The range of seed beads is truly staggering. Miyuki produce well over 1000 different size 11 delica beads for instance. I am going to run through some of the different types of finish.
Opaque - these are solid colour beads with a gloss surface. They do not get affected by the colour of the beads around them so much so give definite colour in a piece and clear edges.
Matte Opaque - these are solid colour beads with a matte surface. They feel a little softer than standard opaques and give a very different texture. They also have very definite colour and don't pick up colour from other beads. The finish is actually a frosting and they are sometimes called frosted.
Semi-Frosted - these are less frosted than the fully matte beads
Metallic - these have a metallic finish and come in a range of colours. They have highly reflective surfaces and as a result they can pick up on colours around them slightly. They add sparkle. The metallic finish and reflectiveness result in slightly less solid colour than opaques.
Matte Metallic - Instead of a gloss reflective surface, these metallic beads are matte, giving them a softer look. These are a particular favourite of mine. They have a little natural colour variation throughout the bead which is beautiful.
Plated and Metal - you can also get delicas made from metal rather than glass. Some are made from base metal and then plated while others are solid precious metal. The price varies! Solid gold beads are not cheap... I have used silver in some pieces where I have really wanted that look and feel and been prepared to pay for it for that piece.
Galvanized - a metallic coating is added to the beads, similar to metallic beads.
Transparent - see through glass that gives a different light quality to a piece. Colours are more likely to be influenced by surrounding colours and are not as strong.
Transparent Matte / Frosted - the glass is still see through but has a frosted finish. They are less likely to pick up on colours next to them as they are not reflective but the colours have a soft look.
Silver Lined - Mirror like shiny beads, the silver sits in the hole and the glass is coloured. The colour is strong.
Colour Lined - Instead of being lined with silver, the bead is lined with another colour and this gives the bead a different look. For instance magenta lined blue will have hints of blue and magenta and the colour of the blue will be shifted because of the magenta. They can act as useful beads to bridge two different colours. Sometimes they are transparent glass with a colour lining and these obviously have a weaker colour because not all of the bead is coloured. Also worth noting are white lined beads as I think these look particularly lovely in greens and blues.
Pearl Lined - These are lined beads which have a more muted and subtle lining colour. The pearl is light enough to still be reflective but has some colour variation.
Silk Lined - Another variation! I think this is where the silk satin finish is used as a lining instead of on the outside of a bead.
Fancy Lined - These are new and I have not had a good look at them yet....
AB - this is a particular lustre finish added to beads that gives the surface a rainbow effect, although the precise colours of the effect depend on the bead underneath. The colour is less solid as a result and so a green AB bead may have hints of blue or purple and the beads will not all be exactly the same colour. These beads are beautiful and attractive but they tend to pick up on the colours around them. A piece of beadwork made entirely of beads like this is less like likely to have clear distinctions between colours but will be pretty and glittery. Colour variation will be more subtle.
Gold lustre - a gold sheen over the surface of a bead, it adds an extra colour dimension. I have some violet gold lustre and these are beautiful beads.
Iris - is another lustre finish that is multi coloured rather than single coloured but not as multi coloured as AB. These beads will be affected by the beads surrounding them in regards to what colour they look.
Ceylon - this is a finish that gives a soft pearly quality and is only found in lighter pastel colours. They give a solid colour finish.
Silk Satin - This is a soft finish that reminds me of the mineral Selenite. Selenite is fibrous and both frosted and shiny. I think the glass is etched with fine lines.
Luminous - A range of colours designed to be particularly bright.
Duracoat - This is a particular type of opaque coating that is more hard wearing. They don't look very different from other opaque beads.
Dyed - not all colours can be produced with every technique and some colours are achieved by dying the beads.
Different finishes and types of bead can be combined so that you have silver lined semi frosted beads - these would be coloured glass beads with a silver lining to make them reflective but the glass has been partly frosted to give a matte type finish. Matte metallic iris would be matte metallic beads with an iris coating which would give them more variation in colour across the bead.
The types of bead you choose are just as important as the colour to the overall end effect of a piece. It can be useful to pour some beads on to a mat to look at colour and colour strength as when you look at them in a tube the colour can appear stronger as you are looking through multiple beads. I think that mixing finishes can be as good as having all one finish. If you mix up finishes then the light will interact with the different beads in a piece in different ways.
In That Blue Bracelet, I used whatever sea like colours I had. Ten different ones. They all react differently to the light and I like this because the sea changes colour based on how it reacts to the light. It has galvanized, matte, silver lined, iris, opaque, frosted and metallic and as a result, all the layers behave differently. If Monochrome Magic is the middle ground of mixing finishes, That Blue is the extreme.
In my Monochrome Magic bracelet I used two very shiny beads that pick up and reflect any light there is. These were galvanized un metal (DB453) and transparent silver grey (DB114) and they do not sit next to each other so when the light hits it, zig zag lines stand out in dark and light grey. The chalk white is opaque (DB200) so it is reflective but not as reflective as the other two, so it picks up some light and then the light part of the design, chalk white with light grey either side really stands out. The remaining two colours are both matte, black (DB310) and matte metallic silver (DB321), which means that these two colours really swallow the light. I always think matte black looks blacker and darker and the matte colours make the shiny colours stand out more.
Light combined uses matte transparent coloured beads edge in opaque white. I like the way if feels like the coloured beads are full of light and framed by the opaque beads. It's an affect I intend to use further.
Sticking to one finish has great effects too. I made my rainbow using matte transparent beads and they give the bracelet a soft but light effect; hold it up to the light and it shines through. All That Jazz uses silver lined beads, with one galvanized thrown in though you would have to look hard to see it. The result is a beautiful shiny piece that looks like a multi coloured piece of silver foil with tiny scales. Mysterious Mauve is full of matte metallic which gently blend in to each other and it has such a soft fluid quality I adore.
By Fires Light uses a mix of opaques and matte opaques. You would not notice until you shone a light directly on it and then the dark red and yellow just catch the light differently. It gives the piece a subtle depth. There is no chance of the colours blending in to each other, because of the opaques, but the mix of matte and non-matte separates them even further.
Copper Tree is based around two colours of olive bead, one matte and the other AB. The AB has given the beads a pinkish overtone but by placing the beads next to copper beads, it's shifts the AB finish to looking coppery. Where the light hits the shiny beads, there is almost a tiny bit of gold which ties in the yellow gold. In some lights and at some angles the colours merge, at others the copper and olive AB shine in unity while in other conditions every colour is distinct and harmonious.
A piece I am working on at the moment is called Colour Shift. It contains pink, purple, green and blue in beautiful jewel like tones so you think the colours would really stand out as individuals. The beads however include two iris finishes, a lustre and a glazed silver lined. The result is that the colours largely merge into a multi coloured reflective beauty. The pattern is discernible but subtle as the beads are the star of this one.
It can take a lot of experience to know in advance how the colours and finishes and effects will all work together. I don't think it matters. Experiment and enjoy. See what happy accidents occur. Pick colours you love and be prepared to do a few rows and see if you like how it looks.
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