Today we're gonna explain you the basics of color theory and show you 5 things
you need to know about color to improve your work.
Hey there Linescapers, it's Sonja and Gasper again.
Hi!
We're two landscape architects and our mission is to teach you about drawing in a simple understandable way.
And today we are going to look at color.
Knowing the basics of color and how to use it is important to anyone who is creating visual work.
Be it painters, illustrators, photographers, graphic designers or architects or anyone similar.
OK, we're gonna break this topic down in 5 things you need to know about color.
1. what is color, 2. hue, saturation and lightness, 3. mixing colors and color wheel,
4. psychological effect of colors and number 5: color schemes and color harmonies
You need to follow to create more visually pleasing work.
The first three points are about understanding color and the last two are about using color in your work.
So stick with us!
By the way, if you're here for the first time, you can also check our other basics of drawing videos.
We created a whole playlist of them and you can find links in the description below. And of course subscribe for future ones!
Now let's dive right in! Number one thing you need to understand is what is color. We'll keep it simple.
White light is composed of all different colors of the color spectrum from red to violet.
Now color is a property of a surface that reflects light of different wavelengths.
If a surface is blue, for example, it means that it reflects blue part of the light
which we then see and absorbs the rest.
Fun fact! Some people see more colors than others.
There is a certain genetic mutation that enables a certain percentage of people
to see thousands of more color tones than others!
Crazy colorful right?
The second thing you need to know about colors are those three terms: hue, saturation and lightness
or HSL.
Hue basically means the same as color: such as green, orange or violet.
The second term you need to understand is saturation.
Saturation is intensity of the color or a hue. The more saturated the color is, the purer it is.
We can desaturate a color by adding different amounts of gray to it.
If saturation is adding gray to the basic color,
then lightness, the third term, tells us how much white or black is added to the original hue.
Adding white is called "tint". Adding black is called "shade".
By adding black, white and gray to it, we can create a whole series of tones for one single hue or color.
One interesting fact: more saturated colors draw the eye to them
and appear closer while less saturated colors appear more distant.
Keep that in mind when you're creating your work.
On the other hand, if you want to create more realistic looking natural images, you should go for desaturated colors
because saturated colors in nature are very rare.
Let's look at number three on our list: mixing colors and the color wheel.
The color wheel is a certain arrangement of color along a circle
that is extremely useful and will help you understands the mixing of colors
and the use of compelling color combinations later on.
Let's start with the three so-called basic colors on the color wheel. They are: yellow, red and blue.
These are the so called primary colors.
If we would mix all three together, we would get a brown color.
If we mix them two at a time, however, we get the secondary colors.
Blue and yellow produce green, yellow and red produce orange and red and blue produce purple.
If we mix the neighboring colors, once again, we get the so-called tertiary colors.
These are: red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, yellow-green and yellow-orange.
So this is the color wheel!
You might also know it in this form and if you want to know how to use one
we made an extra video about it and we'll put the link into the description below.
But let's continue with our list.
In the last two points on our list we're gonna tell you how to use this information we just learned.
Number 4 is color psychology.
Colors have a certain subjective effect on us because we're used to associating them with the phenomena in nature.
For example:
we usually perceived red as warm or even dangerous
because we're used to associating red with fire.
As if they had physical properties such as temperature, size and weight.
First let's look at what color temperature means.
We can divide the color wheel between warm colors and cool colors.
Warm colors are reds, yellows and oranges, while cool colors are the blues, violets and greens.
We perceive warm colors as more lively, also bigger and closer to us
while cool colors look more calming, distant and well, cold.
Second is the color size.
We can divide the color wheel between smaller looking colors in bigger looking colors.
Objects of the same size in yellow, red and orange appear larger than the objects in green, blue and violet.
If you want to balance out two of such colors, like yellow and violet, for example
you should use a lot of violet and just a small bit of yellow.
The third perceived color quality is color weight.
Notice how object of same size in violet, blue or red appear heavier
than objects in yellow and green?
This is useful to know when stacking colors above each other.
If you put the heavier colors on the bottom
and the lighter colors on top,
the composition will look more stable.
And we've reached the final point on our list: the color schemes and color harmonies.
These are special groups of colors that look well together and are pleasing to our eyes.
Let's check out five basic ones that you can use in your paintings drawings photography and graphics.
First color scheme is a monochromatic color harmony.
It basically means you're using just one color.
But you can add different tones and saturations by adding black, gray and white to it.
A monochromatic image is calm and good for abstraction.
It allows the eye to explore the structure of the image and its details rather than being distracted by other colors.
We use it a lot our selves in our sketches because we're focusing more on the
structure and texture of the sketches instead of the colors.
The second color scheme is the analogous color scheme.
In this one you can only use three colors that lie next to each other on the color wheel.
Like for example: yellow, yellow-green and green
or blue-violet, violet and red-violet.
This color scheme looks very natural and calming.
It's great if you want to depict a natural-looking scene like a landscape.
Similar to the monochromatic scheme the eye can focus on the details and the elements of the image.
The third color scheme we want to show you is the complementary color scheme.
It means using two colors that lie opposed to each other on the color wheel like blue and orange or violet and yellow.
You can pick any of these combinations.
When applying these colors to your image never do it one to one.
Remember the color size we talked about before?
Use a lot of one color and the second one just selectively to draw the eye to it.
That's why this color scheme is great for focusing on one element.
Also, when you place two complementary colors next to each other
they tends to intensify each other and we perceive them as more radiant.
The next color scheme is the triad.
It's a beautiful one because it looks kind of surreal.
It's for example orange, green and violet or any other three colors on the color wheel
that are equally distanced from each other.
When using it also remember: never use the three colors in equal amounts
because it will look a visual mess.
Always use one color is a predominant color and other two just selectively.
The final color scheme we want to show you is the so-called split complementary scheme.
It's also composed of three colors:
one main color in the two adjacent colors to its complementary color.
For example:
yellow-green, violet and red
or blue, yellow-orange and red-orange.
This kind of combination looks lively and joyous.
And when using this one remember, as always,
do not use the three colors in equal proportions.
Alright, let's repeat what we just covered so you'll remember it better.
Number one: color is the property of surfaces that reflect light in a certain way.
Number two: each color or hue can be mixed by adding variety of tones
by adding gray, influencing saturation
or adding black and white to it, influencing lightness.
Number three: colors can be arranged along the color wheel
with primary secondary and tertiary colors.
Number four: colors have a certain subjective effect on us.
We perceive them as having a certain temperature, certain size or even weight.
Consider this when creating your images.
And the last one - use one of the following five schemes to improve the visual quality of your work:
monochromatic color scheme, the supplementary color scheme,
the complementary color scheme, the triad or the split complementary.
You're curious, which color scheme you can't wait to try out.
My favorite is the split complementary one, but tell us yours in the comments,
We'd like to know!
And if you want to keep improving and not miss any of the future videos,
be sure to subscribe!
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At this point, you know what to do:
keep on drawing and see you next time!
Ciao!
