Basic Color Theory
Written by: Ahoteinrun
Color Theory
Please note: All views shared in this article are my views and opinions. This is not science; this is art. The views in this are expressed from an artist's standing and not that of a scientist or science student.
If you feel that I am completely off kilter about something, please feel free to PM me, and suffer the wrath that you will bring down upon yourself. And please note that my screen is different then your screen. The colors that show on my screen are different then yours. I'm doing the best I can.
Basic color theory is incredibly simplistic, and yet many young artists today do not understand or have any concept of proper color theory. Many young artists feel that taking color straight from a tube is far simpler, and a generally better way to go, than to create their own system and style of colors. Although in the beginning this may be a better practice, in the end creating your own colors, and understanding how to use them, is far more satisfying.
So, without further ado. Some color theory.
This is a color chart that I've actually had to make in class - well reproduce - and it's evil, but it works.
Primary Colors
Primary colors are red, yellow and blue. All three of these colors, in their true, non manipulated form can be used to make any other color that is not pastel, opaque or a manipulated form of gray.
Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are the three basic colors that are made from primary colors. Red and blue are used to create purple, blue and yellow are used to create green, and yellow and red are used to create orange. Used in varying degrees of mixes, many different ranges of these colors can be made.
Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are the colors that are made from mixing primary and secondary colors. For example, mixing yellow with green can create yellow-green. Mixing purple with red can create maroon. Nothing overly difficult.
White
White is a color base. By painting on white, or by viewing colors on a white surface, you are generally able to see what the true color is. If you layer colors upon one another, they will appear differently. This is why if you work with paints, generally (now) you work on a white pallet. White is also an opaque. Opaque meaning that light does not pass through it as it does through colors that do not contain white. By adding white to colors you can often create a dull or washed out effect. Also, the addition of white can be used to make pastel colors, which are often seen in 'baby' colors. These are commonly known as 'light' blue, or 'light' pink, etc. If you do not want to use white to lighten your colors, I suggest using a more transparent mean. If you are using something like acrylic or watercolor paint, this is easily done by adding more water. With oils, you can add more general medium. And with pencil crayon this simply means to use a lighter shade. In my experience with Photoshop, you can easily use layers and the paintbrush tool, as well as different pressure layers, to create transparent surfaces (which are useful for color mixing).
Black
Black is a lack of color. Light does not reflect black. Black that is commonly seen in a tube of paint is a synthetic color. Although black does exist in nature, when used in painting or with pencils, the way most artists work is by mixing browns and blues together to create the shade of black they want. I do believe the current mixing formula in paint is to add burnt umber and ultramarine blue together to create black. Not only does this create a less flat color, it can create a warmer (depending on the amount of brown) or cooler (depending on the amount of blue) color.
Gray
Gray is a mixture of black and white. Varying amounts of black and white can be used to make gray. By using a home made black you can get a much different shade of gray then that made by a synthetic black. Play around.
Warm Colors
Warm colors are reds, yellows,oranges and some purples and greens. Generally the more intense or bright a color is the warmer it is, but this is not always the case.
Cool Colors
Cool colors are blues, greens, purples and sometimes reds. Cool colors are generally not as 'intense' as warm colors, though there are exceptions to this rather general rule.
Brown
Brown is a mixture of all three primary colors. By using different mixes you can get anything from a baby-barf yellow-brown to a very dark, what-did-my-dog-eat brown.