you are new to arts and crafts then we would recommend that you go with any of the first three alternatives as mixing paint to a specific color can be harder than many people initially think.
What Color Is Close To Alizarin Crimson?
Quin red is commonly considered to be the best alizarin crimson alternative on the market and is commonly used if alizarin crimson is not available to the artist. You can see in the color sample above that quin red is slightly lighter than alizarin crimson but it is easy to darken up the quin red to get it closer to alizarin crimson prior to use.
Whenever we see people on social media or arts and crafts forums asking for an alizarin crimson substitute, quinn red is always one of the more commonly suggested colors meaning that a large section of the community seem to agree on this option too. Thankfully, quin red paint tubes are just as cheap as alizarin crimson with the color also offering just as much versatility as alizarin crimson when mixed with other colors.
If you do already have some quin red in your paint collection then you can easily use it as an alternative. As we touched on earlier in the article though, if you will have to purchase a new tube of quin red then just purchasing some cheap, alizarin crimson paint will usually be the better option.
Quin Red Color Code – #FF0000
Permanent Rose
Permanent rose is another popular alizarin crimson substitute that is used on a regular basis by a large number of artists. Some people don’t like to use permanent rose due to it being more of a pink than a red but it can serve well depending on your goals for your artwork. As you can see from the color sample above, both colors are similar to each other but you may want to darken up the permanent rose prior to use in some cases.
The main reason that we decided to feature permanent rose in our list is that it is a popular color option in many artists palette anyway so there is a good chance some of our readers will already carry the color. If not then a decent Permanent Rose paint can be added to your collection for cheaper than most think but we would only recommend that you purchase a tube if you want it due to its coloration rather than just as an alternative to alizarin crimson.
Permanent Rose Color Code – #ff007f
Rose Madder
Rose madder is another popular alizarin crimson alternative that many people can use when needed. Although it can serve well as a replacement for alizarin crimson, some people don’t like it due to it being slightly darker and even if you add other colors to lighten it, rose madder can be a pain to get closer to the lighter color of alizarin crimson.
Please also note that there are different variants of Rose Madder paint on the market as well as different brands using different pigment charts for their rose madder products. Due to this, the color can vairy wildly adding to why you will often see people recommend that you avoid using it as an alternative to colors such as alizarin crimson. If you already have it in your paint collection though and you have none of the other options while also being on a budget, rose madder can get the job done.
Rose Madder Color Code – #c83944
Crimson Lake
Some people do mix other paint colors with crimson lake to create their own alizarin crimson alternative with it looking remarkably similar to the other mix options on our list. crimson lake is slightly darker to alizarin crimson but is easier to lighten to the levels of alizarin crimson than the options we have below.
Although Crimson Lake is less popular than the two alizarin crimson substitute options suggested below, it does tend to be the best mix option. That said though, the three options suggested above are usually the best option as they tend to be closer to the color of alizarin crimson right out of the box.
Crimson Lake Color Code – #98182F
Perylene Maroon
Perylene maroon is another rare red that is also darker than alizarin crimson meaning that you will have to mix lighter paint colors with it to get it even close to alizarin crimson. Even with this though, Perylene Maroon can make a good alternative for your alizarin crimson if you already have it in your collection but in our opinion, there are definitely better options available.
Perylene Maroon Color Code – #702a39
Alizarin Claret
Alizarin claret is essentially a darker alizarin crimson meaning that it can easily be lightened to the level of alizarin crimson with something as simple as adding a simple white and thoroughly mixing it. As this is a mixing option we would recommend that our readers take any of the first three substitute recommendations as they do better right out the box though.
We had to leave Alizarin Claret to last place though due to it being so rare with very few artists carrying it in their palette and even fewer paint brands offering their products in it. On top of this, some local arts and crafts stores can add a premium to the price of the paint due to it being so rare pumping the price tag for a tube up. If you do have alizarin claret in your palette collection already though then you are able to make use of it.
Alizarin Claret Color Code – #7F1734
Conclusion
That brings our article going over the six best alizarin crimson substitutes on the market to an end. As we touched on back at the start of the article, we would recommend that you go with any of the three first recommended substitutes as they tend to be better options right out of the tube. Although the last three alternatives can work when mixed with other paint colors, we would only recommend that you use them if you already have them in your collection though.
If you don’t have any of the six recommended alternatives in your collection and would have to purchase a new tube of paint anyway, just go with a tube of alizarin crimson. It will make everything easier and prevent the need to mix your paints while also adding a solid color with plenty of versatility to your palette.
