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I (and millions of other people) am finding out that much of what I learned is school isn't quite true. No news there. Just a question.
How do you know what a color's complement is? Evidently it is much more complicated than I was taught. Take the three primary colors. How do you know what their complementary colors are? From what I saw this morning, they are the colors that would not be involved in mixes. Red and blue make purple. Red and yellow make orange. No green involved in either. Green is the complementary color?
I know. I sound stupid to the well-informed artist but can you please explain how you know?
the 3 basic colors are red, yellow and blue. (I think this came from when artists had to mix their own paints and used these 3 to make everything else but these colors couldn't be made. Not sure-will google that when I get time)
anyway, if you take red, mix the other 2-blue and yellow, you get green. Green is the complement of red.
orange is a mix of red and yellow, What's left? blue. Blue and orange are complements.
the 3 basic colors are red, yellow and blue. (I think this came from when artists had to mix their own paints and used these 3 to make everything else but these colors couldn't be made. Not sure-will google that when I get time)
anyway, if you take red, mix the other 2-blue and yellow, you get green. Green is the complement of red.
orange is a mix of red and yellow, What's left? blue. Blue and orange are complements.
I see a glimmer of light there. Red/Yellow/Blue. Orange has red and yellow and there are the three primary colors. We used a wheel and drew lines and that's what I've lost. Not sure now that it worked anyway. Your way makes perfect sense. Thanks. Now to the statements from the article I was trying to read. But that is more about what your vision does.
There are primary colors: red, blue and yellow. No mix of color can make these colors.
There are the secondary colors: the colors made from the primary: orange, green and violet (not purple, purple is a made up name from Crayola).
The opposite of red is green because it is made from blue and yellow. For blue it is orange, for yellow it is violet. These are the complimentary colors.
Then there are the tertiary colors- those that are found by mixing a primary and secondary: blue-green, yellow green, red-orange, yellow orange, red-violet, blue violet.
Anything that is opposite of a color will be the (straight) compliment.
But...then there is split compliment, double split compliment, triadic, and analogous (as well as monochromatic).
A split compliment would be- for example, red and green are complimentary, to make a split, take the two colors on either side of the green (for red) which would be yellow-green and blue green.
There are primary colors: red, blue and yellow. No mix of color can make these colors.
There are the secondary colors: the colors made from the primary: orange, green and violet (not purple, purple is a made up name from Crayola).
The opposite of red is green because it is made from blue and yellow. For blue it is orange, for yellow it is violet. These are the complimentary colors.
Then there are the tertiary colors- those that are found by mixing a primary and secondary: blue-green, yellow green, red-orange, yellow orange, red-violet, blue violet.
Anything that is opposite of a color will be the (straight) compliment.
But...then there is split compliment, double split compliment, triadic, and analogous (as well as monochromatic).
A split compliment would be- for example, red and green are complimentary, to make a split, take the two colors on either side of the green (for red) which would be yellow-green and blue green.
Gets complicated, doesn't it. I don't know how well a primary and its complementary color blend but red and green together have never felt right to me. How did Christmas latch onto a combination of red and green? They clash. Does yellow and violet clash?
Another topic that is. Thanks much. I now know how it is done.
I know what you mean by clash. I am not much on putting red and green together, it is just not appealing to me. However take a tint of red, which would be pink, and that goes rather well with green. I do like the combination of yellow and violet, as does Mother Nature. She puts the two together in many different flowers, pansies and iris are the two that come to mind right off the top of my head.
The blue and orange combination was very popular for interier design in the 60's.
It's a confusing thing, the English language. We take 'complimentary' to mean goes well together, and with color, sometimes it does. But at the same time, with color, there is contrast, which would 'indicate' a play 'against' each other. Darks and lights provide this contrast, but so do the complimentary colors.
Get right shade of orange next to the right shade of blue and we get a 'color vibration'. This is not just a term, but an actual visual effect. We mostly recognize this vibration from poorly designed websites. Ever come across a web page where the text jiggled on the background and was increadibly hard to read? That's the color vibration.
It can be a little confusing at first to get the idea of what color is opposite of another when all 12 colors are present. Having an actual color wheel makes it easier to reference, especially when getting into double split compliments and triadic color combinations of the tertiary colors.
One of my painting instructors says, an artist can never make too many color wheels. There are so many variations of pigment, cool and warm colors that when one goes to paint something, a color study that is making a wheel with the colors one thinks they may us is sometimes needed. It may be that the combination of primary colors chosen may not produce the values and intensity that the artist desires. With that one may choose to change the blue used, do another study and then like to looks.
Last edited by OwlKaMyst; 08-24-2013 at 01:55 PM..
Reason: Autocorrect is stupid
Oh- and I don't think the question about Christmas and red and green would need a new discussion. We are still talking compliments here.
I cannot say for sure how Christmas got that combination, but if I were to guess, Holly.
Holly has its dark green leaves with bright red berries. It is an old pagan tradition to bring in 'boughs of holly' into the home during the winter solstice.
If I was forced to decorate using the traditional red and green, I'd keep that dark forest green, a cool shade of the color as opposed to warm, and go with a deep cool red that has a touch of violet to get away from the 'firetruck' red.
I know what you mean by clash. I am not much on putting red and green together, it is just not appealing to me. However take a tint of red, which would be pink, and that goes rather well with green. I do like the combination of yellow and violet, as does Mother Nature. She puts the two together in many different flowers, pansies and iris are the two that come to mind right off the top of my head.
The blue and orange combination was very popular for interier design in the 60's.
It's a confusing thing, the English language. We take 'complimentary' to mean goes well together, and with color, sometimes it does. But at the same time, with color, there is contrast, which would 'indicate' a play 'against' each other. Darks and lights provide this contrast, but so do the complimentary colors.
Get right shade of orange next to the right shade of blue and we get a 'color vibration'. This is not just a term, but an actual visual effect. We mostly recognize this vibration from poorly designed websites. Ever come across a web page where the text jiggled on the background and was increadibly hard to read? That's the color vibration.
It can be a little confusing at first to get the idea of what color is opposite of another when all 12 colors are present. Having an actual color wheel makes it easier to reference, especially when getting into double split compliments and triadic color combinations of the tertiary colors.
One of my painting instructors says, an artist can never make too many color wheels. There are so many variations of pigment, cool and warm colors that when one goes to paint something, a color study that is making a wheel with the colors one thinks they may us is sometimes needed. It may be that the combination of primary colors chosen may not produce the values and intensity that the artist desires. With that one may choose to change the blue used, do another study and then like to looks.
Right. It is probably the "pure" basic colors that don't blend. Or, maybe when they are both of the same shading (tone?). I hadn't thought of those little pansies but you are right. It's all in the shading, isn't it? There is much more to painting than one realizes. Much more. We look at painting differently once we are aware of these things. Maybe I could even come to appreciate Rothko. :-) He wanted us to see the colors and nothing more. We just look for pictures.
Zenobia in Chains is the same story. Not in color but in technique. Once you know what she did to Italian limestone to make it look like marble, the statue takes on a whole new meaning. It isn't what she sculpted but how she did it.
Using the complement to a color is often used. It simply has to be done with care. I have a degree in color and direct those interested to check out the web.
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