Watercolor painting to paints that use water-soluble, complex carbohydrates as a binder. Originally (in the 16th to 18th centuries), watercolor binders were sugars and/or hide glues, but since the 19th century, the preferred binder is natural gum arabic, with glycerin and/or honey as additives to improve plasticity and solubility of the binder, and with other chemicals added to improve product shelf life. The term "bodycolor" refers to paint that is opaque rather than transparent. It usually refers to opaque watercolor, known as gouache. Modern acrylic paints use a acrylic resin dispersion as a binder. Watercolor painters before the turn of the 18th
Water miscible oil paint Lukas (BERLIN), Martin F. Weber Co. (wOil), Reeves (tube sets and complete painting set), Royal Talens (Cobra Artist and Cobra Study), and Winsor & Newton (Artisan Water Mixable Oil Color). Although this type of paint may be thinned with water, artists may prefer to use specially prepared mediums for improved texture and control. These mediums improve flow (i.e., make the thinned paint less runny and more easily controlled) and can slow or speed up drying time. Mediums are offered by many of the paint manufacturers. Royal Talens also has produced a water mixable painting paste that acts as a thickener