The Basics of Color Theory 101

The foundation of every great art is color. We are all in awe of colors and how it can literally brighten up a room. It has the power to set the mood, it attracts attention, it energizes and even cools down! Having a great knowledge of how colors work can be your most powerful design element.

This article will be all about color theory - the things we need to know about colors, its special language and the categories of colors you can use as you create your artworks!

What is color?

​It may seem like a basic yet strange question to ask, but what is color all about? We have here three things you need to keep in mind about colors:

1. Colors describe the way objects appear based on the way light is reflected or emitted.
2. How we appreciate colors is based on how our eyes work! We can see a rainbow of colors because our retina is sensitive to different wavelengths of light.
3. As human beings, we are called "trichromats" - this means our retinas have three different cells receiving color. These cells are what we call cones. Did you know dogs are dichromats, which means they can only see two different colors? Check out how differently we appreciate colors from dogs!

What are your favorite colors? Which ones do you like using in your artworks? Which ones do you save from breaking from your crayon box?

When organizing colors and establishing their relationship with one another, we use what we call a color wheel. It's the easiest way to illustrate how colors are related to one another. We shall focus on the the different color wheels in the next section. 

The wheel of colors

The color wheel is the basic tool for combining colors. The first circular diagram was developed by Sir Isaac Newton sometime in 1666. 

Color wheels are designed to guide artists in selecting colors; that now matter what color is selected, it will look good together. We've seen hundreds of versions of the color wheel, but the most common version is a color wheel with 12 colors based on the RYB color model. 

Let's differentiate the three basic color wheels - the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary color wheels. 

This is the Primary Color Wheel. ​It has these three colors: Red, Blue and Yellow. From these three colors, all of the colors on the color wheel can be made. 

This is the Secondary Color Wheel. These secondary colors - Green, Orange and Violet are derived by mixing primary colors together. For instance, blue + yellow = green. Red + yellow = orange and blue + red = violet. 

Finally, this is the Tertiary Color Wheel. We arrive at tertiary colors namely Yellow-Green, Yellow-Orange, Red-Orange, Red-Violet, Blue-Violet and Blue-Green by combining primary and secondary colors together. As the wheel gets more complicated, it sure does become more colorful!

Aside from these three designations, the color wheel can also be divided into 2 ranges - the active range and the passive range. As you can see in the diagram below, active colors are warm, saturated and energetic.  They appear to advance when placed against the passive hues. 

On the other hand, passive colors appear to recede or decrease in value when positioned against active hues. ​Passive colors are often cool, low saturated and dark. 

What colors should you use together?

There are 2 basic ways or schemes you can use different colors together.

​First is the Complementary Color Scheme. What this simply means is colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel go well together. In the example below, you will see that red and green go together as well as violet and yellow. Can you name the other complementing pairs? 

​Another way is the Analagous Color Scheme. This means any 3 colors next to each other on the color wheel will go well together. ​Can you tell the other analogous color combinations you can use based on the color wheel?

 ​As a practical tip, always keep a color wheel handy whenever you're coloring a drawing or painting on canvas. It's a great way to ensure you're using sets of colors that are visually harmonious!

There are also other terms that come to mind when talking about colors, such as hue (the name of a color), the intensity (the brightness or dullness of a hue) and value (the lightness of darkness of a hue). All these advanced terms and more will be covered in our next couple of articles. 

Discover the world of colors and more!

Colors are amazing! Creating energy, warmth, brightness and comfort can all be achieved on your artworks through the careful selection of colors.

That's why here at Art Smart, we will not only equip you with proper color use, but how you can explore different colors and how to properly infuse them in your work. Check out our schedules below and once you're ready to reserve your slot, please call us at 0917-8784766 /02 -7886766 / 0915-5948191 / (0995) 260 8927 or message us on our Facebook page! 

See you all soon in our studios!

Photo sources:
www.pinterest.com
www.ethology.eu/the-dogs-color-vision-and-what-it-means-for-our-training/
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2974653/Waxing-lyrical-Inside-colourful-Crayola-factory-12million-crayons-100-000lbs-paraffin-wax-day.html
wwww.artfusion.info/arttimeline/artelements_principles/color/colorwheelprimary.jpg