colour comblnauon

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Color ls Lhe percepLual characLerlsuc of llghL descrlbed by a color name. Speclcally, color ls llghL, and llghL ls composed of
many colors-Lhose we see are Lhe colors of Lhe vlsual specLrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and vloleL. Cb[ecLs
absorb cerLaln wavelengLhs and reecL oLhers back Lo Lhe vlewer. We percelve Lhese wavelengLhs as color.
A color ls descrlbed ln Lhree ways: by lLs name, how pure or desaLuraLed lL ls, and lLs value or llghLness. AlLhough plnk,
crlmson, and brlck are all varlauons of Lhe color red, each hue ls dlsuncL and dlerenuaLed by lLs chroma, saLurauon,
lnLenslLy, and value.

!+$",'- )./0.()/1- ('/2$'3". '.4 #2,).'.*056'#20 are lnLer-relaLed Lerms and have Lo do wlLh Lhe descrlpuon of a color.
(1he chroma or saLurauon of a color ls a measure of how lnLense lL ls. 1hlnk of lL as pure, brlghL color", compared Lo a color dlluLed wlLh whlLe, darkened by black or grey, or Lhlnned by belng a
glaze. varlauons ln chroma can be achleved by addlng dlerenL amounLs of a neuLral gray !" $%& '()& *(+,& as Lhe color you're wanung Lo alLer.)

!+$",'7 Pow pure a hue ls ln relauon Lo gray

8'/2$'3".7 1he degree of purlLy of a hue.

9./0.()/17 1he brlghLness or dullness of a hue. Cne may lower Lhe lnLenslLy by addlng whlLe or black.

:2,).'.*0 5 ;'#207 A measure of Lhe amounL of llghL reecLed from a hue. 1hose hues wlLh a hlgh conLenL of whlLe have a
hlgher lumlnance or value.

8+'40 '.4 3./ are Lerms LhaL refer Lo a varlauon of a hue.

8+'407 A hue produced by Lhe addluon of black.

<)./7 A hue produced by Lhe addluon of whlLe.

!=:=>?5;@:>A
value and Colour are closely relaLed.
value ls slmply Lhe arusuc Lerm for llghL and dark.
an area's value ls lLs relauve llghLness or darkness ln a glven conLexL
Cnly Lhrough changes of llghL and dark can we percelve anyLhlng.
LlghL reveals lorm
several values of mld Lones are Lermed as achromauc(greys) as Lhey are blends of whlLe and black buL no chromas
Lhe Lerm value ConLrasL refers Lo Lhe relauonshlp beLween Lhe areas of dark and llghL. 8ecause Lhe scale ls arranged ln sequenual
order, Lhe conLrasL beLween any Lwo ad[olnlng areas ls raLher sllghL and Lermed Low value ConLrasL
(a value scale of gray. 1he cenLer gray clrcles are ldenucal ln value)


Lhe cenLre grey clrcles, whlch are a conLrasL mlddle value, show hlgher value conLrasL aL Lhe Lop and bouom of Lhe scale Lhan
Lowards Lhe mlddle
Colour, based on Lhe wave lengLhs of llghL, oers a much broader eld of vlsual dlerences and conLrasLs. 8uL chromauc greys can
also be produced by mlxlng cerLaln colours, whlch resulL ln dlerenL Lones Lhan Lhose ln Lhe prevlous case.
A furLher relauonshlp of value and colour ls LhaL every colour ls, ln lLself also slmulLaneously a cerLaln value.





















(vlcLor vasarely, unuLled, laLe 2 from poruollo laneLary folklore, 1964)
ure ?ellow ls a llghL (hlgh value) colour correspondlng Lo a very llghL grey ln Lerms of llghL reecuon. urple ls baslcally a dark, low
value colour LhaL would maLch a very dark grey.

Aer lmages
Color ls llghL and colored ob[ecLs absorb and reecL dlerenL wavelengLhs. LlghL & color are seen by Lhe human eye
because of Lhe Lwo Lypes of phoLo-recepLor cells - rods and cones - locaLed ln Lhe reuna of Lhe eye. 8ods are sensluve Lo
llghL and dark, cones are sensluve Lo red, green & blue llghL and responslble for color vlslon. 1hese phoLorecepLors convey
Lhe color of llghL Lo our braln.
When our eyes are exposed Lo a hue for a prolonged perlod, Lhe rods & cones become faugued. ?ou mlghL nouce Lhls lf you
are readlng someLhlng on colored paper, and Lhen look away-you oen see Lhe lnverse, or complemenL, of Lhe lmage. 1hls
occurrence can be advanLageous lf you are seeklng Lhe opposlLe, or conLrasL, of a colour. 1hls may be dlsmaylng Lo a vlewer
lf presenLed wlLh prolonged exposure Lo coloured screens or readlng maLerlals.
Lvery color has an opposlLe, and alLhough lndlvldual's percepuons do vary, Lhe range of aer lmages seen ls conslsLenL.

Color Comblnauons

Color comblnauons may pass unnouced when pleaslng, yeL oend dramaucally when composluons seem Lo clash. Cne ouLcome we seek ln Lhe nal form or
composluon, ls a successful use of color.

We deLermlne wheLher or noL we are successful by crlucally assesslng Lhe vlsual balance and harmony of Lhe nal composluon-balance and harmony are
achleved by Lhe vlsual conLrasL LhaL exlsLs beLween color comblnauons. lannlng a successful color comblnauon beglns wlLh Lhe lnvesugauon, and
undersLandlng, of color relauonshlps.

uslng a color wheel and a LemplaLe, Lhe relauonshlps beLween colors are easy Lo ldenufy.




Monochromauc 8elauonshlp Colors LhaL are shade or unL varlauons of Lhe same hue. ComplemenLary 8elauonshlp 1hose colors across from each oLher on a color wheel.





SpllL-ComplemenLary 8elauonshlp Cne hue plus Lwo oLhers equally spaced from lLs complemenL. uouble-ComplemenLary 8elauonshlp 1wo complemenLary color seLs, Lhe dlsLance beLween selecLed
complemenLary palrs wlll eecL Lhe overall conLrasL of Lhe nal composluon.




Analogous 8elauonshlp 1hose colors locaLed ad[acenL Lo each oLher on a color wheel. 1rlad 8elauonshlp 1hree hues equally posluoned on a color wheel.
Colour unlLy
ls dened by anoLher Lerm. We oen speak of LonallLy of a deslgn or palnung.
1onallLy refers Lo Lhe domlnance of a slngle colour or Lhe vlsual lmporLance of a hue LhaL seems Lo pervade Lhe
whole colour sLrucLure desplLe Lhe presence of oLher colours.
Monochromauc pauerns (as value sLudles ln one colour) glve a unlform LonallLy, slnce only one hue ls presenL.
Analogous colour schemes can also produce a domlnanL LonallLy.
When colours are chosen from one parL of Lhe colour wheel, Lhey wlll share one hue ln common. ?ellow-
green, blue-green, blue and blue-purple all derlve from Lhe prlmary blue, so Lhey yleld a blue LonallLy.

!=:=>? B98!=?B
Colour dlscord ls Lhe opposlLe of colour harmony.
A comblnauon of dlscordanL colours ls vlsually dlsLurblng for Lhe colours have no baslc amnlLy for each oLher. 1hey seem Lo
clash Lo pull away ln opposlng dlrecuons raLher Lhan Lo relaLe harmonlously Lo one anoLher. 1he Lerm dlscord" conveys an
lmmedlaLe negauve lmpresslon.
Mlld dlscord resulLs ln exclung eye-caLchlng colour comblnauons
1he world of fashlon has explolLed Lhe ldea Lo Lhe polnL LhaL mlldly dlscordanL comblnauons are almosL commonplace. A
comblnauon of lnk and Crange ls unexpecLed, buL can be experlmenLed.
Colours wldely separaLed on he colour wheel (buL noL complemenLs) are generally seen as dlscordanL comblnauons.
Lxamples - prlmary and a Leruary beyond an ad[acenL secondary: red and blue purple
Secondary and Leruary beyond an ad[acenL prlmary: orange and yellow green
1wo Leruary's on elLher slde of a prlmary: blue green and blue purple

(noLe: 1he Lhree prlmary colours are 8ed, ?ellow and 8lue.
1he Lhree secondary colours are mlxLures of Lhe Lwo prlmarles, Crange, green and purple.
1he slx Leruary colours are mlxLures of a prlmary and a nelghbourlng secondary, blue and green make blue-green, red and
purple make red-purple and so on)


ln produclng ulscord, value ls an lmporLanL conslderauon. 1he lmpresslon of dlscord ls much greaLer when Lhe values of Lhe
Lwo colours are slmllar.
(lranz Marc, 1he ?ellow Cow, 1911)
lranz Marc was born on lebruary 8, 1880, ln Munlch, Cermany. Pe sLudled aL Lhe Munlch ArL Academy and Lraveled Lo arls several umes where he saw Lhe
work of Cauguln, van Cogh, and Lhe lmpresslonlsLs. WlLh kandlnsky, he founded Lhe almanac "uer 8laue 8elLer" ln 1911 and organlzed exhlbluons wlLh Lhls
name. Pe was a prlnclpal member of Lhe llrsL Cerman Salon d'AuLomne ln 1913. AL Lhe beglnnlng of World War l, he volunLeered for mlllLary servlce and he
dled near verdun, lrance, on March 4, 1916.
lranz Marc was a ploneer ln Lhe blrLh of absLracL arL aL Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe LwenueLh-cenLury 1he 8laue 8elLer group puL forLh a new program for arL based
on exuberanL color and on profoundly felL emouonal and splrlLual sLaLes. lL was Marc's parucular conLrlbuuon Lo lnLroduce paradlslacal lmagery LhaL had as
lLs dramaus personae a collecuon of anlmals, mosL noLably a group of herolc horses.
1raglcally, Marc was kllled ln World War l aL Lhe age of LhlrLy-slx, buL noL before he had creaLed some of Lhe mosL exclung and Louchlng palnungs of Lhe
LxpresslonlsL movemenL.


!=:=>? >8A8
3 baslc ways - Local, Cpucal, ArblLrary.
Local Colour- 1he Lerm refers Lo Lhe ldenufylng colour of an ob[ecL under ordlnary dayllghL. Local colour ls Lhe ob[ecuve
colour LhaL we know ob[ecLs are: grass ls green, bananas are yellow, and apples are red.
Shades are conLrolled malnly by Lhe menLal ldenucauon of Lhe colours ln Lhe sub[ecL mauer.
When an aLmospherlc eecL vlsually changes Lhe local colour radlcally - a faraway mounLaln looks blue.
LlghL changes colour - are examples of opucal colours.
(Ceorges de la 1our, 1he 8epenLanL Magdalen, 1640)
ln ArblLrary colours - colour cholces are sub[ecuve, raLher Lhan based on Lhe colours seen ln naLure.
(lranusek kupka. lanes by Color, Large nude 1909)
non-ob[ecuve arL forms have no apparenL reference Lo naLural ob[ecLs, so LhaL Lhe colour ls also non-ob[ecuve. urely
aesLheuc conslderauons deLermlne Lhe colour cholces.

!=:=>? ;( ;@:>A
uo colour and value work LogeLher or aL cross purposes?
Leonardo da vlncl called colour Lhe greaLesL enemy of arL.
1luan supposedly sald LhaL an arusL needs only Lhree colours.
van Cogh's sLaLemenL Colourlng ls whaL makes a palnLer a palnLer" had been a source of lnsplrauon for Lhe 20
Lh
cenLury
lauves.
We cusLomarlly Lhlnk of an arusL as worklng wlLh colour. 8uL conslder Lhe vasL area of drawlng, woodcuLs eLchlng and
llLhographs produced successfully uslng pure value and no colour.

ln Lhe eld of sculpLure and archlLecLure, here whlle colour ls presenL, Lhe maln deslgn conslderauon has oen been value
because of Lhe usual monoLone of Lhe maLerlals lnvolved.

1exLure ls essenually a varlauon ln llghL and dark vlsual pauerns.

An ArusL ln almosL any eld or speclallzauon should be skllful ln manlpulaung boLh colours and value.
AC0$*)(0(
uraw a color wheel
rlmary-3
Secondary-3
1eruary-6

Pue - colour
SaLurauon - purlLy of a hue. When a hue ls muLed by Lhe addluon of lLs complemenL lL becomes less saLuraLed.
value - how llghL or dark colours appear relauvely black and whlLe

rlmary + Secondary comblnauon
rlmary + Secondary + 1eruary comblnauon
Culck colour combos
D"."*+$",'3* - orlglnal hue LhaL ls comblned wlLh more or less saLuraLed verslons of lLself or wlLh llghLer or darker verslons of lLself.
@.'#"E"2( - made of nelghbourlng hues,
Crange + yellow-green + yellow
Cr
AlLernauve nelghbours
?ellow-orange + red-purple + orange
8F#)/ *",F#0,0./( - nd a colour's complemenL, and Lhen chose Lhe nelghbours on elLher slde of Lhe complemenL. 1hese are orlglnal hues
spllL complemenL.
<$)'4 - Lhree hues LhaL are equally spaced around Lhe colour wheel.

Cpucal Mlxlng or 8eunal luslon
Mlxlng varlous colours of palnL Lo produce oLher colours (addluve process) can oen resulL ln neuLral, even 'muddy' colours.

Mosalc LapesLrles - worklng wlLh llmlLed colour, from a dlsLance, merges Lhem and creaLes an lmpresslon of many hues and values.

Colour and Space
Colour's spaual properues can be used Lo creaLe elLher an llluslon of depLh or a aL one dlmenslonal pauern.
Colour values are also lmporLanL ln spaual llluslon, whaLever Lhe colours used, hlgh conLrasL comes forward vlsually whlle areas of lesser
conLrasL generally recede.

vlncenL van Cogh, Cafe 1errace on Lhe lace du lorum, Arles, 1888.


!",F#0,0./'$1 *"#"2$(
1wo colours, placed slde by slde, wlll appear dlerenLly
dependlng on whlch colours are used and whaL Lhey are placed
nexL Lo.
1he eecL of Lhls lnLeracuon ls called (),2#/'.0"2( *"./$'(/G
SlmulLaneous conLrasL ls mosL lnLense when Lwo complemenLary
colours are [uxLaposed dlrecLly nexL Lo each oLher.

lor example, red placed dlrecLly nexL Lo green, lf you
concenLraLe on Lhe edge you wlll see a sllghL vlbrauon.
?our eye doesn'L llke resung on Lhe edge. 1he Lwo
complemenLary colour ln Lhelr puresL, mosL saLuraLed form don'L
slL well LogeLher, however, lf you wanL Lo Lry and focus your
vlewer gaze on a parucular parL of Lhe palnung a knowledge of
Lhe 'auracuon Lo Lhe eye' can be used Lo greaL eecL.
;'. H"E+I( F').3.E /0*+.)J20
Crange and blue accenLuaLe each oLher ln van Cogh's Cafe
1errace on Lhe lace du lorum, Arles, 1888 above.
ln van Cogh's palnung he has a very bold use of colour. lf we
sLarL Lo analyze Lhe plece we can see how he has used Lhe power
of complemenLary colours and Lhe colour wheel Lo helghLen Lhe
vlsual eecL of slmulLaneous conLrasL.
Pe wanLed Lo move our eyes around Lhe palnung, noL [usL by Lhe
composluon, buL by hls use of complemenLary colour:
<+0 $0'$ K).4"K( - have a very sLrong saLuraLed orange slmng
rlghL nexL Lo a pure french ulLramarlne, Lhls causes Lhe
shlmmerlng eecL Lo glve Lhe evenlng wlndow llghL a 'glow'.
<+0 L$"./ "L /+0 *"MM#0( - Pe has used Lhls eecL on a more
subLle level where Lhe small arches of orange and blue add
movemenL, reecung Lhe movemenL and llfe wlLhln a cafe.
N'$, '.4 *""# *"#"2$( - add a vlsual depLh Lo lL due Lo Lhe facL
LhaL cool colour recede lnLo Lhe background and warm colours
come forward.
ln Lhls example van Cogh has used complemenLary colours Lo hls
advanLage and oen wenL ouL of hls way Lo creaLe conLrasL and
Lenslon ln hls palnungs.

vlncenL van Cogh, 1he nlghL Cafe, Arles, 1888.
When descrlblng Lhe palnung below he commenLed Lo hls broLher 1heo:
-. %(*& $/0&1 $! &23/&'' $%& $&//04+& 3(''0!5' !" %,)(50$6 46 )&(5' !" /&1 (51 7/&&58 9%& /!!) 0' 4+!!1 /&1 (51 1(/: 6&++!; ;0$% ( 7/&&5 40++0(/1 $(4+& 05 $%& )011+&< $%&/& (/&
"!,/ =0$/!5 6&++!; +()3' ;0$% ( 7+!; !" !/(57& (51 7/&&58 >*&/6;%&/& $%&/& 0' ( =+('% (51 =!5$/('$ !" $%& )!'$ 10'3(/($& /&1' (51 7/&&5'?8@
vermeer, 1he Mllkmald, 1638 - 60
ln Lhls vermeer palnung, 1he Mllkmald, we can also see Lhe eecL of
complemenLary colours, albelL on a more subLle level.

Pere he uses an approach uslng spllL complemenLs whlch ln general
wlll creaLe a subLler eecL.
SpllL ComplemenLs

1hls ls where you use one colour, for example, blue and lnsLead of
uslng lLs dlrecL complemenL (orange) we spllL Lhe colour wheel and
use Lhe nexL colour along. lor Lhls example LhaL would be a yellow
orange. 1hls creaLes a nlce vlsual balance, buL also lnLeresL for our
eye.

1he maln polnL of focus of Lhls palnung ls Lhe mllk [ug. vermeer has
Lhe mllkmald's gaze looklng dlrecLly aL lL so we naLurally follow her
gaze Lo Lhe ob[ecL.

Powever, he sull uses Lhls vlsual eecL by maklng Lhe focus of Lhe
palnung ,Lhe [ug, a warm brlghL orange placed nexL Lo a brlghL blue
of her dress Lo creaLe a vlsual balance.
So how can Lhls help me ln my cholce of colours when palnung?

lf you place a sLrong cadmlum yellow nexL Lo a grey lL wlll appear (Lo
our eye) dlerenL Lhan lf lL was placed dlrecLly nexL Lo lLs
complemenLary colour, purple.(l'm uslng grey as an example
because lLs a neuLral colour)

lf you place a grey nexL Lo anoLher sLronger hlghly saLuraLed colour,
Lhe grey wlll appear Lo have a sllghL unL of Lhe surroundlng or
ad[olnlng colour.
Creaung a warm glow Lo your landscape palnung

So lf you wanL Lo creaLe Lhe llluslon of a warm sunseL, Lhe rsL area of land nearesL Lo Lhe
horlzon llne can be le a muLed cool colour (blue, green) so Lhe eecLs of slmulLaneous
conLrasL can be used Lo creaLe Lhe llluslon 'glow' of Lhe horlzon. 1he more muLed Lhe
horlzon llne Lhe more naLural lL wlll appear. (see: 1luan's use of warm and cool colours)

ln 1urner's palnung below you can see how he has used a muLed blue background Lo
emphasls Lhe brlghL orange sunseL.
!.M.W 1urner, Slave shlp, 1840
N+1 4"0( /+)( +'FF0.O
1he acLual palnL colours are of course noL alLered, only our percepuon of Lhem changes.
1he grey on Lhe le wlll appear Lo have a sllghL unL of Lhe surroundlng or ad[olnlng colour.
Whereas Lhe edges of Lhe yellow square on Lhe rlghL have a 'shlmmer' Lo Lhem.
A brlef hlsLory of slmulLaneous conLrasL
Mlchel Lugene Chevereaul, a lrench SclenusL, was worklng as Lhe dlrecLor of Lhe dye works aL Lhe Cobellns ManufacLory ln arls. WhllsL he was worklng Lhere he
recelved many complalnLs abouL Lhe colours of Lhe dyes, Speclcally how Lhe blacks appeared dlerenLly when used nexL Lo blues.
8esearchlng Lhls furLher he reallsed LhaL Lhe yarn's 'percelved' colour was belng eecLed by Lhe surroundlng colours. 1hls led Lo Lhe ldea of slmulLaneous conLrasL.
Why does Lhls happen?
Cur percelved 'memory' of an ob[ecL can be very sLrong.
lf a beglnner learnlng how Lo palnL places a banana under a red llghL lL would cause our loglcal le braln memory some problems because we have such a sLrong
memory of bananas belng yellow.
Lven lf we see Lhem as red your braln Lells you, Lhls doesn'L feel rlghL, so you change Lhe colour Lo someLhlng you feel more comforLable wlLh, and Lhen Lhe palnung
looks 'wrong'.
Colours can be Lrlcky.
1o Lry and counLeracL Lhls eecL arusLs oen use lsolaLed swaLches of palnL, or vlewnders Lo Lry and percelve a colour on lLs own, ln lsolauon, raLher Lhan Lrylng Lo
[udge lL nexL Lo anoLher colour.
So Lhe nexL ume you are creaung a palnung wlLhhold [udgemenL on your colour mlxlng prowess unul you have all Lhe ad[olnlng colours nexL Lo each oLher.
l oen palnL Lhln, more muLed colours Lo sLarL wlLh and Lry and bulld up Lhe whole plcLure aL once. lL Lhen becomes easler for Lhe eye Lo [udge Lhe correcL balance
of a hue. l leave Lhe sLrongesL, LhlckesL palnL for lasL, so l can choose exacLly Lhe Lone and colour of Lhe palnL Lo pull Lhe plcLure LogeLher.
Cne of Lhe blggesL mlsLakes you can do ls worklng on one small secuon Lo compleuon before addresslng Lhe plcLure as a whole.

hup://wlllkemparLschool.com/complemenLary-colours/,