The Color Wheel Before we can start designing combinations, first we need to know how color works.
There are 12 basic colors: Red, Red Orange, Orange, Yellow Orange, Yellow, Yellow Green, Green, Blue Green, Blue, Blue Violet, Violet, and Red Violet.
The color wheel is created by these 12 hues formed into a circle.
Color Value When you see colors on a color wheel, these colors are at their full brightness, otherwise known as saturation.
When you add black or white to one of these colors, then the hue, that was once at full saturation, becomes either paler or darker, depending on what you add and how much.
The paleness or darkness of a color is called the color value.
A hue is any color that is pure, with no black, white, or gray added to it.
A tint is a hue with the addition of white, and a shade is made by adding black.
A tone is created when gray is added, and you have a color that has the same value as the original color, but is not a hue.
Color Schemes Color schemes are combinations of hues that are created by using the color wheel.
Here are a few: Monochromatic A monochromatic scheme is made up of the same color in many different tints, shades, and tones.
For example, a monochromatic scheme could be made of a rich red, a red and a pink.
This is because they are all from the same color family, which is the red family.
Complimentary A complimentary scheme is composed of two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.
An example of this is red and green.
These are mostly thought of as Christmas colors, but did you know that these are complimentary? That is why they look so good together, because they are located opposite each other on the color wheel.
Analogous An analogous color scheme is created when you use 3 - 5 colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel.
An example of this is yellow green, green, blue green, blue, and blue violet.
A piece of jewelry that was created using this color scheme would most likely come across as cool, yet earthy.
The reason for this is that it uses cool colors (blues, greens, and violets,) and blue is the skies and the oceans, with the green being the grass, plants, and trees.
Triadic A triadic color scheme is a combination of three colors that are found in the shape of a triangle on the color wheel.
Orange, green, and violet is a good example here.
Triadic color combos are most striking when one or two of the colors used are used in volume, and the one or two colors left over are used as accents.
Let's use the combo I already mentioned.
I would probably use mostly violet and orange in my piece and accents of green.
On the other hand, someone with a different style than me might do mostly green and orange, with violet as the accent.
There are no wrong answers here, just personal style and decisions! These are the four basic combinations, and though there are many other ways to use a color wheel, this will at least get you started for a while.
There are 12 basic colors: Red, Red Orange, Orange, Yellow Orange, Yellow, Yellow Green, Green, Blue Green, Blue, Blue Violet, Violet, and Red Violet.
The color wheel is created by these 12 hues formed into a circle.
Color Value When you see colors on a color wheel, these colors are at their full brightness, otherwise known as saturation.
When you add black or white to one of these colors, then the hue, that was once at full saturation, becomes either paler or darker, depending on what you add and how much.
The paleness or darkness of a color is called the color value.
A hue is any color that is pure, with no black, white, or gray added to it.
A tint is a hue with the addition of white, and a shade is made by adding black.
A tone is created when gray is added, and you have a color that has the same value as the original color, but is not a hue.
Color Schemes Color schemes are combinations of hues that are created by using the color wheel.
Here are a few: Monochromatic A monochromatic scheme is made up of the same color in many different tints, shades, and tones.
For example, a monochromatic scheme could be made of a rich red, a red and a pink.
This is because they are all from the same color family, which is the red family.
Complimentary A complimentary scheme is composed of two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.
An example of this is red and green.
These are mostly thought of as Christmas colors, but did you know that these are complimentary? That is why they look so good together, because they are located opposite each other on the color wheel.
Analogous An analogous color scheme is created when you use 3 - 5 colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel.
An example of this is yellow green, green, blue green, blue, and blue violet.
A piece of jewelry that was created using this color scheme would most likely come across as cool, yet earthy.
The reason for this is that it uses cool colors (blues, greens, and violets,) and blue is the skies and the oceans, with the green being the grass, plants, and trees.
Triadic A triadic color scheme is a combination of three colors that are found in the shape of a triangle on the color wheel.
Orange, green, and violet is a good example here.
Triadic color combos are most striking when one or two of the colors used are used in volume, and the one or two colors left over are used as accents.
Let's use the combo I already mentioned.
I would probably use mostly violet and orange in my piece and accents of green.
On the other hand, someone with a different style than me might do mostly green and orange, with violet as the accent.
There are no wrong answers here, just personal style and decisions! These are the four basic combinations, and though there are many other ways to use a color wheel, this will at least get you started for a while.
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