Art & Art Tutorials
Color Theory Tutorial
Intro
Colors and art are pretty much inseparable, and obviously art would not be the same without those wonderful colors. While color theory can be a lifetime study the basics are actually quite easy to grasp. You might have heard of RGB which is used to display colors on computer screens, as the one you are looking at right now. RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue and depending on how they are 'mixed' they display all the different colors on your computer screen. You might have heard of CMYK also which is used for printing processes. But in this tutorial we will concentrate on the traditional base colors which are red, yellow and blue. With these three basic colors you can create any color you wish.
Info: Before we get to the colorwheel here are some facts. The colorwheel shown below is a classic RYB (red, yellow, blue) colorwheel. It consists of a primary, secondary and tertiary part. Colors on the opposite sides of eachother in the outer circle are called complementary colors. Mixing these creates what are called neutrals as they 'cancel' eachother out. Lets move on.
The Wheel Construction
You have most likely come across a colorwheel before. There are many versions of the wheel but they all serve the same purpose which is to show us what colors we get by mixing the basic colors. Take a look at the picture below. In the center we have a triangle with the three basic colors (red, yellow, blue). Mixing those we get to the colors of the secondary part, the hexagon, of the wheel. Continuing we get to the colors of the outer circle, the tertiary part.
How to use the color wheel
Here is an example of how it works: By mixing the pure red and pure blue (shown in the triangle) say 50/50, you get the purple shown at 6 o'clock in the outer circle. By mixing them with, for example, a little more red than blue, the red becomes more dominant and you will end up with a color shown at 5 o'clock. If you make the blue more dominant than red, you will end up with a color close to the one shown at 7 o'clock. The same principle applies by mixing red and yellow, or blue and yellow.
Once you have mixed your desired color you can then add black or white to make the color darker or lighter. For example, if you add a little black to an orange color it will get brownish, and if you add some white to a red color you'll end up with a pinkish color. A word of advise; be careful with the black if you wish to create a darkish color. Black is very dominant, and you might end up with a 'dead' color if you overdo it.
Color links and the final words
That's basically it and the only thing left for you is to start experimenting. If however you wish to read more about color theory you can always visit the wiki on color theory and learn even more. To end this tutorial I have supplied a downloadable colorwheel for you to print and use. You can download the colorwheel right here. Enjoy!
Have comments, suggestions or critique? Sign up and share it here!
Colors and art are pretty much inseparable, and obviously art would not be the same without those wonderful colors. While color theory can be a lifetime study the basics are actually quite easy to grasp. You might have heard of RGB which is used to display colors on computer screens, as the one you are looking at right now. RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue and depending on how they are 'mixed' they display all the different colors on your computer screen. You might have heard of CMYK also which is used for printing processes. But in this tutorial we will concentrate on the traditional base colors which are red, yellow and blue. With these three basic colors you can create any color you wish.
Info: Before we get to the colorwheel here are some facts. The colorwheel shown below is a classic RYB (red, yellow, blue) colorwheel. It consists of a primary, secondary and tertiary part. Colors on the opposite sides of eachother in the outer circle are called complementary colors. Mixing these creates what are called neutrals as they 'cancel' eachother out. Lets move on.
The Wheel Construction
You have most likely come across a colorwheel before. There are many versions of the wheel but they all serve the same purpose which is to show us what colors we get by mixing the basic colors. Take a look at the picture below. In the center we have a triangle with the three basic colors (red, yellow, blue). Mixing those we get to the colors of the secondary part, the hexagon, of the wheel. Continuing we get to the colors of the outer circle, the tertiary part.
How to use the color wheel
Here is an example of how it works: By mixing the pure red and pure blue (shown in the triangle) say 50/50, you get the purple shown at 6 o'clock in the outer circle. By mixing them with, for example, a little more red than blue, the red becomes more dominant and you will end up with a color shown at 5 o'clock. If you make the blue more dominant than red, you will end up with a color close to the one shown at 7 o'clock. The same principle applies by mixing red and yellow, or blue and yellow.
Once you have mixed your desired color you can then add black or white to make the color darker or lighter. For example, if you add a little black to an orange color it will get brownish, and if you add some white to a red color you'll end up with a pinkish color. A word of advise; be careful with the black if you wish to create a darkish color. Black is very dominant, and you might end up with a 'dead' color if you overdo it.
Color links and the final words
That's basically it and the only thing left for you is to start experimenting. If however you wish to read more about color theory you can always visit the wiki on color theory and learn even more. To end this tutorial I have supplied a downloadable colorwheel for you to print and use. You can download the colorwheel right here. Enjoy!
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Have comments, suggestions or critique? Sign up and share it here!