Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
I bought a color wheel today. I'm tired of putting two colors next to each other and making mud! LOL so how do I use the wheel? How will it help me? I see it shows what colors to expect when you add white, red, yellow, blue, or black to your original color but not sure what I should be looking at for getting colors that blend into each other well.
Colors that are beside each other on the color wheel mix well together.
If you're trying to watercolor a background, using colors in ROYGBIV order will prevent you from making mud.
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
Two opposite (complementary) colors mixed together make gray or brown aka mud. In a way they're canceling each other out. (You'll notice there is no brown on a color wheel.) So green plus red, blue plus orange, violet plus yellow equal mud.
Staying with all warm colors or all cool colors can give you nice blends.
While complementary colors mixed together make mud, next to each other they will make each other more vibrant, or pop, as people say. That can be good or bad, depending on what you want.
Kathy, I'm sure once you play with the colors a bit while thinking about just a couple ideas - like lightly blending yellow/orange/red - you'll feel it and won't even have to think about it. If you want a couple books or articles about color theory, yell. I'm a bit of an addict but studying color was part of my job, so don't want to impose my obsession on anyone. I bet others have faves too.
It just might answer the questions you have about the wheel itself, which is why I selected this one. I love it, not only for the descriptions, but the shades and tones are so helpful within each selection to matchup, but the tints as well on the flip side. I use it so often with various mediums. Hope you find it helpful.
Mine looks very much like yours Dina! I picked up an elegant writer to but I think I should have bought the extra fine. It was 1.3 mm but I got the fine which is 2.0 mm.
There are links to articles about color theory and using the color wheel. They are geared toward home decorating, but the same rules apply to what we do...
The book "Blue and Yellow don't make green" is something that can help you understand more about mixing colours, and is quite readable. You may be able to get it from a public library or cheaply secind-hand as its well known and has been around for ages. The author of that explains why you get muddy colours . When it comes down to it, its best to do make a test sample of what you plan to do.
I found this video really useful too, for creating smaller color combo charts - I just bought a small set of 6 Daniel Smith watercolors with a warm and cool each of red, yellow, and blue, and I can't wait to see all the colors those make.
When layering colors (not mixing) opposites work well as does using 3 colors an equal distance apart on the color wheel.
Take a close look at your color wheel. Mine has 3 or 4 different arrow/triangle sets on it and little holes all over in the middle of all the colors. What you do is find a color that closely matches your base color using those holes and then use the triangles to find other colors that are complimentary to that base color. Just be sure the 3 colors you use are from the same triangle.
Kathy, just to clarify vocabulary. Complementary colors are opposites on a basic color wheel, and if mixed, will make mud. (If they are made up of light, they will make white light/cancel each other out.)
If not mixed together but next to each other, near each other, layered on top of each other if paper, etc., they can make each other more vivid, pop.
So in color theory, complementary is different than harmony. They're just two colors (hues) that are opposites: blue and orange, green and red, violet and yellow.
(If you buy brown/beige/taupe wall paint, once it's on the wall you may notice the wall looks pinky in some lights. Or yellow, or even green. That's because to make brown, colors that are opposite on the color wheel are mixed together, so these “undertones” of pink or yellow or green subtly (or alarmingly!) appear.
That's oversimplifying, since there are often many pigments/colors mixed together to make that brown or taupe wall paint, but to make a brown, complementary aka opposite colors are mixed together.)
Clear as, well, mud? ; )
Beth
Last edited by bjeans; 04-12-2019 at 03:30 AM..
Reason: missing letters
I have always been fascinated by color theory. Earlier this summer I took Sandy Allnock's on-line class Copic Jump Start which covered a lot about the color wheel in the first couple of lessons. Much of what she teaches is applicable for any kind of coloring, not just copics. I had taken some copic classes before but Sandy's class went well beyond anything I had seen.
Another use for a color wheel small enough to carry with you: deconstruct the color schemes of what grabs you.
If you notice colors you like in a sweater, a chair, a restaurant, the sky - you can pull out your color wheel to see what makes those colors work and what you're drawn to.
Are the colors complementary - in other words, opposites on the color wheel? Are they analogous - next to each other, like yellow/orange/red or pink? Are they primary colors, kid-like? Are they secondary or tertiary? Maybe they're analogous with one oddball color that doesn't fit any pattern.
A teacher/artist taught us to do this years ago. And it's not that I ever chose a color scheme for a business, home or art project thinking, "I'll do a split complimentary color scheme." I don't know designers who do that. It just made me see how colors play together.
I'm a color nerd so loved it. But if it doesn't seem fun, that's 100% legit, something else will fit better. We're not one size fits all. : )
Kathy, I am glad you started this thread, as I am in the dark about making mud, lol...
Lots of helpful info here, so thanks to those who posted.
I have a distress background done with cool green and blue. A piece from my stash. Am I going to wreck it if I stamp with Poppy parade for instance on it?
TIA
Shirl
Last edited by shirlb19; 04-06-2019 at 12:51 PM..
Reason: typo
I skimmed through what all everyone said here, so sorry if I'm repeating anything--- There is a book called COLOR, by Betty Edwards. She is the author of DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN. I've begun going through it & it has exercises for you to do to help you learn about color. AND in case you haven't heard, Waffle Flower in a 2018 Release came out with a complete set--- Color Wheels, Color Swatches, & even a single Swatch Tag, along with accompanying dies. There are also lots of YTube Video's to help you get started along with the video's on Waffle Flower. You can get everything by itself, or in combo packs. Whatever floats your boat! One nice thing is, if you get the combo's of any kind, they come in little plastic pouches to store the dies & stamps together. ;) One last thought, the best way to know what colors mix well, is to play/practice!
You can go deeply into color theory - lots of books out there about it for color nerds (me, plus it was the main focus of my last career). But some short articles can also help. This one looked pretty good. Note the section called, “Some Formulas for Color Harmony.” (And maybe buy a simple color wheel.)
How to books (how to watercolor, use colored pencils etc) I've read over the years have always had a section on basic color theory... i.e primary, secondary, etc and often have a how to make your own color wheel exercise using those supplies. If you have any of those type books you might want to revisit them or if not look at them at a library or online if you have a subscription service for reading. It is a great way to learn the basics.
The color wheel I purchased at a big box store came with "instructions" which were basically a mini color mixing guide as well. The info was informative as well as helpful for getting the most use out of my wheel. I still keep my wheel and instructions in a zip bag and close at hand after all these years.
Help me with my color wheel
