color theory

Introduction to color knowledge

Color knowledge is a fundamental aspect of art that has the power to evoke emotions, convey messages, and create captivating compositions. Whether you’re an aspiring artist or a seasoned pro, a deep understanding of color can significantly enhance your creative endeavors, and in turn, make you a better artist.

If you are new to the art world, I suggest you take a look at this article on color theory for beginners.

In this artsy article, we’ll dive headfirst into color knowledge, covering essential principles of color theory like primary, secondary and tertiary colors, how to create an effective color scheme, and basics of color mixing.

Color Theory: The Foundation of Creativity

Color Knowledge tip 1: Primary Colors are Red, Blue, and Yellow

Primary colors are the foundational hues in the world of color theory, consisting of red, blue, and yellow. These three colors are considered “primary” because they cannot be created by mixing other colors together.

On a computer, these inks are called magenta, yellow, blue, and black. Though, you’ll notice if you run out of black ink, the computer will offer an alternative to mix magenta, yellow, and blue. This mixture is “optical black” in the painting world. I’ll talk more about optical black in the section about mixing paint colors together.

Different combinations of the primary colors create all other colors on the color wheel. The primary colors are essential color knowledge for artists and designers.

If you mix two primary colors, you get secondary colors. For instance, if you mix even parts red and yellow, you will get orange. Blue and red make violet. Yellow and blue make green.

Color Knowledge tip 2: memorize The Color wheel

The color wheel further expands with tertiary colors, created by mixing primary and secondary colors. There are endless possibilities for color exploration in art and design.

Great, now that you’ve grasped the basic concept of the Roy G. Biv color wheel, let’s move on to relationships between colors. For more beginner friendly tips, check out this article on color theory for beginners!

Color Knowledge tip 3: Understand Color Harmony

Next, let’s learn about color harmony schemes like complementary, analogous, and triadic colors. Choosing the right color scheme can add a lot of visual and metaphorical depth to your art.

Complementary color schemes involve pairing colors that are located directly opposite each other on the color wheel. They are literal compliments, such as red and green or blue and orange. This scheme creates strong visual contrast and can make each color appear more vibrant when placed next to its complement. This color scheme is often seen in comic books, illustrations, logos, and even signage on the side of the road.

Analogous color schemes use colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, such as yellow, yellow-green, and green. This scheme creates a sense of harmony and cohesion. The analogous color scheme is ideal for creating a peaceful or monochromatic color palette in art or design.

Both The Kiss by Gustav Klimt and my painting inspired by the same work use analogous color schemes to create a sense of calm and peaceful harmony.

Triadic color schemes involve selecting three colors evenly spaced around the color wheel, forming an equilateral triangle. For example, red, blue, and yellow form a triadic color scheme. This scheme offers a balanced and dynamic contrast of colors. Triadic color schemes create visually striking and vibrant compositions.

Color Knowledge tip 4: Know the difference between tint and shade

Saturation and value are essential aspects of color theory illustrated through the use of tints, shades, and tones.

Tints and shades determine values. Tints are created by adding white to a color and shades are formed by adding black to a color. Saturation is determined by tone, in which grey is added to the pure hue to mute the color.

Tints and shades alter both the brightness (value) and intensity (saturation) of colors. The level of darkness or lightness is crucial for creating depth in your artwork and originality in your color schemes.

Color Knowledge tip 5: Color temps (Warm vs. Cool Colors)

Color temperature is a fundamental color knowledge tip that helps convey emotion and moods.

Warm colors, such as reds, oranges, and yellows, are associated with warmth, energy, and excitement. Typically seen in the foreground of the composition, warm colors evoke feelings of passion and vibrancy.

In contrast, cool colors, like blues, greens, and violets, are calming and associated with serenity, tranquility, and a sense of distance. They tend to recede in a composition and can evoke feelings of calmness and introspection.

During Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period, the artist used a predominantly cool color palette. This color scheme included shades of blue (obviously) and blue-green as dominant hues. This deliberate choice of colors conveyed a sense of melancholy, sadness, and emotional turmoil in his artworks.

Color can serve as a powerful tool for expressing complex emotions and capturing the human condition.

One of my favorite moments of artists being angsty and non-conformists is the controversy surrounding “Blue Boy.” Painted by English portrait artist Thomas Gainsborough, the 1770 painting includes the unconventional use of blue as the dominant color for the subject’s attire, rather than as a background hue.

This departure from traditional portraiture raised eyebrows in its time. I find that something I love about learning art history is how artists challenge conventional norms. Sparking debate about artistic choices leads to innovation and change and progress.

Likewise, try to understand the interplay between warm and cool colors. This part of color knowledge is crucial for creating balanced and emotionally resonant color palettes in art and design.

COLOR MIXING

Color Knowledge tip 6: learn to mix Optical black

Color mixing techniques can greatly enhance the range and depth of your artwork. This section will focus on the important concept of “optical black.”

Optical black is a “fake black” which looks like black, but is instead created using color.

In art school, we were not allowed to buy or use black paint in our paintings. Turns out, creating optical black teaches you color theory and color mixing much better than simply using black.

Remember back to when we were discussing value and saturation?

So then if Optical Black = Orange + Blue then Shades = Optical Black + Orange + Blue.

Whoever said art doesn’t include math was just a silly-billy.

Anyways, mixing complementary colors can create the visual appearance of black, despite no actual black pigment used.

To start, mix complementary colors from the color wheel. From there, continue to add colors until you reach the optical black that looks best for your chosen color scheme.

For example, if your painting uses yellow highlights, you may want your optical black to look more violet. How does this work?

Using complementary colors trick the color receptors in your eyes to believe the color is black, and not dark violet. This technique achieves rich, natural and deep shadows in your artwork without resorting to flat-looking black paint.

The same effect is achieved when you wear colored ski-goggles.

“[Ski-goggles] are often orange so at the end of the day the orange receptors are tired and the world looks blue.”

– stoopidusername

Disney World also uses this technique to make their colors seem more vibrant. The sidewalks are painted red to trick the color receptors in your eye to make the grass and trees seem greener.

Color Knowledge tip 7: Use complementary colors for desaturation

Additionally, complementary colors tone down the saturation of a color. When you mix a color with its complementary color, the result is a desaturated, or less vibrant, version of the original color.

In the below painting of a skull still life, I chose a color scheme that included a golden yellow ochre and a muted violet. To achieve many of the greyish mid-tones, I chose to mix the yellow and violet together using varying amounts of each color.

For example, if you have a highly saturated red and you want to reduce its intensity, mix it with a bit of green, its complementary color. The resulting mixture will be a less vibrant shade of red, leaning more towards a neutral gray or brown, depending on the proportions used.

When using complementary colors to desaturate, it’s essential to be mindful of the proportions of added colors. Adding too much of the complementary color can cause the mixture to become too muddy or dark. This is particularly evident in watercolor painting as it is more difficult to lighten the painting back (for watercolors you paint light to dark).

Experimentation and practice will help you develop an intuitive sense of how to mix colors. Color knowledge like optical black and using complementary colors to adjust saturation and intensity can help you become a better artist.

Color Knowledge tip 8: Physically mix colors

Mixing colors is an essential skill for any artist expanding their color knowledge. For this section, we will focus on mixing paint.

Begin with a clean palette and brushes. I also like to have a paper towel handy to dry my brushes. Then, squeeze small amounts of your chosen paint colors onto the palette. I like to use a paper plate as a paint palette, and I place the paint in a circle around the outer edge of the plate.

For example, the photo below features one of the paper plate palettes I used. Notice how I tried to keep the main paint colors clean and mixed my paint towards the center of the plate. You will also notice, I did not use black paint — I mixed an optical black using a dark blue and burnt umber.

Next, use a palette knife or brush to blend the colors together gradually, starting with the lightest color and adding small increments of the darker color until you achieve the desired shade. Remember to test your mix on a scrap surface or a corner of the canvas itself to ensure it matches your vision before applying it to your artwork. Practice and experimentation will help you become proficient in creating custom colors for your art.

Follow my social media and newsletters for more tips on how to create a wider array of hues and tones, adding depth and complexity to your work through color knowledge.

Concluding color knowledge for now…

Color knowledge is a powerful tool for artists, allowing us to express ideas more effectively and create art that resonates with audiences. By mastering color theory, you can elevate your art to new heights. So, embrace the world of color, experiment fearlessly, and let your creativity flourish on the canvas of your imagination.

Understanding color theory and mixing colors is like having an artist’s secret toolkit. Whether you’re gently blending opposite, or complementary, colors to tone down the saturation or using clever mixtures to create “optical black,” these techniques are simply invaluable. I do want to remind you art lovers that there is so much more to know about color. If this is something that really interests you, please comment, message me, or join my newsletter to read more! I love color!!!

By grasping these fundamentals, you not only make your artwork visually engaging but also open doors to express intricate emotions and stories through color. So, dive into the world of color knowledge, and watch your art flourish with richer, more meaningful color scheme choices.

I realized this article was getting long, so I had to chop it up to allow for more in depth discussion of color knowledge. Trust me, there will be more color themed articles!