How many of you know what "bistre" is?

Question

It's a dark grey-brown color. I want to use it to describe my character's hair color but I'm not sure if enough people know what it is.

Answer 1

Bistre (or bister) is both a shade of gray and a shade of brown made from soot, and the general name for a color resembling the pigment. Bistre's appearance is generally of a dark grayish brown, with a yellowish cast.

Beechwood was commonly burned to produce the soot, which was boiled and diluted with water. Many of the "Old Masters" used bistre as the ink for their drawings. Instead of this, some used the strokes of a pen, some Indian ink, others a black stone, etc

Answer 2

I know, but only art students would. Maybe sepia would be a better word - grey-sepia? At least people would understand that sepia is brown!

Answer 3

never heard of it.

you can provide the colorcode so that peopel have an idea where to look for : #3D2B1F

Answer 4

you are probably right, you should provide a description or a comparison with it!

Answer 5

me i do