Sepia

A semitransparent brown pigment, it comes from the ink sac of octopus and other cephalopods or tentacled marine animals. It is fairly permanent but as a watercolor fades in sunlight. It was one of the inks used by Romans but enjoyed its greatest popularity during the hundred years war after the 1780s. Source: Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques<br><br>Dark reddish brown. Usually refers to pigments of inks used in drawing, printmaking, and photography. Because so many monochromatic photographs were produced in sepia tones during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, contemporary pictures made in this color scheme often take on allegorical meanings, associating such imagery with earlier times.(pron. SEE-pee-&#601;)