ART GUIDE - Tips on Colour Theory 🎨

Hi Everyone! 

I hope you all had a pleasant weekend. I was on my trip yesterday and finally rested a bit.

Thank you so much for your supportive messages and comments! I am so grateful 🥰 You guys are just the best and I'm so happy to be here. I literally should print your messages and put them on my walls to remmeber how lucky I am! ❤ 

Here's the Color Theory Guide with the tips that I find most important 😊

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        I. What Is Color Theory?

          The theory of color is a series of principles that apply to each of the fields related to color: all kinds of painting, photography, animation, all types of design etc. It helps us understand how colors are created and complement each other. 

          To understand the relationships between colors we use the color wheel. It’s a theoretical as well as a practical tool. The order of the colors on the color wheel is logical, immovable, and universal. From their positioning we can create concepts with a balance and harmony.

         IMPORTANT: These rules apply to the Artistic Color Wheel so for PIGMENT COLOURS like paints for example. They won't work in the computer RGB aditive model which is based on the lights. The rules there are different.

          II. The Artist's Color Wheels and how to read them

          A) PRIMARY AND SECONDARY COLORS: On the first wheel you can see colors divided into primary (red, blue, yellow) and secondary (green, purple, orange). This is actually kindergarten knowledge: by mixing primary colors you can get secondary colors. Thanks to this, having three tubes of paints, you could create six very important colors. It's very visible on ths wheel: Yellow and Blue gives Green, Red and Yellow gives Orange and Blue with Red gives Violet.

        Such mixing of colors teaches resourcefulness and intuition in the theory of color. In painting classes, we were usually allowed to use only a basic palette of about 9 colors to persuade us to mix colors instead of using them straight from the tubes :)

          B) MONOCHROMATIC COLORS: On the second wheel you can see that the colors closer to the center of the circle become lighter (but Yellow for example is still yellow). In a monochromatic palette a range of darker and lighter variations of the same color are used. So you can create a full picture just with red colour but with darker and lighter values. It's basically like with a pencil - you have only a greyscale there (no color) but it's still readable. I think it's a very good exercise to practice seeing the values with using only one color in your artworks. 

         C) COOL AND WARM COLORS

         Another piece of information you will find on the color wheel is their division into cool and warm tones. It is extremely important in designing an illustration or a character in which you wanna aim a particual mood or emotions.

         Simply put, warm colors bring to mind warm things – the sun or fire = reds, yellows, oranges 🍎🌞 Cool colors bring to mind cool things 🏔️❄️– a mountain stream, cool grass = blues, greens, purples. As you can see, the warm and cool colors split the color wheel. 

         D) COMPLEMENTARY COLORS are the opposite hues on the color wheel. In their most basic form, they are one primary color and the secondary color that is created by mixing the other two primaries. For instance, the complementary color to yellow is purple, which is a mix of blue and red.

With that knowledge you can remember the first set of complementary colors:

• yellow and purple
• blue and orange
• red and green

If you add the tertiary colors—those made up of one primary and one secondary color—and work your way around the color wheel, you'll find that these colors are also complementary:

• yellow-orange and blue-purple (indigo)
• orange-red and blue-green (aqua)
• red-purple (pink) and green-yellow

The color wheel can be divided up infinite numbers of times to include all gradients in between these basic hues. What is most important to understand is that no matter the shade or tone of the color, the opposite color is always its complementary.

         COMPLEMENTS MAKE EACH OTHER POP

        A pair of complementary colors is made up of one cool color and one warm color. Orange, reds, and yellows are the warm colors, while blues, greens, and purples are the cool colors. This helps create what is known as simultaneous contrast, the highest contrasts available on the color wheel.

Simultaneous contrast occurs due to a natural illusion when you place two complementary colors next to one another. Both colors will appear brighter and grab a viewer's attention.

For example, sunsets with gradients from deep blues to bright oranges are more eye-catching because they rely on simultaneous contrast. I use it often when painting a portrait (even though I'm not always aware of it :)) - Painting a warm portrait with a cool tone underpainting helps your colours to pop and "shine" more.

Here you can read more on using the Complementary colours in Photography.

E) ANALOGOUS COLORS. Colors are called analogous colors when they are very similar to each other, especially when they are next to each other on a color wheel. For example, red, red-orange, and orange are analogous colors.

        Analogous color schemes create a visually pleasing and calming display. For instance, the color blue can pair nicely with both teal and green. They usually match well and create serene and comfortable designs. Analogous color schemes are often found in nature and are harmonious.

         F) TRIADIC COLORS. A triadic color scheme is comprised of three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. The two most basic triadic palettes are the primary colors red, blue, and yellow, and the secondary hues orange, purple, and green. 

         SPOT THE MAIN CHARACTER: To use a triadic harmony successfully, the colors should be carefully balanced — let one color dominate and use the two others for accent. By combining colors using the triadic principle we get lively and cheerful space which is the most suitable for playful or colorful designs.

         G) HOW ABOUT OTHER SCHEMES (SQUARE, SPLIT-COMPLEMENTARY ETC.) ?

Honestly speaking, I rarely use any other color palettes than those described above. So far, I am just experimenting with split-complementary or square schemes but I don't feel the need to use them in daily work. I believe that it is worth starting with simple things (like monochrome palettes, warm and cold tones or complementary colors) and then playing with unusual combinations of you want. I think the basic knowledge of color theory is sufficient to discover what you like and what you want to communicate in your art. I don't think creating polygons on the color wheel is necessary to build color sensitivity :) But I may be wrong. Maybe my approach is just not technical and based more on intuition? 

        III. FEW LAST TIPS:

        TIP ON MIXING BROWN COLORS: Mix a primary color with its complementary color. So add orange to blue, purple to yellow, or green to red. Each of these makes a different brown, so once again make up a color chart to give you a quick reference to refer to.

        TIP ON MIXING GREYS: Mix some orange (or yellow and red) with a blue then add some white. I always prefer more blue than orange in my greys but experiment with the amount of white you use.

        COLORS BECOMING MUDDY: Mixing too many colors together can lead to a dull or “muddy” color. Generally a mix of 3 pigments is safe, but when you make a mix of 4 or more pigments it brings in too many different color factors that can cause the mix to look muddy. If your gray or brown isn't coming out the way you want it to, rather start again than add more color in the hope it'll work.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO STEAL. I have planty of photos, designs and illustrations saved just because I like their color palettes. It’s a great source of inspiration but also helps you to learn, save time and feel motivated. Don’t be afraid to steal pieces of others artists works and make a collage of what you love. Just make sure you don’t copy everything from one artist 😊

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        That's all for now but let me know if I should add something to this guide! As always - I'm open to your suggestions 🥰

Hugs 🧡 Gaby