Chapter 3: Color Theory and How to Harness it in your Coloring
It’s true that there are no right or wrongs in art. However, there is also such a thing as a bland, lifeless work, and a chaotic, mind-splitting one. Coloring should be a relaxing activity and confining it within rules of sorts may only ruin the magic of the activity. However, it also doesn’t hurt to be proud of your finished work. Just imagine what it would feel like if your end product looked worse than a kindergartener’s.
Color may just seem like a random splash of life around you, but it has structure. In fact, this subject alone is worth an entire 4-year college course. However, for the mere purpose of providing you with a sturdy foundation on color theory, the basics will be squeezed into a short single chapter.
Color Wheel
Sir Isaac Newton didn’t just come up with the theory of gravity, he was also the first person to present colors in a logical manner. From then on, from his color diagram, artists and scientists began to create their own by implying their personal logic in this seemingly illogical thing. There is one, however, that was generally acknowledged across the globe, and it bears the three categories of colors: primary, secondary and tertiary colors.
Primary Colors: Blue, Red and Yellow
These are the very foundation of every other color known to man. In other words, you cannot derive them by mixing different pigments. Instead, when mixed with each other, these three will give birth to the rest of the colors of the world.
Secondary Colors: Green, Purple, and Orange
These are the colors produced by the combined pigments of the primary colors.
Tertiary Colors: Blue-green, Yellow-green, Yellow-orange, Red-orange, Red-purple, and Blue-purple
These colors are the combination of the primary and secondary colors. Although these may not sound too impressive since they are just hues, tertiary colors will play an important role in the following topic.
Color Harmony
Like everything else in the world, balance has to be achieved in color combinations. Think of coloring as cooking. A dish that is entirely salty or entirely sweet can never be deemed scrumptious. The most delicious recipes are those that stimulate your taste buds, and this means adding a little zest to your fried salted fish, or sprinkling a dash of cinnamon on your sweet cappuccino. One must also be careful to not overstimulate the tongue. Imagine how confusing a dish gets when several different flavors fight for your attention.
In summary, you want to avoid playing it too safely. At the same time, you shouldn’t take it too far. Thankfully, however, there are ready formulas that you can apply in every form of art. What you need now is a 12-part color wheel to guide you.
Analogous Colors
These refer to any three colors sitting side by side in the color wheel. For example, if you need to fill in an intricate pattern of a plant, you can choose yellow, yellow-green and green. Or, if a little touch of orange is desired, you can select yellow-orange, yellow and yellow-green.
Never let these colors occupy equal amounts of space, however. Only one of the three should dominate the artwork. The lightest of the group should be reserved for highlighting, while the darkest should be for shading.
Complementary Colors
Complementary colors basically mean they are opposites on the color wheel. In other words, the complementary of red is green, and of red-purple is yellow-green. One good natural example of this is avocado -- the skin is red-purple-ish while its meat is yellow-greenish.
When working on your pattern, you can select a maximum of four colors. First, the complementary colors, and the other set should consist of the darker hues of the first two.
Natural Color Schemes
There is no by-the-book rule for this one. What you need to observe are the colors displayed by nature. Mother earth, after all, is the root of real beauty, and she holds the best color combinations man has come across. A gumamela flower and her leaves, for instance, is a combination of red, yellow, and green. Try these colors on your pattern, and you will see how beautifully they all blend.
Keep in mind that there are pigments that aren’t in the color wheel, such as browns and grays. More importantly, don’t forget to utilize them in your work. The above mentioned formulas are but general guidelines. It’s just to give you an idea of what colors will work great with each other. Since adult coloring circulates mainly on mandala and mehndi designs, there’s really no rule on how your chosen colors should be sequenced. This will thus depend on your own creativity, and how you utilize the browns and the grays in your work.