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Hello to all my fellow artisans out there from all around the globe! Do you need help with your art concerning color coordination? Well you’ve come to the right place, my friend! As you may or may not know, color is a key ingredient to an artistic recipe. (You know, a picture just isn’t the same without a good combination of colors.) In this blog/article/forum thing, I will tell you about the different uses and varieties of emotions that derive from the usage of…(you guessed it!) color! I have also included (or will include) examples of pictures from different artists’ galleries. And by the way, check out this forum regularly because I will be updating it. So, ready! Set! Energize!

COOL COLORS: Remember your good old color wheels from kindergarten? Well, using the color wheel is no joke. It can actually save you a lot of trouble and irritation, if you’re like me that is. Cool colors include greens, blues, and purples, and I often think of black as a cool color although technically it is not. There are many moods that can be obtained by using these colors in several manners.

-GREEN: Green expresses “life”. If you want a picture that brings out vegetation, life, and all that “organic stuff” use green because it can have a dramatic effect on your entire picture. But use it wisely. Too much green is too much life (example, too many people). And you don’t always want that. However, if you mix different greens together, you get a much more pleasing result.

-Spring green: Well, no brainer, this is what you use for sparsely populated fields of plants. (not literally fields) This color is good when you want to give your image a feeling of “spring” or early summer.

-Kelly green: Typically my enemy. I never use this color unless I’m desperate. I typically avoid colors like this when I can due to the fact that it’s an eye-sore and too bright to commonly occur in nature.

-Green: easy enough. Green, green, green.

-Forest green. It’s what it sounds like. I use this color more than the others because it’s the typical color that most plants are. Furthermore, when you have plants that are growing together in dense populations, the sun doesn’t always hit all the leaves, leaving most of them this darker color.

-BLUE: Well, there are many forms of blue…aqua, turquoise, teal, just pull out that color wheel and give it a spin! And each color, believe it or not, can portray a completely different emotion. For instance, aqua is used commonly for beach scenes. It gives the viewer a relaxed, easy, tranquil feeling that you cannot achieve by using simply “blue” alone. Yes, the possibilities are endless, but aqua gets the job done better than “blue”.

-Teal: A mixture of blue and green. Very appropriate for blending the colors together when used in the same canvas. But take it easy on teal, for sometimes it can be an eyesore when used too much.

Background Examples: marshland, forest, leaf variations, but most importantly lighting on plants and other vegetation. It can be used for much more, but these are just a few examples.

Emotion: easy, soothing, bold, electrifying, or chill (like surfer talk)

-Aqua: Ah yes, aqua like I said before plays big roles in sunny skies and fair weather (and clean water too). When you use aqua, go for a relaxing, easy, take-my-breath-away sort of feeling, like you’re at a Californian or Hawaiian beach. You can never have too much aqua in a picture, so explore the possibilities with this amazing color.

Background Examples: beaches, skies, clouds, reflections, lighting on water, never rain!

Emotion: relaxing, tranquil, serene, peace, pacifying

-Blue: Couldn’t forget blue now, could we? Blue holds green and purple together and can be the connection between the two. Blue has an appearance that can go several ways.

Background Examples: midnight, fair/stormy weather (it can be both), water, night lighting
Emotion: cold, sad, depressing, desolate, rejection, blank, inattentive, beauty/ugliness (it can be both), bold/frail (it can be both)

-PURPLE: The last mixture containing blue! I never use purple unless it’s for a twilight picture or something. But even for low-setting suns-type of pictures, I substitute other colors. However, purple has its uses too.

Background Examples: Night, night lighting, twilight, sunset, clouds, flora, water lighting

Emotions: (similar to blue) majestic, proud, bold, OR soft, diminishing, concluding


HOT COLORS: Okay, now it’s time to start your engines because we’re heading to the hot side of the color wheel! Hot colors resemble speed, danger, excitement, which is nearly completely contrasting with cold colors. When you use hot colors, place your character in a scene where something is happening! Otherwise, you’ll have all this action going on, but you’re character will be holding it back like a stick in the mud. When you use fiery colors, use wild poses (running, growling, something with live emotion). And do not forget lighting! Light, camera, action! It’s all hot colors, my friend!

-RED: There aren’t too many different forms of red that differ from the main thing because this color is so bold! Perhaps it is even the boldest color of the entire wheel. When using red, make sure to present some kind of action. In real life, people use red to show a stop, danger, or hazard. Let it be the same way with your art. Just be careful because too much red strains the eye if not used appropriately.

Background Examples: fire, bright sunsets

Emotions: anger, fury, rage, temper, disturbance, excitable, passionate, fiery, wild

-ORANGE: I use orange much more than I give it credit for. Orange is the boundary between red and yellow for those of you who’ve never seen a rainbow. It combines the colors with ease and without strain. It even can be used to give the picture a relaxing theme, much like aqua.

Background Examples: sunrise, sunset, fire, even daylight

Emotions: warm, comfortable, soothed, hot, untamed, easy

-YELLOW: Wow, yellow is an extremely important color. I often use it instead of white when it comes to lighting. Yellow has an interesting property that makes it stand out, especially when used with cool colors. If used in a picture resembling daylight, it shows up better than white most of the time. It also looks better on fur than white. Yellow lifts the mood of the picture, which is often why smiley faces ARE YELLOW!

Background Examples: sun, stars, light, fire, sunrise, sunset

Emotions: happy, excited, bubbly, content, pleased, glad, joyful

-PINK: You know, that color that you get when you mix red with white. Many people underestimate the power of pink. It is one of the only colors that you can use with both cold and warm themes. Even the slightest usage of pink gives a funny quality to a picture that cannot be expressed through words.

Background Examples: sunrise, sunset, twilight, night, evening, morning, daylight, beaches, fields, flowers

Emotions: happy, preppy, excited, passionate, blissful

THE NEUTRALS: Black and white, the “colors” that really show variety when used with the other colors. Even alone, black and white can create moods that will win over your audience.

-WHITE: When people think of white, it’s like, ewww, boring and nothing’s happening. But, quite the contrary, white has so many advantages to it than other colors. I use white seriously all the time. This color can literally be anything you want it to be, even by itself. White gives the picture a sense of solitude, and I use it when I want a character or theme to look “lonely”.

Background Examples: Rain, snow, weather factors, clouds, lighting

Emotions: blank, loneliness, solitude, isolation, silence, panic, emptiness, fright, light, frail, luminous, wispy, and much more!

I use white for pictures when my characters are sad or alone most of the time. With other colors, the effect is not a strong sometimes, but with white, it’s straight to the point. I don’t generally use it for lighting as much as yellow.

-BLACK: the absence of color. Black is best for storms, darkness, power, or that wordless effect that you can’t seem to comprehend, but it’s there. I use it primarily for shadows, and plants, believe it or not. (grasses mainly) You can be very creative with black because it brings out other colors better than white.

-GREY: use grey to mix colors, you know, make yellow into tan and things like that.

Good Color Combinations: (by two’s)

White: anything
Black: anything
Red: white, black, orange, yellow, blue, sometimes purple, pink
Orange: white, red, yellow, pink
Yellow: white, black, red (only accompanied by orange), orange, green, pink
Green: white, black, yellow, blue, sometimes purple
Blue: white, black, red, green, purple, sometimes pink
Purple: white, black, blue, pink
Pink: white, black, red, orange, yellow, blue, purple

More to come! Please check out this forum regularly because I WILL be updating it, probably daily!!!

Wow, great topic Jett! Definetely will keep this in mind when drawing or doing images.

I have to admit, I skimmed to the actual colors and crutial(sp?) details. But, I did see your point.

The colors I use the most have to be forest green, the neutrals, and earthy browns, greens, and baises.

Thankies!
Yes, earth tones are great! Especially when used together. I will have to add that...

No problem.
And yes, earthy tones go great, especially when you want a realistic background.

And I also have to say, the colors you labeled as "eyesore" certainly are colors I'd stay away from. I hate seeing an image with REALLY bright neon colors.

I know, I prefer to use colors that you actually see in nature. By the way, would you mind if I linked a picture or two from your gallery into my forum?

Sure, you can do that. (With proper credit of course. )