Colour is light reflected by an object and then projected to our retinas, then our brains perceive it as colour. White light from the sun consists of seven colours that are perceivable by the human eyes : red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Whatever colour we see the object as, that object reflects one or more colours from the white sunlight.
http://www.mstworkbooks.co.za/natural-sciences/gr8/images/gr8ec04-gd-0027.png
History of colour
Humans have learned how to use colour since the first cave paintings done by cavemen, but those were just rudimentary applications. The first few human civilizations, each had found their own ways to apply colours in their art in different ways.
Egyptian Hieroglyphics
https://erinsingleton.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/4865695-egyptian-hieroglyphics-on-papyrus.jpg
Incan Artifact
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/66/f2/4a/66f24a2bba473043b32bf87f5208b5a5.jpgThen, a man named Aristotle from Greece, discovered that you could mix colours to obtain even more complexity in art.He discovered that by mixing two colours, a third is produced. He did this with a yellow and blue piece of glass, which when brought together produced green.
It was during the renaissance period where more notable pieces of art started appearing due to each artists' unique usage of colours. Noteworthy artists include Leonardo Da Vinci, Vincent Van Gohg, Rembrandt etc.
Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci
http://www.mrdowling.com/images/704mona-lisa.jpg.jpg)
Starry Night, Vincent Van Gohg
http://uploads2.wikiart.org/images/vincent-van-gogh/the-starry-night-1889(1).jpg
Storm on the sea of Galilee, Rembrandt
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Rembrandt_Christ_in_the_Storm_on_the_Lake_of_Galilee.jpgColour Theory
Colour can be affected by three attributes : lightness, saturation and hue. Hue is the colour itself (eg. red, blue, orange). Saturation is how intense is that specific hue, so black and white have no saturation, because they contain no hue. Brightness is how much white or how much black there is in that specific hue and saturation, maximum brightness is pure white while minimum brightness is pure black.
Munsell Colour System
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/17/7717-004-4E62CFBD.jpgColours can be categorized into four groups. Primary colours, secondary colours, tertiary colours and neutral colours. All of these colours can interact with each other to produce new colours, but no colour combination can be used to create primary colours. Primary colours consists of red, blue and yellow. Secondary colours consist of orange, violet and green, they are obtained from mixing two primary colours together. Tertiary colours consists of yellow orange, orange red, red violet, blue violet, yellow green and green blue, tertiary colours can be obtained by mixing primary colours and secondary colours.
Colour Wheel
https://cios233.community.uaf.edu/files/2011/10/color_wheel.gif
Colour Properties
The colour wheel contains all primary colours, secondary colours and tertiary colours. Below is the steps to construct a colour wheel and also the application of primary, secondary and tertiary colours
STEP 01: Framework of the colour wheel is drawn
STEP 02: Primary colours are painted on
STEP 03: Secondary colours are painted on
STEP 04: Tertiary colours are painted on, and the colours are all labelled
Final Product
PRIMARY COLOUR DESIGN
STEP 02: The shadow and outline is done using blue
Final Product
SECONDARY COLOUR DESIGN
STEP 01: All three pumpkins are painted with orange and green
STEP 02: Shadow and outlining done with purple
FINAL PRODUCT
TERTIARY COLOUR DESIGN
STEP 01: Paint the logo with tertiary colours
FINAL PRODUCT
FINAL PRODUCT
Colour Harmonious
Different colours interact with each other differently. Certain colours complement certain colours and make them pop out. Having good colour harmony makes an artwork more presentable and pleasing to the eye.
Split Complementary Colours
Split complementary colours are using one base colour, then choosing the colours besides its complementary colours
Complementary Colours
Complementary colours are opposite to each other in the colour wheel
Analogous Colours
Analogous colours are next to each other in the colour wheel, hence they look similar and go well together.
Tetrad Colours
Tetrad colours are obtained by drawing a rectangle in the middle of the colour wheel and choosing the four colours the corner of the rectangle touches. Tetrad colours are a good balance of cool and warm colours.
Triad Colours
Triad colours are obtained by drawing a triangle in the middle of the colour wheel and choosing the colours the corner of the triangle touch.
Example of colour harmonious in real life
Monochromatic and Achromatic Colours
Monochromatic colours come from the same base colour. Either by adding white, grey or black, different tints, tones and shades of the colours are obtained.
Monochromatic and Achromatic Colour Painting
(Low Poly art)
(Low Poly art)
Step 01: Identify all achromatic colours
Step 02: Apply monochromatic colours
Colour Temperature
Colours have their own "temperature" and they bring out different emotions in the artwork. "Cold" colours like blue, green,violet give a calm and cool emotion so they are categorized as cool colours. While colours like red,orange and yellow are called warm colours because they symbolize happiness, warmth and anger.
Warm and Cool Colours
Warm and Cool Colours artwork
Colour psychology
Since long ago colour has been used for psychotherapy for different colours bring different emotions to people. Colour psychology is the study of colour and its effect on people. This can easily be seen in interior designers having to choose a different colour scheme for different parts of the house. For example colours like green symbolizes growth and is the most suitable for a kid's bedroom. Blue can be used for a study room because blue allows the mind to focus.
Green symbolizes growth
How does colour psychology apply to our daily lives? A good example would be in political debates. In order to win over votes, Barack Obama wears a red tie to symbolize strength and authority, the feeling is immediate, red is more authoritative than blue and blue is more calm than red, that is why Barack Obama wears a blue tie when he is being interviewed.
Red is authoritative while blue brings calmness
Other colours and the emotions they give
Several ancient cultures, including the Egyptians and Chinese, practiced chromotherapy, or the use of colors to heal. Chromotherapy is sometimes referred to as light therapy or colourology and is still used today as a holistic or alternative treatment.
In this treatment:
- Red was used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.
- Yellow was thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.
- Orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.
- Blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain.
- Indigo shades were thought to alleviate skin problems.
Below is an infographic about the symbolism of colours in different cultures of the world. It is surprising to find out that many cultures agree that red means passion and anger even though the cultures never interacted with each other long before.
Infographic about the symbolism of colour in different cultures
In Chinese culture, each colour is associated with an element, and each interact with each other in different ways. Some elements counter each other while some elements complement each other. Each colour is also associated with a direction and all of these are arranged in a Bagua octagram.
References
http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/
http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/
Colour Study Final
The following drawing describes my personality adequately using colour. The subject is a rock star playing a guitar, this symbolizes the passion in me and how I like to express myself. The subject is coloured using mostly warm colours for warm colours brings out the warm personality that I have. The surroundings of the subject is mostly cool colours. This symbolizes that however cold and cruel the world is, the burning fire inside of myself doesn't go out. The surroundings also symbolize my imagination, it is painted using different splatters of colour, this means my imagination is spontaneous, exciting and chaotic.
Progress
Final Product
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