Published 6 years ago

Important Concepts for Drawing in Color

In this article, we will discuss the concepts of drawing in color. You might ask, what is she talking about? Well, it's simple. It's about what makes up the color: hue, saturation, value, and the texture it can have depending on the material of the object. Different contrasts can be achieved with colors when they are mixed.

To begin, some definitions are necessary before getting to the heart of the matter.

COLOR: DEFINITION

Firstly, we will define what color is.

Color is the visual perception of the appearance of a surface or light, based, though not strictly tied to it, on the spectral distribution of light, which stimulates the specialized nerve cells located on the retina called cones. The nervous system transmits and processes the impulse to the visual cortex.

Color can be described in an artistic approach, which seeks guidance capable of directing practitioners in their perception of color and the use the pigments to reproduce or evoke the sensation of color. Of course, there are other aspects that come into play in this notion of color. Indeed, there are several approaches. There is the artistic approach, which is the one that interests us most in this article, but there is also the chemical, physical, physiological, and psychophysical approach to color that must also be taken into account.

But a color can also be defined by other characteristics:

The shade, which corresponds to the frequencies generating a color.
The value, which corresponds to the light amplitude defining a color.
The saturation, which corresponds to the purity of a color.

THE SHADE

The term "shade" is used to define a hue of color. However, it is more often the word "color" that is retained in popular language to describe the different shades such as violet, blue, green, etc. Shades are always classified in a very specific order corresponding to their physical properties.

Figure opposite: It shows the spectrum of light, which displays the hues in a very specific order. It is worth noting the absence of magenta.

A bit of general knowledge never hurt anyone! This classification dates back to the time when Isaac Newton studied the decomposition of light by refraction. Sunlight decomposes into 5 colors: violet, blue, green, yellow, and red. This range of colors, which corresponds to different wavelengths, is called the light spectrum.

The arrangement shown alongside refers to the spectrum of light. Here, the magenta hue is present, as it can be obtained by mixing blue and violet with a touch of red.

The hue is the parameter to which we are most sensitive in its variations. However, this sensitivity is directly linked to our Western culture. It is in the hue that we immediately notice the slightest color deviation. Perhaps the fact that we are able to name to very close nuances also reinforces this sensitivity. The same color deviation measured with an instrument using the saturation or brightness criteria will be much more difficult to discern.

There are many terms to describe shades that are very close in color

THE VALUE

The value corresponds to the light intensity of what you are painting. For example, imagine that you are using India ink. The more you dilute the ink, the lighter the grey gets. The more you dilute, the lower the value goes. On the contrary, pure ink represents a very strong value, a very intense black. To easily distinguish values, squint your eyes: by reducing the amount of light entering your eye, you use more rod cells, which are used for seeing at night; insensitive to color, they reveal the differences in light intensity.

Color concerns a notion of hue, complexly composed of red, blue, and yellow. Note that a red can have the same value as a yellow. Imagine taking a black and white photograph of a painting, all areas with the same gray intensity have the same value, even though they may be different colors.

In this painting by David, turned into black and white, we see that the value of the wall (medium grey: 50%) is the same as that of the red fabric. These two different colors have the same value. By squinting, you can find these values more easily. Having equal values allows light to circulate between different colors, rendering a lighting situation on different-colored materials.

THE EIGENVALUES OF PURE COLORS

Every gray is the eigenvalue of the color pictured above. Considering both simultaneously allows you to appreciate each color's unique color vibration as well as its weight in terms of value.

THE VALUES OF THE COLOR WHEEL

The color wheel is organized according to the complementarity of colors, not their value. To make it easier to read the values, they are grouped in the figure opposite.

In the color wheel below, each ring corresponds to a given value. We can see that colors with a dark inherent value retain the purity of their color on the periphery of the circle, and vice versa for light colors.

COLOR SATURATION

Saturation refers to the purity or brightness of a color. It is determined by the absence of white. A color with 100% saturation contains no white. A color with 0% saturation is a shade of gray. A hue is the property that defines a particular color. For example, blue, green, and red are all hues.

As a reminder: the tint represents the actual color (red or yellow, for example).

So saturation represents the brilliance of the color. For example, take a highly saturated color, such as bright orange. As the saturation is reduced (while keeping the hue and brightness), the orange color takes on a brownish hue, then taupe, and finally medium-neutral gray (once the saturation is reduced to zero). Reducing saturation purges the color, leaving only the gray component. Taupe and mauve colors are characteristic of relatively low saturation because they are quite neutral, with just a touch of color. On the other hand, apple red and banana yellow are colors characteristic of high saturation. Saturation measures the difference of a color relative to a neutral gray of the same brightness.

Here is a saturation scale of the color yellow to help you better understand this concept:

To understand the importance of saturation, I'll show you two extremes:

In this first image, the colors are overly saturated. When saturation is pushed to the extreme, the realism is quickly lost and the image can become overwhelming.

Although the second image is a bit dull and lacking in saturation, it remains easy on the eye. In reality, when you create your drawings, you'll need to find a happy medium.

If you want to create a realistic drawing, such as painting from a model, painting a landscape, or creating concept art for a movie, your color choice will certainly tend more towards the desaturated side. Whereas if you wish to create drawings in a more stylized, cartoonish, or fantastical style, the balance will lean more towards highly saturated colors. Of course, it is important to avoid extremes.

Here is the range of action that can be used for realistic drawings:

If we use a saturation scale ranging from 0 to 100, with 100 being maximum saturation and 0 being maximum desaturation, we will limit ourselves to 10% to 80% for a realistic drawing, while favoring an average of 30% to 60%.

And on the contrary, to create a stylized, cartoon drawing, expand your palette from 5% to 90%, favoring an average of 50% to 70%.

Here is what happens in terms of the gray value when desaturating a color; here are two examples summarizing saturation.

To summarize all this, and to draw the color correctly:

First, define the value of the objects you wish to draw.

Second, define the hue and saturation of each object.

Third, define the shadows and the light.

THE COLOR ACCORDING TO SHADOWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

Now that you understand these concepts, there are also other parameters that need to be taken into account when drawing color. There is the texture, which will depend on the object you've chosen to draw. Its highlights and shadows will depend on the environment. That is, depending on whether the atmosphere is oppressive or joyful, you will use different colors to give your drawing meaning.

I will give you concrete examples before moving on to the next section. David Harrington explains the process to follow to create an illustration, concept, or image step by step:

First, start with a sketch.

Subsequently, define the values of the object.

Incorporating the previously discussed concepts: Gray values.

Next comes saturation and hue.

And to finish, the shadows and highlights.

^{reference: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/d36QX}

THE COLOR ACCORDING TO THE MOOD

There can be different atmospheres of light and shadows that you can encounter to bring an image to life. Below are some concrete examples. For instance, Claire Hummel treats the same subject with different lights, giving the image different moods.

So, color itself is a hue to which we add a value and saturation. This allows us to convey an emotion, tell a story, and evoke feelings. Let's illustrate these ideas with the work of Stefano Scuccimarra:

^{ref: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nZNgE}

We can see that the images contain a certain balance between the different colors due to the combinations made between them.

THE DIFFERENT COLOR COMBINATIONS

To begin, we have the 3 primary colors: blue, red, and yellow. They are also called elementary colors because they cannot be created by mixing other colors together. See figure 1. Mixed together, they allow us to obtain secondary colors, which are orange, violet, and green. See figure 2.

Figure 1

Figure 2

We end up with a broader palette of colors, which gives us this:

Then we can mix primary and secondary colors to obtain an infinite number of tertiary colors. For example: mixing yellow and orange gives us yellow-orange, red and purple will give us red-violet and so on. To better understand this, let's illustrate it:

As you can see, there are a multitude of possible color combinations.

THE TEMPERATURE

From the previous images, we can see that the colors form a circle: the color wheel. See the example on the left.

Notice that the color wheel can be divided into two parts with warm colors on one side and cool colors on the other, as shown in this figure on the right.

Here is an example of how Andrey Egorov uses warm and cool colors in the same image. We can see that colors can be combined in many ways. We have seen the combination of colors of different temperatures - warm and cold. Let's move on to complementary colors.

COMPLEMENTARY COLORS

A complementary color is always opposite itself on the color wheel. I'll give you an example. On the color wheel, we will choose yellow and its complementary color will be purple. Similarly, if you pick blue, its complementary color will be orange and so on.

ANALOGOUS COLORS

There is another type of combination: using neighboring colors in the color wheel. This is a very harmonious combination. It consists of a group of colors that have the same types of shades. Here is an example to better illustrate my point.

TRIADIC COLORS

Triadic colors are obtained by taking three equidistant colors on the color wheel. They offer a good compromise between colors. There is a certain balance that makes it easier to attract the eye. Here is what an equilateral triangle palette looks like.

Here is a good example demonstrating the application of triadic colors by LeeJee. The colors work with each other to create harmony, bringing the image to life.

^{ref: https://huaban.com/pins/308224129/zoom/}

MONOCHROME COLORS

There is also another possible combination: monochrome or tone on tone. It consists of light, medium, and dark shades of the same color. Each shade must be sufficiently different to be distinguishable from the others. This results in a simple and elegant effect.

Here is a good example of monochrome work by Exphrasis. We can see that the image is cold and almost lifeless. It can be boring, but it is still pleasant to look at. That's the feeling that using monochrome can bring.

To conclude this article, we will summarize everything that we have seen. All the concepts we have discussed help to create an atmosphere for an illustration, a concept, a character design, or an environment. You have several ways to establish your chosen atmosphere with the following color combinations:

Here is one last example to make sure you've fully understood everything. Here is a concept by Ming Fan, showing us the different steps to follow to create a color illustration.

Editor: Laure-Hélène