Fundamentals of Color Theory and Mixing

Oct 17, 2024

Understanding Color Theory and Mixing Colors

Importance of Mixing Colors

  • Mixing your own colors can create cohesive color palettes.
  • Cheaper than purchasing individual tubes of paints for each color.

Creating a Color Wheel

  • Primary Colors: Red, Blue, Yellow.
    • Foundation of all other colors.
    • Mixing all three produces a muddy brown.
  • Secondary Colors: Created by mixing primary colors.
    • Red + Blue = Purple
    • Blue + Yellow = Green
    • Yellow + Red = Orange
  • Tertiary Colors: Mixing a primary with a secondary color.
    • Red-Orange, Red-Purple, Blue-Purple, Blue-Green, Yellow-Green, Yellow-Orange.

Recap of Color Mixing

  1. Start with primary colors.
  2. Mix to create secondary colors.
  3. Mix primary and secondary to create tertiary colors.

Key Color Theory Terms

  • Hue: The name of a color (e.g., red, blue, green).
  • Saturation: Intensity or purity of a hue.
    • High saturation = bright.
    • Desaturated = washed out/grayed.
  • Value: Lightness or darkness of a hue.
  • Shade: Hue + black.
  • Tint: Hue + white.
  • Tone: Hue + gray.

Color Temperature

  • Warm Colors: Reds, Oranges, Yellows.
  • Cool Colors: Purples, Blues, Greens.
  • Effects: Warm is often bright and cheerful, cool can be dark and mysterious.

Common Color Schemes

  • Monochromatic: One hue with variations in tints, tones, and shades.
  • Complementary: Colors opposite on the color wheel (e.g., red and green).
    • High contrast, use carefully to avoid overpowering.
  • Analogous: 2-4 colors next to each other on the wheel.
  • Triadic: Three colors evenly spaced around the color wheel.
  • Split Complementary: A base color and two adjacent to its complementary color.
  • Tetradic: Four colors in two complementary pairs.
  • Square: Four complementary colors evenly spaced around the color wheel.

Conclusion and Additional Resources

  • References provided in the description.
  • Encouragement to revisit the video for understanding.
  • Future content will build on this information.

Engagement

  • Open to comments, questions, and suggestions.
  • Encouragement to like and subscribe.

These notes summarize the main concepts of color theory and mixing as presented in the lecture. They provide a reference to understand basic color mixing techniques, color theory terms, and popular color schemes for creating visually appealing art.