Art Teachers HATE this trick | COLOR THEORY | Drawlikeasir

Summary

The video introduces the fundamentals of color theory, guiding viewers through concepts like hue, value, and saturation. The creator uses various artwork examples to explain how color choices impact the mood and harmony of a piece, demonstrating techniques like monochromatic schemes, analogous colors, and complementary contrast. A focus is also placed on the importance of color context and aerial perspective to enhance the overall composition. The video aims to equip both digital and traditional artists with practical knowledge to improve their use of color in art while promoting a new art calendar and magazine.

Takeaways

• 🎨 Colour theory is essential to understanding how to use colours effectively in art, whether for backgrounds, humans, comics, or other forms of media.
• 🔵 The first colour that comes to mind for the mast of the ship is 'blue' or 'bluish hue.'
• 🟡 Hue refers to the type of colour, such as red, green, or blue. Value is the brightness of the colour, and saturation measures the intensity of the colour.
• 🖍️ Artists often mistakenly choose the most intense colours for their work, but balance between intense and muted colours is key for better results.
• 🖼️ Monochromatic schemes (using one hue in various values and saturations) and analogous schemes (using hues next to each other on the colour wheel) create harmony and soothing effects in artwork.
• 🔄 Complementary contrasts (colours opposite on the colour wheel) create vibrant but tricky compositions, while triad schemes (using three evenly spaced colours) can make artwork more dynamic.
• 🌳 The aerial perspective technique, where colours in the background shift toward blue and become lighter and less saturated, makes artworks feel more integrated and realistic.
• 👥 Colour context is important: the same colour can look different based on its surrounding colours, as seen with skin tones in contrast to the background.
• 🖼️ Artists should plan their colour schemes before starting to paint, thinking about the overall mood they want to create using the colour wheel.
• 📚 The speaker offers a calendar featuring some of their best artworks, combined with a making-of magazine that details the process behind each artwork.

Q & A

What is the significance of the 'blue' color in the quiz at the start of the video?

The 'blue' color was used to introduce the concept of color and ease viewers into the subject of color theory, highlighting how colors can be interpreted differently based on individual perception.

What are the three basic elements of color theory mentioned in the video?

The three basic elements of color theory mentioned are Hue (the actual color, like red, blue, green), Value (the brightness or darkness of the color), and Saturation (the intensity of the color).

Why do digital artists often make mistakes with highly saturated colors?

Digital artists often mistakenly think that intense colors are always better, using the most saturated hues, but this can lead to unbalanced or garish artwork. Understanding when to use softer, less saturated colors is crucial for achieving harmony.

What is a monochromatic color scheme, and how is it used in art?

A monochromatic color scheme uses variations of a single hue by adjusting its brightness (value) and saturation. It creates harmonious and often soothing artwork, as seen in the artist’s older blue-toned works.

What is the difference between analogous and complementary color schemes?

Analogous color schemes use colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, creating harmony and softness, while complementary color schemes use colors that are opposite on the wheel, creating contrast and visual interest.

What is 'aerial perspective' and how does it affect colors in artwork?

'Aerial perspective' refers to the phenomenon where objects in the background appear more blueish and less saturated as they get farther away. This technique helps create depth and makes the environment feel more realistic.

How does color context affect how we perceive colors in a painting?

Color context refers to how surrounding colors influence the perception of a specific color. For example, a red color can appear more intense or dull depending on the colors around it, like how skin tones seem darker on a white background.

What role does saturation play in creating harmonious or contrasting color schemes?

Saturation plays a key role in determining the intensity of a color. More saturated colors are bold and intense, while less saturated colors are softer. Understanding how to balance these elements can create harmony or deliberate contrast in an artwork.

Why is planning your color scheme before painting important?

Planning your color scheme beforehand helps ensure your artwork has a consistent mood and balance. Using tools like the color wheel allows artists to make informed choices about which hues, values, and saturation levels will work best together.

What is the purpose of the artist's cheat sheet mentioned at the end of the video?

The cheat sheet is designed to provide viewers with basic information on color theory, offering a quick reference guide to the key concepts covered in the video, such as hue, saturation, value, and color schemes.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Surprise Question and Colour Theory Basics

The video opens with a fun surprise question, asking the audience to guess the color of the ship's mast—it's blue, with a 'blueish hue.' The host uses this as a transition into the topic of color theory. They aim to introduce viewers to the essentials of using color in art, covering the importance of understanding hues, value (brightness), and saturation (intensity). The host emphasizes that knowing how to control these elements can make a significant difference in creating impactful artwork, whether traditional or digital.

05:01

🖌️ Monochromatic and Analogous Colors

The host explains how to use the color wheel to decide the mood and tone of an artwork. They begin with 'monochromatic colors,' a scheme where only one hue is used, with variations in lightness and saturation. They show examples of older artworks that follow this method. Then, they move on to 'analogous colors,' where hues close to each other on the color wheel are used to create harmony in the artwork. This approach, while simple, results in soothing, cohesive visuals. They add humor by joking about the pronunciation of 'analogous.'

10:05

🎨 Complementary Contrast and Triad Schemes

Moving to more advanced color schemes, the host introduces 'complementary contrast,' where hues from opposite sides of the color wheel are paired to create striking effects. They caution that this can sometimes lead to over-the-top results but, when done right, adds depth and vibrancy. The host also touches on 'triad color schemes,' where three hues forming a triangle on the color wheel are used. They share personal challenges in applying this scheme but encourage viewers to experiment with it in their own art.

🌳 Aerial Perspective and Environmental Impact on Colors

The host delves into the concept of 'aerial perspective,' explaining how colors change depending on how far objects are from the viewer. For example, trees in the background shift toward blue hues and become lighter and less saturated to simulate depth. This technique, widely used in photography and film, can also apply to characters, making them feel like they blend into their environment. The host emphasizes that mastering these techniques can elevate the realism and cohesion of an artwork.

🏝️ Practical Tips on Colour Context and Backgrounds

The host wraps up by discussing 'color context,' explaining how the same color can appear different depending on its surroundings. They provide a simple example, showing how red stands out more on certain backgrounds. This principle is vital when coloring backgrounds and characters to ensure they complement each other. They demonstrate how foreground elements should be more saturated and true to their hue, while background elements shift to fit their environment. The host offers a 'cheat sheet' to summarize key points and encourages viewers to like or comment in exchange for it.

Keywords

💡Hue

Hue refers to the specific color being used, such as red, green, or blue. In the video, the speaker explains that hue is a basic concept in color theory, representing the pure color without considering brightness or intensity. The term 'hue' is central to understanding how colors function and is used in examples where an artwork is created using only one hue, such as monochromatic designs.

💡Value

Value describes the brightness or darkness of a color. It is a critical aspect of color theory that helps define the mood and visual depth of a painting. In the video, value is explained as how light or dark a color is, which can affect how colors interact in an artwork, such as making a color appear brighter or more subdued depending on the context.

💡Saturation

Saturation refers to the intensity of a color. Highly saturated colors are more vivid and intense, while low saturation results in more muted, grayish tones. The video highlights that artists should avoid using overly saturated colors in their work to prevent a garish appearance. Balancing saturation is crucial for creating visually appealing artwork.

💡Monochromatic

Monochromatic means using only one hue in a design, while varying the value and saturation to create depth and interest. The video uses older artworks to illustrate how monochromatic schemes can still be visually striking, even though they use a single hue, such as shades of blue.

💡Analogous Colors

Analogous colors are hues that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, which creates a harmonious and soothing effect in art. In the video, the speaker emphasizes how easy it is to create aesthetically pleasing art by choosing analogous colors, showing examples of artworks that use similar hues for a smooth transition between colors.

💡Complementary Contrast

Complementary contrast involves using colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel to create a strong visual impact. In the video, the speaker explains that while this technique can be risky (leading to potentially garish results), when used correctly, it can make certain elements, like characters or objects, stand out dramatically. The example given is of a character's green hair contrasting with a red background.

💡Triad Color Scheme

A triad color scheme uses three colors that are evenly spaced on the color wheel, forming a triangle. This is a more advanced color scheme that can be challenging to implement. The video includes an example of an artwork where the artist tried using this scheme but modified it slightly for better effect, highlighting the complexity and flexibility of this technique.

💡Color Harmony

Color harmony refers to the visually pleasing arrangement of colors in a composition. The video explains that deciding on a color scheme before starting an artwork is essential to creating balance and mood. Whether using monochromatic, analogous, or complementary contrasts, achieving harmony ensures that the artwork is cohesive and appealing.

💡Aerial Perspective

Aerial perspective is the technique of making objects in the background appear lighter, less saturated, and cooler in hue to simulate the effect of distance. The video explains how this concept can make landscapes or scenes feel more realistic, such as making distant trees appear bluish compared to those in the foreground.

💡Color Context

Color context refers to how colors are perceived differently depending on their surroundings. The video illustrates this concept by showing how the same color can stand out or blend in depending on what other colors are nearby. For example, red may appear more vibrant against a neutral background but less noticeable next to similarly bright colors.

Highlights

The mast of the ship is described as having a 'blueish hue'.

The video aims to introduce viewers to color theory basics.

Color theory is essential for various art forms, including backgrounds, humans, comics, anime, and manga.

The artist shares personal experiences with traditional and digital art mediums.

A surprise sponsorship reveal adds an engaging element to the video.

The artist discusses a year-long project involving 12 challenging artworks.

A calendar and making-of magazine are introduced as unique art products.

The importance of understanding color's value, saturation, and hue is emphasized.

The video explains how to choose colors that can make or break an artwork.

Color harmony techniques, such as monochromatic, analogous, and complementary schemes, are discussed.

The concept of aerial perspective in art is introduced with examples.

Practical tips on how to apply color theory to character designs are provided.

The video demonstrates the impact of color context on an artwork's overall appearance.

A cheat sheet with basic color information is offered for viewers.

The artist encourages viewers to support the video for more content on color theory.

A call to action for viewers to like, comment, or share the video is made.

Transcripts

Surprise Question!

. nah, that's the wrong one... oh yeah! That's the one:

Which colour does the mast of this ship have. Don't cheat! Just the first colour that  comes into your mind. Pause the video,  

Write it down or just leave a quick comment- I'm gonna say it now, you ready?...

it's.. Blue. Or it has a.. "blueish hue" to be precise.

When I asked this very same question on  stream, a couple of you guys actually guessed  

correctly so I think there might be some of you that have guessed this right as well.

Bottom line, colour's a fascinating topic  and what we're gonan do today – is to ease  

you into the topic of how all of  this works, aka colour theory. 

I'll be showing you some  basics on how colour works,  

what you need to know for starters and all of  this should hopefully help you when using colour 

on not only backgrounds but also  humans, comics, anime manga etc.

You guys know, I'm mostly a traditional  artist, but for today I will also be  

showing you a couple of digital pieces  I made as well because showing you 

how all of this works with colour wheel is  just a bit easier to understand I feel like.

Oh, by the way, in case you didn't  really do well on the quiz eralier,  

here's your chance to redeem yourself: 

Who do you think sponsors today's  video? You might be suprised. 

Is it – raid shadow legends, is it skillshare,  is it ALL of the above or is it – me

I'm today's sponsor I know, Not everyone  

follows my social media, which is why I decided  to refuse ALL the sponsorship offers I got 

just tell you this way: I've spent THE WHOLE year up util  

now to paint 12 of the MOST difficult Artworks  I've ever made in my life, I've thaught myelf  

a WHOLE new medium in order to paint these. And I did this so that I could make THE best  

combination of Artbook and Poster you  could have - That's right, a calendar! 

I'm a big fan of physical calendars  personally.. because I always get  

sick of the same posters after, like, a month )=)- so yeah, Instead of making these artworks posters,  

I've made a whole calendar out of them  and it's now available in my online shop, 

together with a making-of magazine on how I  approached every single one of these drawings  

and how I've drawn them - in case you want  to see the whole making of process as well. 

This making of Magazine goes  into detail on how I made  

every single one of these artworks  and explains how I approched them. 

It's available as long as the  calendar is still in stock. 

I'm not even exagurating when I say that  these just have to be some of THE best  

artworks I have ever made , some even  took me several weeks to get finished. 

And obviously, it's a calendar, so  it's not gonna be around forever,  

so if you want to have this calendar you still  have time until late december to get this one.  

Thank you guys all so much for the support,  I really appreciate it - be it by ordering  

something in my onlineshop or just the  usual support like thumbning up this video.

Now, I guess you guys want to paint like  this as well one day – so in that case,  

it's time to learn colour theory.. Like a sir!  

Let's start start with the very VERY basics. 

You need to know about 3 basic things,  these are Value, Saturation aaaand – HUEGH-

(yeah, that's probablyhowthat'spronounced Hue is, in laymans terms, the colour you're  

using. Red, green, blue, these are all hues.  Not talking about brightness or anything.

And, spreaking of which, value is just  another word for brightness. Meaning,  

how bright or how dark your colour is. Also – preeetty self explainatory.

Where things are getting more interesting,  though, is when it comes to saturation. 

Saturaion basically means how intense your colour  is. A lot of saturation means it's really intense,  

low saturation means your colours basically gray.

This is where digital artists always  make the mistake of thinking - "Yea,  

of COURSE I want to have Intense colours! I'm using the most intense red! The most  

intense green! The most intense blue colour" But.. In reality, nobody does that.

And that's how instead of these artworks.. You  often times get results like these instead. 

So knowing how to choose colour can  literally make or break an artwork.

You have to know when a hue should  be maybe a bit more reddish.. 

Or when a a colou has to be  a bit darker or lighter... 

Or when a colour should be REALLY intense...  and when it should be a bit softer.

And that's preciseley why you are  watching this video right now,  

because you now just understood the  most important thing about colours!

You understood that there are differnt  hues, like green, yellow, blue or red.. 

Colour can be MORE.. Or LESS intense... and it can be darker or brighter.  

So basically, you understood how colour  works within just a couple of minutes. 

A lot of people are confused or overwhelemd  by the sight of colour wheels or the colour  

selecter in their app - But you now at least now  

how to read und use this correctly. And now that you kinda understand how  

this works, lets ease you into this topic with  some nice ways to use colours in your art:

Let's talk about Colour harmony first. Because before beginning to paint your  

artwork, it's always helpful to think about what  colours you could use before you start painting. 

And this colour wheel is an extreme help here. 

It could answer the question on "What  mood should my artwork have?"

Here's a very easy example for  starters, monochromatic colours. 

This is a fancy word for saying "I'm just  using one colour". These artworks of mine  

are a bit older, but they are a good example.- So, I've drawn this artwork with only one HUE  

– but the colour can obviously get darker  or lighter or more and less saturated. 

As long as the hue doesn't  change, it's still monochramtic.

Here's also an example with blue as a hue. Again,  

parts of this artwork get darker or  lighter etc. But the hue never changes.

The next trickier one is  having an ANALogous colors. 

ANALogous basically means the hues  you're picking for your artwork  

should be right next to one another. This is a pretty common colour scheme  

that you can see in a lot of artworks, because  it's pretty easy to make an artwork with just  

a couple of similar colours. But just look at  it - it always looks so harmonic and soothing-  

And nooo- it's not ANALougus, doesn't  have to do anything with anal...

and NO, it also doesn't have to  do anything with AMONGUS-

This works in the complete  opposite as well, by the way.  

You could also work by painting with contrast. The most common one is obviously complimentary  

contrast, this basically just means you have  to pick 2 hues in this colour wheel that are 

on the complete opposite to one another. Just imagine how boring this artwork of hades  

would look if I ALSO gave him a green outfit  - along with his green hait and green fire.  

Complementary contrast CAN be  tricky, because there's always  

the risk of your artwork looking like  a birthday card made by a 8-year old. 

But if you are planning this correctly, this  could improve your art by a landslide.

Of course, there are a LOT of different  schemes, but the last one I'm showing  

you before we actually apply this  stuff is a triad colour scheme. 

You might have guessed it from the name,  but this means you're using colours that  

align in a perfect triangle in the colour wheel. This would be an easy example: in this artworkI  

just took the wasy way of using one colour..  And just throwing the other colours in the 

background. But now just.. Imagine  

how boring and monotonous this artwork would look  with – for example – you wouldn't have the orange 

part in this artwork. I've got to admit,  

I basically never tried painting a triad before,  there was always something missing because  

it really can be tricky to use exactly these colours.

For example, in this artwork I  was almost able to get a nice  

triad scheme... but these trees  are green, so if I replaced them 

with something yellow I would've  had a nie triad colour scheme.

I also tried to tackle this with the march-motive  for my calendar. This is also pretty much a triad. 

I don't know if this counts, but I just couldn't  help myself, I had to use puprle shadow on this. 

It's not AS prominent, but it  still doesn't really count I  

assume. Whaddaya think? Also, you can also apply  

this to character designs. Arizona has a warm, analougus  

colout scheme which has a very harmonic vibe. Pep is more based on a complementary contrast,  

just in order to highlight  the golden horn on his beak. 

Just try looking out for this when looking at  artworks and character designs from other artists, 

you will be amazed how many artists make  use of this knowledge.

Now, those were things that happen PRIOR  to painting, let's get more practical. 

Most important thing is that you understood how  these three elements of making a colour work.

The first thing that's so  fascinating to me is Colour context. 

Here's a simple example: Both of these artworks  

contain the very same color. But on the left, the red stands  

out a LOT more than on the right. On the right example, you almost  

have to focus in order to distuingish  the red colour from the background.

And one instance where ALL of you expereienced  this phenomenon before was with skin coloration. 

Colouring the skin first always makes it look so  damn dark.. Which makes sense, considering the  

white background is such a harsh contrast. 

I don't think I have to spell this out  for you, you get it at this point, right? 

But if you colour everything in.. Well, then  the skin almost looks pale in comparison.

And this phenomenon of colour context is  absolutely cruical when it comes to painting  

full artworks with backgrounds. Here's the artwork from before: 

If I'm painting trees in the back, these  trees are getting more and more blue-ish. 

I'm also VERY sure you HAVE seen this  before somewhere, be it photography,  

movies or videogames. this is very  basic knowledge a lot of artists apply. 

This phenomenon is called "Aerial  perspective" - and, in case you wonder  

WHY it's called thatway then happy reading Yeah, IDon't really.. Know myself

Anyway, the aerial perspective  obviously depends on your background,  

so you can't just change your mind on the background like "oh yeah, I kinda wanted  

to have this artwork play late at noon thoough"  - that's not really gonna work out like this.

And, before you ask, this can also  be applied to characters as well. 

Just like the trees from before changed according  to the environment, so can your characters. 

A green environment would obviously  also have an effect on the character.

Artworks that incorporate these kind of  thechniques always look so much more lively.  

Small things like these can sometimes make all the difference. 

That's because, this way, it always feels like  these characters are actually blending into the  

environment. Without this effect, they would kinda of stick out... 

I think you know where this is going, right? Okay, so let's try this out together  

with these trees as an easy example. The more these trees are in the background,  

the more the HUE shifts towards blue. It's not  BECOMING blue, it's just shifting towards it. 

So, for example, the brown part of this tree  would not just SUDDENLY BECOME BLUE... but it  

would shift slightly towards it. So it would be more green-ish. 

Also, it would be less  saturated... and a bit lighter.  

And you could also reverse-engineer this,  because by that logic the more things are in  

the foreground, they can have their actual hue, they can be more saturated and they also don't  

have to be as light anymore. And yeah, you don't HAVE to apply  

this knowledge, but if you can apply it, this  can make for some really nice effects and some 

moreimpressive landscapes. And now, this brings us back to  

the example from eralier, to my sea of  thieves fanart with all the blue hues in it. 

Look at this artwork without it's background..  And it looks so uncomfortably blue. 

But the artwork blends perfectly into a  blue background, it almost blends into it. 

Y'now, just like before – color context  really is the most vital element here.  

So yeah, if you're painting digitally, you can  adjust your colours in this handy colour wheel. 

If you're painting traditionally you have  to mix colours accordingly. Don't worry,  

I've made a video for all of  you traditional painters where 

I have a segment about mixing colours. I think  this could help you out if you have any trouble.  

And yeah, you sadly HAVE to do  this because if you DON'T... 

Y'now, I'll just add a palmtree with  "regular" colours" so without any  

aerial perspective or blueish hues. Yeah, maybe the colours on this tree  

look a bit niver, but just look  at how hard this one sticks out. 

It's almost like this tree doesn't belong here,  it really doesn't blend into the bigger picture. 

And that's what you want to do here,  painting a bigger picture that looks good  

when you look at it as a whole. Now, as a comparison there's  

also a palmtree in the very foreground. And this one has it's original hue, not blueish,  

it's a lot darker and has some more saturation. So this also works in the reverse way as well.  

now, since all of this was a lot, I went  the extra mile and took the time out 

of my day to make you guys a cheat  sheet with the most basic information. 

Nooow,... what could one  screenshot cost.. well, you decide. 

You can pay via a like or a comment  as an exchange for one screenshot.  

And all of this is just the tip of the iceberg! I have some other videos about colour that  

I would really want to make but  sadly videos about colouring are 

always the worst performing ones on my  channel. So I'd be happy if you pished  

this video as much as possible so that more people get the chance to  

see it. Other than that, I have some more  videos about colouring in my playlist. 

Thank you so much for watching and  I will see you next time.