Colour Theory

Turning a drawing into colour can be a challenge. There are so many possibilities that it is easy to feel lost. In this article, I will introduce you to how colours work and their arrangement: colour theory.

WHAT DEFINES A COLOR?

A colour is defined by three components: value, saturation, and hue. Value determines whether a colour is dark or light. Saturation is used to determine whether a colour is dull or bright. Finally, the hue is the very nature of the colour. A colour is generally summarized by its hue: blue, yellow, green, red…

THE CONTRASTS

In drawing, contrasts are the differences between two objects. The more different the objects are, the stronger the contrast. A legible drawing is a well-contrasted drawing. Contrasts are found everywhere: in shapes, composition… And colours!

As previously seen, colours have three components. Therefore, it is possible to have three different contrasts: value contrast, saturation contrast, and hue contrast.

In terms of value, you should therefore choose dark, light but also medium colours. Black and white, being the most extreme values, should be used sparingly. Do not hesitate to have a varied range of values. When starting out, you generally do not dare to darken or lighten a subject too much. However, a design with too many average values will appear much flatter than one with well-distributed values.

Our eye is very sensitive to variations in value, so take the time to distribute them well. Tip: In digital, it is easy to desaturate the drawing to eliminate saturation and hue and thus display it in greyscale. Get used to doing this from time to time and you will visualise the values much better.

Saturation is a bit more complex to master. The eye is very attracted to bright colors, so you should prioritize them for the important elements of your subject. This is what will guide the gaze in your composition. Muted colours will give the eye a rest and are generally used for more secondary elements. However, be careful with bright colours: the eye is very sensitive to them and an oversaturated drawing can be unpleasant to look at. Try to limit the brightest colorus to the small details of your drawing.

THE CASE OF THE TINT

Hue contrast is a bit peculiar. Unlike value and saturation, hue is not measured on a scale. It is most often represented in the form of a circle: the colour wheel. This is a circle on which all hues are arranged.

These shades are obtained by mixing three base colours. These are the primary colors. There are two types of primary colors, depending on the type of colour synthesis used. Simply put, subtractive synthesis is used for traditional drawing (painting, pencils, markers) and additive synthesis is used for digital drawing.

Subtractive synthesis consists of mixing materials (felt layers, paint, etc.) to absorb more light. The primary colours will be yellow, cyan and magenta. Mixing these three colours results in black.

Additive synthesis represents the mixing of light rays. The primary colours are red, green and blue. Mixing these three colours results in white.

Mixing two primary colours together produces the entire colour wheel. Two hues that face each other are called complementary: they produce black or white when mixed, depending on the type of synthesis. For example, the complementary colour of magenta is green.

WHAT IS COLOUR SCHEME?

A colour scheme is a group of colours that go well together. There are many different types, but I will present the main ones that will help you create your palettes. A scheme is always built around a main colour and can contain as many secondary colours as you wish.

The simplest scheme is the monochrome scheme. To create a monochrome, you need a main colour and variations of saturation and value of the same colour.

For more variety, you can also use shades close to the main colour to make up the palette. Here we will discuss the arrangement of neighbouring colours.

Another widely used scheme is the complementary scheme. In this case, we vary the colours of our palette according to the main colour and its complementary colour.

A common variation of this arrangement is the shared complementary scheme. Instead of using the colour complementary to the main one, its neighbors are used.

There are many other scheme that are more or less difficult to use, don't hesitate to experiment!

CREATE YOUR PALETTE FOR DRAWING IN COLOUR

To compose your palette, you must then choose a colour scheme and a number of colours to use. It is important to limit the number of colours so as not to disperse attention. Generally, a palette ranges from 3 to 9 colours. A good compromise for beginners is to limit yourself to 5 colours: this way you will have a sufficient range without having to juggle too many colours. A little tip: choose an odd number of colours. This way you will have a majority of colours using the main colour and a minority for secondary colours.

Here are some examples of palettes generated from different arrangements: 

You will notice that black, white, and grey are not present. As these colours have no hue, they go well with everything. You can consider them as "bonus" colours for your palettes.

You now have all the tools you need to add colour to your designs! Don't hesitate to experiment, try out different layouts and palettes and expand your palettes as you learn colour theory!

Written and illustrated by Louis Grieves