Color Me Beautiful

Today, we are learning about colors and a simple way to understand how they work.

What you need is a color wheel. If you don’t have one, you can use this color wheel I found on Google.

Okay, to make it easy, the acronym may not seem appropriate, but it will help you remember.  The easiest way to remember the 4 basics in color is by thinking –SH*TT. 

S for Shade= is when you add black to your color (Hue)

H for Hue= is just any color on the color wheel.

·      There are 3 primary colors: red, blue, and yellow.

·      When you combine two primary colors, you get the secondary colors.

·      And when you combine the secondary colors together, you get the tertiary colors.

T for Tint= is when you add white to the color.

T for Tone= is when you add gray (a combination of black & white) to the color.

Color schemes you should know:

Complementary Colors are colors on the exact opposite of each other. If you mix these two colors, you will make brown. However, if they are placed next to each other, they will pop.

Monochromatic Colors are various shades using only one color (hue).  The easiest way is to add white, gray and black to one color. This is easy on the eyes and calming, but can be boring.

Analogous Colors are 3 to 4 colors next to each other on the color wheel.  This is pleasing to the eye, but adds a little more interests. Most people use this scheme because it’s harmonious and you can’t create mud (brown) when you blend the colors.

The best way to make your artwork pop is by having 70-75% of your artwork in the analogous scheme with a 25-30% of complementary color.

Your homework is to:

1.     Pick 3 colors next to each other and one opposite color. For example: Green, Blue-green, Blue and Red-orange.  OR Red-violet, Violet, Blue-Violet, and Yellow-green.

2.     Color in your journal with the analogous colors.

3.     Use stencils to add the complementary color.

4.     Write down the best conversation you had the last few months and why.