Jessica Crabtree

COLOR THEORY: A Brief Tutorial

This page has a very good rundown of the terms associated with the color wheel and the concept of color harmony. Very useful!

Color Harmony

Because of its wave properties, light shares some interesting features with sound. For instance, colors complement one another based on their wavelengths exactly the same way as musical notes harmonize based on their sound frequencies. These groups fall into several different categories:

Complementary - colors that lie opposite one another on the color wheel complement one another by contrast; e.g., a very warm red contrasted by a cool green (we all see this scheme in Christmas decorations).

Analogous - these are colors that lie next to one another; they blend well because the have much in common. Think of a color scheme that combines blues and greens – there is little contrast and the cool color range creates a pleasing and soothing effect.

Split complementary – this color scheme combines both complementary and adjacent color schemes. It forms a narrow triangle on the color wheel. By blending a main color with two adjacent colors from the opposite end, you can achieve color harmony with high visual interest.

Triad - a group of three colors that lie equally distanced from one another on the color wheel. Draw an imaginary triangle and pivot it around to see what color combinations this creates. None of these colors will belong to the same group – but the harmony lies in the fact that there is a pattern to the choice of colors. If they were completely random, the resulting visual chaos would not be pleasing to the eye.

Interestingly, these color patterns are best illustrated by examples in nature. Think of a beautiful Southwestern desert scene with a turquoise sky, golden sand, and reddish-brown rock formations. This is a classic split complementary scheme. For analogous harmony, picture a tranquil seascape painted in tones of blue and purple. Flowers often illustrate color harmony, such as the viola with contrasting yellow and violet, as do color patterns in the fur of many animals.

Compare the color schemes in the following photos:

Photo credits: Public domain

Read more about patterns of color harmony and the color wheel:

http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-theory-intro.htm#Color_Wheel