Basics: Color Wheel Theory

Basics: Color Wheel Theory
As a designer, it is necessary to be familiar with at least the basic attributes of visible light – or color. There
is quite of bit of information in this realm of art. There are courses dedicated to the study of color and its
features. For now, however, let’s focus on hue (or specific color distinguishable from another color).
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The color wheel is most often broken up into 12 colors. There are 3 primary colors: Red, Yellow, Blue; 3
secondary colors: Yellow, Purple, Green; and 3 tertiary colors which are the 6 colors that fall between the
primary and secondary colors. This organization helps us understand the physical arrangement of colored
light so that we can decipher color harmonies.
Harmonies and Trends
Color harmonies are the basic element in creating color themes. Popular color themes come and go because
they are considered trendy. For example, in the 50′s, the American culture color-trend was bright, mainly
primary colors: Yellow, Blue, Red. But in the 60′s, the color-trend subdued itself into earthy and pastel like
colors. Then, in the 70s & 80s, bright neons became prevalent. You get the idea. Today, though, since we
have the capability of creating so many colors through digital formats, it’s harder to determine themes, it allows
the creative freedom we need to design unique themes using harmonies.
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Color harmonies are created by several different ways, but there are 3 main “rules” in selecting these
harmonies:
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Complementary colors
Complementary colors fall opposite to each other on the color wheel, such as red and green, or yellow
and blue violet. This is probably the most common way to start a color theme. The name “complementary” is
derived from the fact that these colors don’t relate to each other in any physical way, and thus naturally
amplify each other. Many designers may use a base color, then apply the complement as the accent to really
bring out the base.
Complementary Color Wheel Example
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Exemples of complementary colours in nature
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Exemples of complementary colours in art
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Analogous colors
These are colors that lie (be situated) next to each other on the color wheel, like Yellow, Yellow-Green, and
Green. They feel visually related because, well, they are! Harmonies that contain analogous colors tend to
be less obtrusive (visually disturbing) and less of a contrast due to their likeness to each other.
Analogous Color Wheel Example
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TINTS AND SHADES
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Analogous colours in nature
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Analogous colors in art
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Triadic colors
Triadic Color Wheel Example
Most often, 3 main colors are chosen for a color scheme. However, when these 3 colors are evenly spaced
around the color wheel, they are considered “Triadic.” Opposite from analogous color harmonies, these
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harmonies tend to be quite high contrast and usually stand out (are remarkable) among the other rules. The
simple reason is because these harmonies contain colors which are least related to each other on the
wheel. But this does not mean that they don’t look good together. Many themes that use triadic colors favor
one or two of the colors as a base, then use the other color(s) as the accent(s).
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Triadic colors in nature and art
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RGB vs. Other Color Modes
While you probably already know about RGB color vs. CMYK and Pantone, it is important enough to briefly
mention. Bottom line: RGB gives brighter, more vivid colors for display on monitors. CMYK and Pantone are
best for printed materials.
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Additive vs. Subtractive Colors
The reason why RGB colors work best on screens is because they are additive colors. They are based
on the emission of light, such as what televisions and computer monitors do. With the additive color
mode, the more colors you combine, the whiter the light becomes. Therefore, black in RGB is literally no color
at all. White, on the other hand, is created with the maximum number of colors combined.
CMYK colors are based on the subtractive color model. Printers mix different amounts of CMYK (Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow, and Key or Black) together to create individual shades of color. The more color that is
added, the darker or more black the hue becomes. Pantone colors are a specific list of colors that a
company, Pantone, created for print materials. You will only see the true version of Pantone colors if you
view them in an official Pantone color book.
Color Conversion
The problem that some designers run into is when they have to use a logo on a website and the colors used in
the design are CMYK or Pantone. Yes, you can use the logo with the CMYK or Pantone color scheme, but it
would look much brigher if uploaded to the web in RGB. This is why most companies pre-convert their brand
colors. If your client gives you a brand guideline complete with the actual color numbers you need to use, then
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great! If not, try a color conversion tool online, such as this one from web.forret.com or this Pantone-CMYKRGB conversion chart from Crigital Media.
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EJERCICIOS
Para todos los ejercicios tenéis que tener presente el círculo cromático, de modo que hagáis los colores
correctamente.
1er ejercicio.
1º-Tenéis que dibujar una sola fruta en 4 recuadros iguales (no es necesario que la fruta sea exactamente
igual en los 4, pero si queréis que se parezcan mucho, hacer una lo mejor posible y después calcarla).
2º- Tenéis que pintarla de 4 maneras diferentes:
a- Con pintura blanca y negra, podéis añadir un toque de un solo color (gama monocroma).
b- Con colores complementarios.
c- Con colores análogos.
d- Con un trío de colores.
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2º ejercicio.
A partir de una fotografía en blanco y negro, tenéis que dibujar las líneas principales y luego pintar un cuadro
con un trio de colores (observar el círculo cromático y los ejemplos para guiaros).Para obtener un resultado
más interesante hacer pequeñas variaciones mezclando con toques de blanco, negro u otros colores.Aquí
tenéis un ejemplo de este ejercicio:
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3er ejercicio.
A partir de uno de los dibujos dados en las siguientes páginas, elegir uno y después calcarlo y pintarlo ,
eligiendo los colores que prefiráis (realistas, fríos o cálidos).
COLOUR.rar
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ANALOGOUS AND TRIADIC COLOR SCHEMES
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