Color pairings
So, you want to know more about using colors to convey specific feelings or emotions? The color wheel is where we start. Since there are many artists’ guides to the color wheel, so I won’t repeat that information here. If you don’t know it well enough that you can envision where the major colors are, find a copy to refer to while reading this blog.
Color Value
If you pick one color from the color wheel, you can make a lot of variation of the color by varying its value. Value is the relative lightness or darkness of a color. In the top photo, the bright orange of the right saucer is distinctly different from the plum of the cup exterior and the citron of the inside. You can clearly see the blue, gray and yellow of the left cup and saucer (unless you are color blind, which is a whole blog post and more on its own!)
Contrast that with the lower photo, where color has been removed and only values of black and white remain. The right teacup looks the same dark color as the countertop, and its saucer and interior appear about the same shade as the left saucer, cup and cup interior. Value has a big impact on the emotions conveyed by a color pairing.
Which photo is more appealing to you? Can you think of a situation where the other photo might be more useful? I like the color photo better. If I were writing a story about two friends meeting in a melancholy coffee shop to talk about their lost loves? – the black and white photo might better convey the mood.
Developing a Palette
The first step in making a color palette is defining your base pair, the two colors that anchor and define your palette. These first two positively must sing well together- that is, you want to carefully adjust these shades until you’re certain they convey the feeling you want them to. Once you’ve decided these, you can add more colors to complement the first two. In this post, we focus on developing your color pairs.
When I’m working on a new palette, I think of the mood or feeling I want the colors to evoke. Maybe it’s vague like “Moonlit garden” or “Mosh Pit” or even “Lazy summer afternoons”.
Or perhaps the scene is more specific, like “Aunt Maude’s Victorian Kitchen”, or colors from a particular painting.
Close your eyes, and imagine your scene as vividly as you can. See what colors come into your mind. Then open a color picker grid like this one: https://htmlcolorcodes.com/color-picker/
On the website you can move the small circle around with your mouse, and you’ll see the resulting color in the box at the top right. Use the tall narrow slider bar in the middle to change the base color of the big square. When you find a color you like, note the hex code number from the top line. There is also information for RGB (Red-Green-Blue) and HSL (Hue-Saturation-Lightness) if you prefer.
In an online platform like canva.com, drop your color pairs and save them for future reference. This works with the free version of Canva. I’ll be posting soon about how to manipulate and use color in the free Canva app.
Monochrome Pairs
Here are some classifications of color pairs that can guide you as you choose your two starting colors!
Monochromatic pairs contain two variations of the same color. Here we have a deeper gray-ed green with a lighter version of the same color. That is, the left color has a deeper value, and the right color has a lighter value.
Monochromatic color schemes generally have a relaxed and coordinated feeling. A black and white pair is also considered monochromatic even though it technically is devoid of any colors.
Bichromatic
A bichromatic color plan has two colors. Below you see red and green.
A blue and a green, or an orange and a purple would be two other examples of a bichromatic color pair. This green and red are opposite on the color wheel, so have a feeling of tension, high energy. In addition, these colors are nearly the same value (darkness), making it feel like both are demanding attention at once. Pairing a color with its opposite on the color wheel and making both similar values is not usually a peaceful color pair.
A bichromatic color pair made of colors near each other on the color wheel, like this a blue-green and a yellow-green) still has energy, but there’s less tension. Additionally, the yellow-green has a lighter value than the blue-green. How does this energy feel to you?
Color Contrast
When you vary the value of the colors in a pair, it feels totally different. Here there is a pastel mint green (a very light value) and a dark red (very dark value. Alternately, it could be a dark green with a pale red, or even white with black.
How does this pairing make you feel? With these colors in such equal amounts, the pair may feel a bit unbalanced to you, as though the darker red half feels heavier than the lighter green? What about in the two samples below, where the amount of each color is varied? Pay attention to how each pairing makes you feel, what emotions it evokes in you.
To me, the upper image (more red than green) feels kinda like I’m out in the dark, peering through a mail slot into a lighted hallway. The lower image (more green than red) feels much more expansive, like a shelf on a pale green wall. Take time to identify how you feel! (And yes, both interior rectangles are exactly the same size!!)
When both colors are near the same light value, like this mint green and medium pink, the pairing can feel blah, boring.
Color Intensity (Saturation)
On the other hand, when both are the same dark value, like these bright red and purple colors, the impression is vibrant and active. Does it feel that way to you?
When the same purple and red are partially desaturated, they become a lot more quiet and clamor less for your attention.
Color Energy
The yellow and orange you see here are saturated colors, nearly the same value, and are adjacent on the color wheel. In these warm colors, the pairing usually feels energetic and optimistic.
This pairing of a muted green and a muted blue, both nearly the same value and adjacent on the color wheel, have much less energy. Do they strike you as restful, relaxing- or what?
Neutral Color Pairs
And finally we’ll talk about neutral color pairs. You can construct a pair with either warm or cool values. This warm-leaning taupe and biscuit are monochromatic, similarly colored with a darker value (taupe) and lighter value (biscuit). This pairing is relaxing, non-challenging, great for a background that doesn’t call attention to itself.
In contrast, this neutral pairing of a blued gray with a silvery pale gray feels cool, soothing, but also a bit sterile. Another good pairing for a background, depending on the emotions you want to convey.
Challenge
As part of your color-discovery journey, I challenge you to make your own color pair corresponding to each of the examples above. Jot down what emotions they seem to convey. Then put them away for a week or a month.
When you take them out again, look at them one by one – wiithout looking at your previous notes. Again, write down the emotions you feel looking at them. Finally, take out and compare your two interpretations. When the two notes about each color pair are pretty similar, they will probably communicate clearly for you. If, however, your color notes are quite different, you’ll want to further explore this pair and similar pairs to lock down what they actually mean to you.
Gift and Opportunity
Do you like this muted sage color? I’ve come up with a great recipe for mixing it from Premo Souffle polymer clay. To get this recipe, totally free, enter your email below. This will also ensure that you get all future blog posts (and more free color recipes)!!
This sample color recipe contains just basic mixing information. The colors and palettes you buy on Etsy are loaded with more hints and tips about mixing your perfect colors!