This is a common color; 4 other brands cover it, the nearest being The Army Painter Night Sky at 90 percent. In the pot, Black reads as a neutral black, very dark and muted. Within the Vallejo range it ladders cleanly, Charcoal for the shadows and Nocturnal Red for the highlights. Treat it as an easy swap, just confirm the finish type matches before you commit.
Black equivalents, brand by brand
1 of the 11 brands with a mapped match get genuinely close to Vallejo Black, though none is a clone. Brand by brand, the nearest colors are:
- Closest The Army Painter equivalent: The Army Painter Night Sky, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 2.0).
- From AK Interactive: AK Interactive Tenebrous Grey, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 2.8).
- Monument Pro Acryl's closest color: Monument Pro Acryl Black Brown, close, with a hint of drift side by side (delta E 3.1).
- Nearest in the Citadel catalog: Citadel Corvus Black, a near match with visible drift up close (delta E 3.5).
- Best Tamiya option: Tamiya Semi Gloss Black, a usable stand-in rather than a twin (delta E 4.2).
- From Humbrol: Humbrol Black, workable at tabletop distance, not up close (delta E 4.3).
The drift here is spread thinly across hue, lightness and saturation rather than leaning one way, so the mismatch reads as a general haze at delta E 2.0 rather than an obvious shift.
How to read the score
90+Close
80sUsable
<70Mix
The Army Painter
AK Interactive
Monument Pro Acryl
Citadel
Tamiya
Humbrol
P3 Paints
Scale75
Green Stuff World
Revell
Two Thin Coats
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Match difficulty
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to Vallejo Black?
The closest same-finish match is The Army Painter Night Sky at 90% color similarity.
What color is Black?
Black is a very dark muted black with a neutral cast (hex #231D1D).
What do I highlight and shade Black with?
Highlight Black toward Nocturnal Red and shade it down into Charcoal, both Vallejo paints in the same finish family.