Want to see an improvement in your paintings? Mastering colour theory can feel tricky at first but once you get it, you will be able to notice a difference in your skills.
Traditional colour theory explains the behaviour of colours, how they interact with each other when mixed, colour contrast effects, colour harmony, colour schemes, colour symbolism & associated emotions.
the colour wheel aims to explain aspects of colour theory through diagrammatical representation of colours whereby they are placed next to each other to form a circle. A basic colour wheel is made up of the three primary & three secondary colours, though most artist colour wheels also display tertiary colours..
This consistent representation of hues gives artists the opportunity to visualise colour harmony & achieve balance of hues in their work.
if you feel like you’re back in kindy it’s probably because that’s when you first came across colour theory.
The three primary colours, yellow, red & blue, are the basic foundations for all colours. They cannot be mixed or created, but rather, the combination of true spectrum colours in various proportions can give any existing hue. They exist equidistant from one another on the colour wheel – you could draw an imaginary equilateral triangle between them.
a secondary colour is created by mixing two primary colours at a 1:1 ratio….
☼ yellow & red to make orange
☼ red & blue to make purple
☼ blue & yellow to make green
Like the primaries, secondary colours are equidistant on the colour wheel.
The tertiary colours are third generation hues created by mixing primary & secondary colours together at a 1:1 ratio. This yields six hyphenated names:
☼ yellow-orange
☼ red-orange
☼ red-violet
☼ blue-violet
☼ blue-green
☼ yellow-green
With these 6 extra hues added to our primary & tertiary colours, we can create a classic colour wheel which consists of 12 different colours – 3 primaries, 3 secondaries & 6 tertiaries.
We can describe colour in terms of its temperature, hue, value & intensity.
Colour temperature refers to how cool or warm a colour is, whereby cool is closer to blue & warm is closer to red. For example orange is warmer than green, & yellow-green is warmer than blue-green.
Colour hue refers to the 12 basic hues on the colour wheel. When we are trying to describe colour, we must put aside lightness & brightness & first decide which of the 12 hues is closest to the colour that we are seeing.
Colour value refers to how light or dark a c colour is, whereby ‘0’ is white & ‘6’ is black. For example
Colour intensity refers to how bright or dull a colour is, whereby bright is closer to the pure hues of the colour wheel & dull is further away. Of course, when we’re mixing colours, & colours in the real world, are not often pure, bright hues. In fact, most colours we see have been dulled down by others. A colour that is in it’s purest form (a pure hue from the 12 segments on the colour wheel) is described as bright, whereas a colour which has deviated from this pure hue is describes as dull. For example the artist pigment cadmium yellow is a bright yellow alike to the hue we imagine when we think of a full spectrum yellow. Further, we might describe the mustard yellow of autumn leaves to be quite dull.
simply, they are colours NEXT to each other on the colour wheel- for example yellow-orange, orange, & red-orange. Analogous colours do not usually come in more than sets of four, as any more would dull the mix. For example, a mix of yellow-orange, orange, red-range, red and red-violet would dull due to the reactions between the warm colours & blue in the violet.
simply, they are colours OPPOSITE each other on the colour wheel…
☼ yellow & purple
☼ red & green
☼ blue & orange
I’ve only used primary & secondary colours as an example here. things can get a little more complicated when you’re mixing colours. For example red-violet is opposite to yellow-green on the colour wheel. A physical aid can be useful when you’re learning.
Complementary colours dull or mute each other. If I have a really bright blue I wanted to mellow out a little I would ass orange. Just as if I wanted to make a duller red I would add some green. When we mix complementary colours together, technically we are mixing all three primary colours together. Remember that mixing all three primary colours makes a neutral hue?
☼ yellow & purple –> yellow & red+blue
☼ red & green –> red & yellow+blue
☼ blue & orange –> blue & yellow+red
Even professional artists refer to colour theory aids in order to achieve balance & harmony in their work. The books below are all available on amazon & make for extremely useful colour theory references to have in your studio. I paid for them all myself, with my own money, have read them cover to cover & I would certainly buy them again!
‘The Pocket; Complete Color Harmony’
by Tina Sutton.
This little pocket reference offers hundreds of harmonious hue combinations, as well as some colour theory basics & explanations. It’s the perfect reference for all artists & graphic designers, especially if you looking for colour combinations examples.
by Betty Edwards.
This book offers fantastic, easy-to-read yet comprehensive explanations of colour theory, whilst instructing plenty of paint-along exercises. This read changed my paintings from classy to harmonious in colour – I could literally see the difference in my work!
by Hazel Soan.
Not so much for colour theory basics but this book is great if you want to learn more about using a limited palette in your artwork.
& there’s heaps of artist aids out there that can help you master colour theory.
This colour wheel and pocket book are perfect for any artist wanting to better understand & practice colour theory.
as with a lot of things, colour theory is best learned by doing – so grab a brush, your pencils, markers, whatever it is you prefer, & create your own colour wheel.
Starting your own artist journal can be a super helpful way to learn colour theory, especially if you’re a beginner artist. & having a cute little book of your pigment & colour mixes to refer to is just a bonus.
Theory tells us that all possible hues can be derived from just 3 primary colour- yellow, red & blue. On the contrary, artists pigments have chemical limitations & are not full spectrum colours. Painters illustrators must supplement their palettes with additional colours to achieve work that locks hues in harmonious relationships. Artist pigments contain trace chemicals, & often reflect wavelengths of light extra to their dominant hue- in other words, there is no paint tube containing a true, pure, primary yellow, or red, or blue, & so it is impossible to achieve every possible hue from just three paints. Although, this up for debate amongst artists.
Specifically for watercolour, it is also worth noting that it is impossible to achieve a truely neutral black when mixing opaque watercolour pigments. Using opaque colours can also create muddy hues- something to keep in mind when mixing.
☼ Edwards, B. (2004). Color. Penguin group, New York.
☼ Soan, H. (2022). Art of the Limited Palette. Batsford, London.
☼ Sutton, T. (2020). The Pocket; Complete Color Harmony. Quarto group, Beverly.
☼ what is colour theory?
☼ what is the colour wheel?
☼ what are the primary, secondary & tertiary colours?
☼ what are analogous colours?
☼ what are complementary colours?
☼ can i mix every hue from three paints- yellow, red & blue?
☼ how can I learn colour theory?
☼ what should I learn colour theory?
☼ will learning colour theory improve my artwork?
☼ will learning colour theory improve my paintings?
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