Monopigment colours have always been appreciated by artists for the predictability and purity of the shades obtained from them when mixing: the less pigments participate in the production of the mixture, the cleaner the final tint. Monopigment colours contain one pigment, while compound colours can include two or more pigments. The use of monopigment colours is also important at the stage of teaching academic painting. Gaining artistic professional skills, it is very important to learn to get the desired shades independently, to learn to understand and anticipate the behaviour of a particular colour in mixtures and when used in various painting techniques. Of course, it is easier to come to such an understanding using monopigment colours at the training stage.

Monopigment colours are necessary to obtain countless unique shades, compound colours do not give such a variety in mixes. Compound colours are not used in complex mixes, they are used as ready-made colours, and you no longer need to waste time for mixing. Of course, any compound colour can be obtained on its own by mixing the original colours, but this requires time and distraction from the main work. They are indispensable in the fast and expressive technique of alla prima, where it is important to focus on the very process of painting, control the movement of colour along the sheet, and there is no time to obtain complex mixes from monopigment colours; in the plein-air and sketches, where time also plays a key role.

Even in complex watercolour painting with glazing, in fills, compound colours are often used, it is just important to know their characteristics and behaviour. Ready-to-use saturated, deep, bright and complex colours, light pastel shades are already good in themselves and are an integral part of the palette of professional artists.