3-17-18
Durwood Dommisse, Professor Emeritus, Communication Arts and Design Department of VCU, and accomplished artist of landscapes in oils, demystified a confusing topic for us today.
Color Theory is a very complex topic, so Mr. Dommisse started with the basic color vocabulary using a color wheel created from color chips.
Primary colors are those that cannot be made from mixing any other colors: red, yellow, blue. Although some prepackage color products now include green, scientifically that would be inaccurate. These 3 colors make the points of a triangle.
Complementary colors are those that would be midway on a leg of the triangle between any two primary colors: between red and yellow is orange; between red and blue is purple; between blue and yellow is green.
Tertiary colors are those midway between a primary color and a complementary color: between red and orange is red-orange; between yellow and orange is yellow-orange; between red and purple is red-violet; between blue and purple is blue-violet; between blue and green is blue-green; and between yellow and green is yellow-green. Since each leg of the triangle is a spectrum, along each spectrum countless new colors can be made depending on the ratio of each of the starter components.
Dividing the color triangle vertically from the point of red down to the middle of the yellow to blue points demonstrates the sides of the color spectrum that can be termed warm [the red-yellow-green side] and cool [the red-green-blue side].
The words "tint, hue, shade" are synonyms for the word "color." Any color is a tint. Tone usually refers to whether the color leans toward the warm or cool side of the spectrum. As a verb, 'to tint' usually means to alter a color to create a new variation of that color. Hue is often used to indicate one of the many variations of a single color on the spectrum, as in gradients.
As knitters, we are most particularly concerned with color "harmony," or which colors go well together vs. which don't. Harmony is a relative term, as each viewer has a unique perspective of each color, with color-blindness being on the extreme end of the perspective spectrum. In general artists consider 3 types of color combos: triadic harmony, split complementary colors, and analogous colors.
Triadic harmony is created when any 3 colors are equi-spaced on the color wheel. An example of triadic harmony would be red-orange, with blue-violet and yellow-green. These contrasting combinations are appealing to most eyes. These are often found in variegated yarns.
Split complementary colors are 3 colors: a central color, and the color immediately next to it on each side. An example would be red as the main color, with a red-violet on one side, and a red-orange on the other side. These are the kind of colors we see in gradients.
Analagous colors, also called contiguous colors, are a series of colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel. These are also evident in gradients which have a continuous spectrum of one particular color, such as black graduating up to white, with all the many shades of grey in-between.
Just as an aside: Scientifically, white is the absence of color; black is a mixture of all colors. Since no colors can be seen without light, scientifically, light has a major impact on how colors are perceived. Artists, as a rule, haven't used black paint since the Impressionists, who were all about the perception of color and light. That doesn't impact us much as knitters, though black or white placed next to another color in a garment can change the visual perception of the overall garment perhaps more drastically than any other color used in their place.
Summing it all up: Understanding these basic foundations of color theory can help fiber artists choose colors for projects. However, since that which is attractive or appealing to the eye is uniquely individual, there is no rule for absolute support. Check out a color wheel online to get an idea of which colors you'd like for a project. Then, visit a yarn shop and pull out some skeins to lay side-by-side to see which combinations you like. Be brave. Don't be afraid to experiment. We are all familiar with gauge swatches. Costs aside, there is nothing to stop a fiber artist from knitting or crocheting color swatches to see how harmonious the colors in question will be. Go ahead! Dive into color!!!
Durwood Dommisse, Professor Emeritus, Communication Arts and Design Department of VCU, and accomplished artist of landscapes in oils, demystified a confusing topic for us today.
Color Theory is a very complex topic, so Mr. Dommisse started with the basic color vocabulary using a color wheel created from color chips.
Primary colors are those that cannot be made from mixing any other colors: red, yellow, blue. Although some prepackage color products now include green, scientifically that would be inaccurate. These 3 colors make the points of a triangle.
Complementary colors are those that would be midway on a leg of the triangle between any two primary colors: between red and yellow is orange; between red and blue is purple; between blue and yellow is green.
Tertiary colors are those midway between a primary color and a complementary color: between red and orange is red-orange; between yellow and orange is yellow-orange; between red and purple is red-violet; between blue and purple is blue-violet; between blue and green is blue-green; and between yellow and green is yellow-green. Since each leg of the triangle is a spectrum, along each spectrum countless new colors can be made depending on the ratio of each of the starter components.
Dividing the color triangle vertically from the point of red down to the middle of the yellow to blue points demonstrates the sides of the color spectrum that can be termed warm [the red-yellow-green side] and cool [the red-green-blue side].
The words "tint, hue, shade" are synonyms for the word "color." Any color is a tint. Tone usually refers to whether the color leans toward the warm or cool side of the spectrum. As a verb, 'to tint' usually means to alter a color to create a new variation of that color. Hue is often used to indicate one of the many variations of a single color on the spectrum, as in gradients.
As knitters, we are most particularly concerned with color "harmony," or which colors go well together vs. which don't. Harmony is a relative term, as each viewer has a unique perspective of each color, with color-blindness being on the extreme end of the perspective spectrum. In general artists consider 3 types of color combos: triadic harmony, split complementary colors, and analogous colors.
Triadic harmony is created when any 3 colors are equi-spaced on the color wheel. An example of triadic harmony would be red-orange, with blue-violet and yellow-green. These contrasting combinations are appealing to most eyes. These are often found in variegated yarns.
Split complementary colors are 3 colors: a central color, and the color immediately next to it on each side. An example would be red as the main color, with a red-violet on one side, and a red-orange on the other side. These are the kind of colors we see in gradients.
Analagous colors, also called contiguous colors, are a series of colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel. These are also evident in gradients which have a continuous spectrum of one particular color, such as black graduating up to white, with all the many shades of grey in-between.
Just as an aside: Scientifically, white is the absence of color; black is a mixture of all colors. Since no colors can be seen without light, scientifically, light has a major impact on how colors are perceived. Artists, as a rule, haven't used black paint since the Impressionists, who were all about the perception of color and light. That doesn't impact us much as knitters, though black or white placed next to another color in a garment can change the visual perception of the overall garment perhaps more drastically than any other color used in their place.
Summing it all up: Understanding these basic foundations of color theory can help fiber artists choose colors for projects. However, since that which is attractive or appealing to the eye is uniquely individual, there is no rule for absolute support. Check out a color wheel online to get an idea of which colors you'd like for a project. Then, visit a yarn shop and pull out some skeins to lay side-by-side to see which combinations you like. Be brave. Don't be afraid to experiment. We are all familiar with gauge swatches. Costs aside, there is nothing to stop a fiber artist from knitting or crocheting color swatches to see how harmonious the colors in question will be. Go ahead! Dive into color!!!
For more information, online, check out these sites:
http://rovingcrafters.com/2015/10/26/how-to-use-that-color-wheel/
A color wheel calculator: https://www.sessions.edu/color-calculator/
On Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/65302263332045419/
http://rovingcrafters.com/2015/10/26/how-to-use-that-color-wheel/
A color wheel calculator: https://www.sessions.edu/color-calculator/
On Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/65302263332045419/