Long-Term Observation Record of Scent Properties and Perceived Behavior in Handmade Watercolor Systems

In the traditional observation of watercolor paints, visual characteristics (such as color saturation, transparency, and particle distribution) and material behaviors (such as drying speed and re-solubility) usually occupy the primary focus. By contrast, scent—as an inherent sensory attribute of the material itself—is less commonly recorded as an independent variable. For handmade paints composed of natural binders, various pigments, and auxiliary ingredients, scent accompanies the entire process from raw material preparation, mixing, and long-term storage to final painting application, representing an objectively present and directly perceptible material feature.

1. Inherent Scent Characteristics of Raw Materials

The basic ingredients that make up handmade watercolor paints each possess distinct scent profiles:

• Pigments: Scent differences among various pigment powders are significant. Some pigments have almost no perceptible scent; some carry a faint material scent; others display a rather strong scent. This intensity is purely a material property of the pigment particles themselves and has no direct correlation with tinting strength, color purity, or visual quality on paper.
• Gum Arabic (Main Binder Component): As a natural plant-derived material, gum arabic carries a characteristic natural scent. Different batches of gum arabic vary in scent intensity; some batches are more noticeable, while others are relatively mild. Scent intensity does not directly reflect the binding capability of the gum.
• Honey: Used as a moisturizing ingredient in the binder system, honey retains the scent features of its natural nectar source. Because floral sources and harvest batches vary, its scent profile differs accordingly and becomes part of the formula's overall scent upon addition.
• Clove Oil: As an auxiliary ingredient, clove oil features a strong, highly recognizable, and distinct scent profile. Even at very low dosages, it can be clearly perceived within the overall system.
• Water: Fresh, clean water used in the production environment generally carries no perceptible scent and does not serve as a scent source within the paint system.

2. Scent Evolution During Mixing and Long-Term Storage

When multiple raw materials are combined into a unified formula system, the overall scent is not simply a straightforward addition of individual components, but displays stage-by-stage changes:

• Overall scent formation during mixing: After mixing pigments, gum arabic, honey, and clove oil, the scents of certain individual components may be masked, while others (such as clove oil or specific pigments) may become more prominent, forming the overall scent profile unique to that specific paint formula.
• Scent changes during long-term storage: After paint is filled, dried, and stored over extended periods, its material state continues to evolve. Through long-term tracking and observation, the scent intensity of some paints may gradually decrease during storage, while other paints may develop new scent presentations that were not present in the initial mixing phase. Here, only the perceived phenomenon is recorded, without speculating on unverified internal mechanisms.

3. Separation Between Scent Perception and Visual Painting Performance

In practical painting application and finished works, scent and visual performance belong to completely separate sensory dimensions:

• Independence of olfactory perception and visual output: During paint activation and application, users may perceive mild or noticeable residual material scents. However, long-term painting practice and tracking show that the presence or intensity of a scent has no observable impact on paint diffusion, tinting power, transparency, or final visual presentation on paper.
• Clarifying quality evaluation boundaries: Scent intensity should not serve as a standard for judging watercolor quality. A strong scent does not indicate a material defect, nor does a faint scent automatically guarantee higher visual quality.

4. Summary

Scent is an independent, perceptible, and time-evolving material property within handmade watercolor systems. Looking across the entire progression—inherent raw material scent → overall scent during mixing → scent evolution during storage → perception during painting use—it is clear that scent impression and visual painting performance belong to different observation dimensions. Factually recording these scent changes contributes to establishing a more complete material observation archive.

Video recordings documenting steps in the handmade watercolor making process and pigment behavior are archived at VHacademy (an independent material behavior research project accessible via paid access).