As a budding artist, one of the most exciting aspects of your art journey is the exploration of color. The colors you choose can transform a simple sketch into a vibrant work of art. However, without a basic understanding of color theory, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the seemingly endless possibilities. In this blog post we will discuss some of essentials of color theory.
WHAT IS COLOR?
Color is the way our eyes interpret nature and the world around us. Color as we understand it today is thanks to Sir Isaac Newton. In the late 1600's Mr. Newton conducted a series of experiments involving light and prisms. The findings of these experiments showed that when white light is shone through a prism, the light is broken up into 7 colors. These 7 colors are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS
Color theory is the study of how colors interact with each other and how they can be combined to create pleasing and harmonious designs. At its core, color theory involves the color wheel, a visual organization of color arranged in a circle. The color wheel shows the relationship between different colors and includes:
- Primary Colors: Red, Blue, and Yellow. These are called primary colors because they cannot be made by mixing any other color together.
- Secondary Colors: Green, Orange and Violet are formed by mixing two primary colors together.
- Tertiary Colors: Six colors are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color. The six tertiary colors are red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet & red-violet.
Knowing these basics can help artists to understand how to mix colors to create new ones, which is a fundamental skill in creating artwork.
CREATING HARMONY AND BALANCE
One of the most important reasons to understand color theory is to create harmony and balance in your artwork. Colors can clash or complement each other depending on how they are used. By understanding concepts like complementary colors (colors opposite each other on the color wheel) and analogous colors (colors next to each other on the color wheel), you can create visually pleasing compositions.
SETTING THE MOOD AND TONE
Colors have the power to evoke emotions and set the mood of your artwork. Warm colors like red, orange, and yellow can create feelings of warmth, energy and excitement. Cool colors like blue, green and violet can create a calm, serene and tranquil tone.
Understanding color theory allows you to use color to communicate the intentionality of your artwork. Whatever the atmosphere you wish to create with your work, knowing how different colors influence emotions will help you achieve your desired effect.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE
For beginner artists, understanding color theory can be incredibly empowering. It gives you a solid foundation to build upon and the confidence to experiment with colors in your artwork. Instead of feeling lost in a sea of possibility, you'll have a roadmap that guides your creative decisions and help you approach you work with a clear artistic mindset.
While it might be tempting to dive straight into creating art, taking the time to learn color theory will pay off in the long run. It will help you to make more informed choices, create more cohesive and visually appealing work and ultimately grow as an artist. Grab your color wheel and start experimenting with color!
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