Substance used for amalgamating, diluting, mixing, and at the same time adhering the pigments to the support or to the ground. Among the most common and traditional binders are egg yolk, animal glues, oils, and vegetable gums. The importance of the binder is such that in the definition of a specific pictorial technique, one tends to identify the technique in relation to the binder employed, as when one speaks of "oil painting" or "tempera painting." Often, the latter indicates all of the techniques that use binders in water dispersion. Actually, in the history of artistic techniques, it is difficult to find a painting created with the use of only one binder, given that the binder is chosen in relation to the characteristics of the pigment. Today, the binders are mixed directly by the manufacturers.