Sketchy Questions, Helpful Answers. My Take on Colors.
Questionable motives for the questions posed. Here is the first.
A guy on Facebook asks, “Can I exactly imitate the COLOR SCHEME of a best-selling picture book?”
A bunch of people just plain said “No!” I thought about this question. I’m taking a guess here, but I think the guy knew he was on the edge of doing something immoral. Or, maybe he really didn’t know the protocol and threw the question out there anyway. Either way, I sensed a lack in the question and an unstated sense of desperation. It seems to me if you have to ask that question, you don’t have any training and you don’t have any trust in your own relationship with color. If you ask that question, I conclude that you lack confidence in your own mind’s ability to judge color. So I answered, “Rather than copying something current, study paintings from Art History. You will often notice that versions of the primary colors are used, red, yellow, and blue. Or learn how colors work together on the color wheel. Some colors vibrate when side by side, some colors are heavier than others. You dress yourself every day and you have to choose what color to wear, not that those are good colors for a book, but you have enough confidence to choose the colors that you wear. This is no different. And there are reference books that group colors together that you can pick up and use as a tool.”
I would go on to say that developing and trusting your own color sense is a satisfying endeavor. Each time that you wake up in the morning you are face to face with your color choices in the clothes in your closet, the paint on your wall, the towel you use to dry your face or clean your dishes. Colors affect us in many ways. I’m going to list how I respond to colors, you might respond differently. I encourage you to make your own list and think about color when there is no pressure to buy something. Get familiar with your own color sense just for fun.
You might notice the primary colors here.
Red yellow and blue are the primary colors that I intentionally included in this painting. They are not the only colors, but they are prevalent and the painting works well. I added a complimentary green to play off the red, and I added a lot of tonal browns that ground the house and bring your attention to the girl. She has a solid starting point, this illustration is at the beginning of the book.
When I make this list, I am thinking about painting an illustration for a book. Your assessment of color may be completely different if you are thinking about clothing or wall colors.
RED = dynamic, assertive, eye catching, also visually dense and can be equal black in that sense.
YELLOW = Cheerful, bright, light, warm and positive
BLUE = Cool, safe, receding, refreshing
GREEN = Positive, symbolic, versatile
PURPLE = Risky, quirky, fun
ORANGE = Eye catching, rich, playful
BROWN = Grounding, earthy
GREY = Pausal, helpful to balance more intense colors, so safe it’s problematic when over used
BLACK = Intense, focused, grounding, dense, balancing, I only use in small doses
WHITE = Relief, solace, restful, highlighting
What do colors do for you? Would you wear the same colors that you would paint on your wall? Why or why not?
Use the contact button below if you would like to share your views with me. And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter.