Color Theory for Noobs | Beginner Guide
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, Julian from Flow Graphics discusses the fundamentals of color theory, essential for artists and designers. He covers key concepts like hue, saturation, lightness, and color groups, explaining how they interact and affect artwork. He also delves into the emotional meanings behind colors and their use in design, concluding with a test for viewers to identify changes in color attributes and schemes.
Takeaways
- π¨ Color theory is crucial for artists and graphic designers, as it helps in understanding how to effectively use colors in their work.
- π₯ Hue refers to the actual color itself, such as red, orange, or yellow. Changing the hue alters the color without affecting its lightness or saturation.
- π₯ Saturation is the intensity of a color. A fully saturated color is vivid, while a color with zero saturation appears gray.
- π Lightness, also known as brightness, affects how bright or dark a color is. It can be adjusted by adding white (tints) or black (shades) to a color.
- π Color groups or color schemes are used to organize colors that work well together in art and design. They include monochromatic, analogous, complementary, and triadic schemes.
- π΄ Monochromatic color schemes use variations of a single color, such as different shades and tints of red.
- π Analogous color schemes consist of three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, such as yellow, orange, and red.
- π‘ Complementary colors are those that are opposite each other on the color wheel, like orange and blue, and they are known for their strong visual contrast.
- π’ Triadic color schemes involve three colors that form an equilateral triangle on the color wheel, ensuring they are evenly spaced.
- π Colors have specific meanings and emotions associated with them. For example, red is linked with passion and danger, while blue is associated with calmness and wisdom.
- π Warm and cool colors are determined by the presence of yellow (warm) or blue (cool) in a color. This distinction can influence the mood and feel of a design.
Q & A
What is the basic concept of 'hue' in color theory?
-Hue refers to the specific color itself. It's the first attribute of a color and can be represented on a color wheel, where different hues are positioned around the wheel.
How does saturation affect a color?
-Saturation is the intensity of a color. A color with 100% saturation is fully vibrant, while a color with 0% saturation appears gray, indicating no saturation at all.
What is the difference between tints and shades in terms of lightness?
-Tints are colors that have been made lighter by adding white, whereas shades are colors that have been made darker by adding black. Lightness refers to the brightness or darkness of a color without affecting its hue or saturation.
Can you explain the concept of a monochromatic color scheme?
-A monochromatic color scheme consists of different tints and shades of a single color. It provides a harmonious and consistent look, as all colors are derived from one base hue.
What are analogous colors and how are they used in a color scheme?
-Analogous colors are those that are placed next to each other on the color wheel. An analogous color scheme uses three colors that are adjacent to each other, creating a harmonious and visually appealing combination.
Define complementary colors and provide an example.
-Complementary colors are those that are opposite each other on the color wheel. An example of complementary colors is orange and blue, which often work well together to create contrast and visual interest.
What is a triadic color scheme and how is it formed?
-A triadic color scheme is formed by selecting three colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel, forming a triangle. This scheme provides high contrast and visual interest.
Why are certain colors chosen for specific emotions or meanings?
-Colors are chosen for specific emotions or meanings because each color is associated with certain psychological responses and cultural symbolism. For example, red is often linked with passion and danger.
What is the significance of the color purple in terms of wealth?
-Purple is associated with wealth because, historically, the dye used to create purple was expensive and difficult to produce, making it a color worn by royalty and symbolizing luxury and wealth.
How do warm and cool colors differ and what colors are typically considered warm or cool?
-Warm colors include red, orange, and yellow and are associated with energy and warmth. Cool colors, such as blue, purple, and green, evoke a sense of calm and tranquility. The distinction is based on the presence of yellow (warm) or blue (cool) in the color.
What is the purpose of the color test in the video script?
-The color test in the video script is designed to engage viewers and challenge them to apply their understanding of color theory. It asks viewers to identify changes in hue, saturation, and to recognize a color scheme based on the alterations made to three blue dots.
Outlines
π¨ Introduction to Color Theory Basics
Julian introduces the concept of color theory, emphasizing its importance for artists and graphic designers. He explains the term 'hue' as the pure color itself, using a graph to illustrate the transition from one hue to another. Julian also discusses 'saturation' as the intensity of a color without altering its lightness or darkness, demonstrating this with dots of varying saturation levels. He then covers 'lightness', which involves adjusting the brightness or darkness of a color through the addition of white or black, creating tints and shades. The paragraph concludes with an introduction to 'color groups', which are various color schemes that can be used to create harmonious combinations in artwork.
π Exploring Core Color Schemes and Their Meanings
This paragraph delves into the fundamental color schemes, starting with 'monochromatic', which uses various tints and shades of a single color. 'Analogous' color schemes are next, involving colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. 'Complementary' colors, which are opposite each other on the wheel, are highlighted as they often create striking visual effects, as seen in movie posters. 'Triadic' color schemes are also discussed, which form an equilateral triangle on the color wheel. Julian mentions that while there are many color schemes, these are the core ones. He then transitions to the significance of color meanings, explaining how each color can evoke specific emotions and has cultural associations. For example, red is linked to passion and danger, while blue is considered calming. The paragraph also touches on warm and cool colors, with yellow and red being warm and blue and purple being cool. Julian concludes with an interactive test for viewers to identify changes in color dots and to recognize color schemes, inviting feedback in the comments.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Color Theory
π‘Hue
π‘Saturation
π‘Lightness
π‘Color Groups
π‘Monochromatic
π‘Analogous
π‘Complementary
π‘Triadic
π‘Color Meaning
π‘Warm and Cool Colors
Highlights
Introduction to color theory as a crucial topic for artists and graphic designers.
Definition of hue as the primary color itself.
Explanation of hue with a visual graph showing color transitions from red to orange, yellow, and green.
Saturation described as the intensity of a color without affecting its lightness or hue.
Demonstration of saturation levels with dots showing 100% saturated to 0% (gray).
Introduction to lightness, affecting the brightness or darkness of a color.
Illustration of lightness with rectangles showing tints (lighter shades) and shades (darker shades).
Discussion on color groups and their importance in creating harmonious color schemes.
Explanation of monochromatic color schemes using only tints and shades of a single color.
Description of analogous color schemes, choosing colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel.
Complementary colors defined as those opposite each other on the color wheel, often used in design for contrast.
Triadic color schemes explained as colors forming an equilateral triangle on the color wheel.
Acknowledgment that while there are many color schemes, the core ones are most commonly used in practice.
Importance of understanding the emotional and cultural meanings behind colors in design.
Red associated with passion, danger, and heat; used in stop signs for its commanding presence.
Orange linked to energy, creativity, and happiness, often used in advertising.
Yellow symbolizing happiness, energy, and activity, commonly seen in advertising and design.
Black commonly associated with death and power, a strong color in design.
Green representing nature, healing, and medicine, often used in health-related symbols.
Blue associated with calmness and wisdom, often used in hospitals and educational settings.
Purple historically linked to wealth and royalty due to the difficulty in producing the dye.
White symbolizing purity and peace, often used in contrast with black.
Introduction to warm and cool colors, with examples of how adding yellow or blue affects a color's warmth.
Interactive test for viewers to identify changes in color attributes and schemes.
Encouragement for viewers to engage with the content and provide feedback in the comments.
Transcripts
hi everybody my name is Julian and today
I'm going to be talking about color
theory this is a really important topic
for any artist or graphic designer
anything surrounding art you need to
know color theory and I also get asked a
lot of questions about color theory and
things to do with colors a lot so I
thought I might as well make a video for
you all so I'm going to start with hue
this is pretty straightforward and it's
pretty easy to understand
hue is essentially what color the color
is so if I draw a little graph here I
want to draw a red in the middle will
draw orange yellow will draw purple next
to the red and then pink you can see
this color is basically changing and
yeah pink should be next red but let's
ignore that so essentially hue is just
what color it is so if we have a color
red here and we duplicate this and we
change it we've just shifted the hue
from a red to an orange and then we've
shifted the shoe to the orange to a
yellow and then was just add the hue
from a yellow to a green and so on it's
basically just what color you have
selected there's not much more to it
the next is saturation so this is a word
you probably gonna see a lot if you work
with Photoshop or any sort of digital
program and you'll probably hear it a
lot too in the art world this is
essentially the intensity of the color
this doesn't change how light or dark
the color it is it doesn't change what
the color is it just changes how intense
that actual color is so like you can see
on my screen I've got a bunch of dots
the left-hand dot is a hundred percent
saturated the right-hand dot is 0%
saturated so no saturation of a color is
just gray and this applies for any color
so you can see as I shift these colors
around here the left is always saturated
the right is always not saturated so
fully saturated green slowly getting D
saturated into gray the next is
lightness and this can also be split up
into tints and shades so this is
basically how bright or darker color is
this doesn't affect the hue or the
saturation or anything like that it's
basically just adding white or black
into the color so if I sort of draw some
little rectangles here you can see I'm
sort of making
lighter and lighter so they're basically
tints and then I'll make some more and
I'll make it darker and darker and these
are some shades so you can see the
darkest colors sort of like a dark brown
but it's still quite saturated and rich
in color and then the light colors
basically like a pink and it still has a
lot of color it's just very light so you
can sort of use a general term to call
it lightness or brightness of the color
or if you just make it darker it's
called a shade if you make it lighter
it's called a tint so next up is color
groups this is probably one of the more
confusing parts of color theory I'll try
to make it pretty straightforward for
you all because it's pretty simple once
you understand it so I'm going to draw a
little color wheel here and I'm
basically going to show how different
colors relate to each other essentially
color groups are basically dis color
schemes you could use these color
screens for an artwork or for a painting
or anything you're creating it's just a
way that colors can look cool together
and sort of interactive each other so
what I've drawn right here is a
monochromatic color scheme it's
essentially what we just talked about
with tints and shades depth only one
color so if I was to make a painting
just out of reds and nothing else that
would be a monochrome color scheme and
it's one type of color scheme that we
can use the next is analagous or analog
for sure I guess you could say and this
is basically what color is next to
another color so I'm going to draw a
little color wheel here and this sort of
analog color scheme is basically picking
three colors on this color wheel and
they all just need to sit next to each
other so if I draw some little lines
here let's say we're going to pick
yellow and then we'll pick orange in the
middle out if we spell it right and then
we'll pick a red - and that's analagous
color scheme we've picked three colors
that all sit next to each other and this
can apply for any colors so if I just
rotate this over here and spin it around
it can work for any colors so I could
pick a green a yellow and an orange I
could pick a blue or purple on a red
they just need to sit next to each other
in the color wheel next is complementary
you'll probably hear this a lot in sort
of art and design and this is basically
colors that are opposite each other in
the color wheel you've probably seen a
lot of movie posters love to use the
colors orange and blue they're
complementary colors they work really
good together I'm saying with green and
red
and yellow and purple so basically it
doesn't matter what the colors are they
just need to be opposite each other in
the color wheel and they are
complementary colors the next color
group we're going to talk about is
triatic so this is essentially making a
triangle on the color wheel so if we
pick orange green and purple and make a
little triangle that's a triadic color
scheme they all sit at a triangles point
away from each other so if you just made
a perfect triangle anywhere in the color
wheel as long as they all sit evenly
that's a triadic color scheme there's a
lot more color schemes than these ones
I've just listed here though these are
sort of the core fundamental color
schemes or color groups and to be
completely honest you don't always use
all those other color groups it's more
or less theory you do apply it in like
when you're actually creating your
artwork though I can say as an artist
who works in the field I don't often
actually refer to the color groups and
the next part and one of the most
important parts is the meaning behind
colors so a lot of people don't actually
understand that a lot of colors are
picked for very specific reasons and
each color actually has a meaning behind
it and it gives off a certain emotion
whether you like it or not each color
actually does have a motion and meaning
behind it for anybody it's not
subjective um all of these colors do
actually give off a bodily sort of
emotion and an impact that we don't
actually realize so red is most commonly
associated with passion and danger and
fire and heat that's why stop signs are
red orange is often associated with
energy and creativity yellow is sort of
happiness joyfulness energy being active
you'll see this a lot of advertising
people using these colors as well black
sort of obvious um it's really
associated with death and also power as
well
green most commonly associated with
nature as well as healing and medicine
you see a lot of health symbols in games
be green for this reason blue is also a
calming color see a lot of hospitals
painted blue for this reason it's also
associated with wisdom purple is often
associated with wealth actually the
reason this is is because the color
purple the actual dye was a lot harder
to create and make a few hundred years
ago
so it was often only sort of worn by
kings and queens and Royals so that's
why it's sort of associated with that
and what is obviously known as sort of
purity and peace basically the opposite
of black we also have warm and cool
colors green is somewhat of a neutral
color but let's just say it's cool
so obviously red your orange yellow oil
somewhat warm colors blue purple and
green are somewhat cool colors and you
can also make any color on a color wheel
warm or cool so I've duplicated the
green here so you can see the dot on the
left of the green has a bit more yellow
added to it so it's a bit more warm and
then the dot to the right of the green
dot has a bit more blue added to it so
it's a bit more of a turquoise color and
that's more of a cool color so if people
refer to warm or cool colors it's
essentially how much yellow or how much
blue has been added to a color so yellow
being warm blue being cold so next I
have a little test for everybody
watching so I want you to go through
this with me so I'm gonna draw three
blue dots on my screen right now and I'd
like to basically get your idea of
what's happened to these blue dots so
I've got one I've got two I've got three
so on the first dot I'm going to change
something about this dot and I want you
to write in the comments what I've
changed about that dot the second dot
I'm gonna change something about this
dot as well I want you to let me know
what did I change what type of color
sort of meaning did I change and the
third dot I'm actually going to create a
color scheme and I want you to tell me
what color scheme or color group that
third sort of grouping is so write in
the comments what one two and three are
I love to hear all of your feedback so
that's it those are the basics of color
theory obviously there's a lot more to
it though I really do think once you
know those core things you really have a
way better understanding of what Col
theory is and how to actually create
artwork and work with colors once you
know those things that I've gone through
in the video you can really do anything
so I hope you enjoy the video of course
likewise if you have any ideas for
future videos or anything else you'd
like me to cover be sure let me know in
the comments I'd love to hear
everybody's feedback so I hope you have
an amazing to everybody it's been Julian
or flow graphics here see ya
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