Carmine color is the general term for some deep

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

colors that are ''very slightly'' purplish but are generally ''slightly'' closer to

than the color crimson is. Some

rubies A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sap ...

are colored the color shown below as ''rich carmine''. The deep dark red color shown at right as ''carmine'' is the color of the raw unprocessed

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

, but lighter, richer, or brighter colors are produced when the raw pigment is processed, some of which are shown below. The first recorded use of ''carmine'' as a color name in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

was in 1523.

Variations of carmine

Wild watermelon

The color wild watermelon is displayed at right. Ultra red is a color formulated by

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylva ...

in 1972. In 1990, the name of the color was changed to ''wild watermelon''. With a hue code of 350, this color is within the range of carmine colors. This color is supposed to be

fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, ...

, but there is no mechanism for displaying fluorescence on a computer screen.

Radical red

The

crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax a ...

color radical red is displayed at right. The color ''radical red'' was formulated by Crayola in 1990. With a hue code of 348, this color is within the range of carmine colors. This color is supposed to be fluorescent, but there is no mechanism for displaying fluorescence on a computer screen.

Paradise pink

Displayed at right is the color paradise pink. The source of this color is the "

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphi ...

Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #17-1755 TPX—Paradise Pink.Pantone TPX Pantone Color Finder--Type the words "Paradise Pink" into the indicated window on the Pantone Color Finder and the color will appear:
/ref> Since it has a hue code of 347, the color ''paradise pink'' is within the range of carmine colors.

Rich carmine

The rich carmine color tone displayed at right matches the color shown as ''carmine'' in the 1930 book ''A Dictionary of Color'' (cited below). This color is also called Chinese carmine. This is the color usually referred to as ''carmine'' in

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

and

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

Spanish carmine

Spanish carmine is the color that is called ''Carmin'' (the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

word for "carmine") in the ''Guía de coloraciones'' (''Guide to colorations'') by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm.

Pictorial carmine

Pictorial carmine is the color that is called ''Carmín pictórico'' (Spanish for "pictorial carmine") in the ''Guía de coloraciones'' (''Guide to colorations'') by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm. This is a typical tone of carmine pigment used in

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Japanese carmine

The color Japanese carmine is shown at right. The name of this shade of carmine in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

is , literally "

cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North Americ ...

rouge Rouge is the French word for "red" and may refer to: Compounds * Rouge (cosmetics), a cosmetic used to color the cheeks and emphasize the cheekbones * Jeweler's rouge or iron(III) oxide * Rouging, a form of corrosion applicable to stainless ...

color", as means

, the cosmetics. The insect is called .

Carmine in human culture

Crime scene investigation Crime scene investigation may refer to: * Forensic inspection of a crime scene * ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2000-2015), a US television series * ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (video game), a 2003 videogame based on the TV show * ''C ...

* The name is often applied to descriptions of

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

, because the dark carmine color of the raw pigment shown at the top of the page is the color of dried blood.

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

* Carmine is one of the colors mentioned in Donovan's "

Wear Your Love Like Heaven "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" is a song and US single by British singer-songwriter Donovan, released in 1967. It became the opening title of his 1967 double-disc album ''A Gift from a Flower to a Garden''. It peaked at No. 23 in the ''Billboar ...

". * Carmine red is second of two colors mentioned in Katatonia's song " Lethean".

Sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

s * Carmine red and

golden yellow Gold, also called golden, is a color tone resembling the gold chemical element. The web color ''gold'' is sometimes referred to as ''golden'' to distinguish it from the color ''metallic gold''. The use of ''gold'' as a color term in traditi ...

are the official colors of Italian football/soccer team

AS Roma ' (''Rome Sport Association''), commonly referred to as Roma (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its ...

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

* In Chapter 37 of ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...

'' Season 3, during an interview between author Thomas Yates and Claire Underwood, during which Claire Underwood is having blood drawn, Underwood asks what color could be used to describe the color of the blood flowing through the tube, and Yates says, "carmine." Underwood responds, "You must be a writer." Film * In '' Dragon Ball Super: Superhero'', following the naming trend of all major figures within the

Red Ribbon Army The is a fictional group of characters featured in Akira Toriyama's '' Dragon Ball'' anime and manga series. The many operatives of the Red Ribbon Army, led by , serve as opponents for series protagonist Goku during his second quest for the Dra ...

, the loyal assistant to Commander Magenta, is named Carmine, who also wears a suit of the same color. National flags * Carmine is the color used in the

flag of Latvia The national flag of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas karogs) was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. On 27 February 1990, shortly before the country ...

References

{{Color topics Shades of red Bird colours