Color Theory

You may not think you really need to worry about color theory but it when you have a basic understanding of color, you will find that it really does come in handy.  You can use it in the colors you choose to wear and mix and match, the color you decide to paint the walls, even the color you decide to put on your hair. Color is light so it's everywhere!

Color wheel from   http://cs.nyu.edu/courses/fall02/V22.0380-001/color_theory.htm

Whenever I start any project using color, even frosting a cake that I am mixing colors for, I draw out the color wheel.  I don't get as fancy as the chart above, I simple write out the color names, beginning with the primary colors, red, yellow and blue.  I then add in the secondary colors, orange, green and purple.  

You can not make a primary color very easily but using just the three primary colors, you can create any color you want!  Really!  You don't have orange food coloring for the cupcakes?  No problem, mix equal parts Yellow and Red and you have a perfectly, pure orange color.   If you want a coral color, add a little more red than yellow or vice versa depending on what you are trying to achieve.

In my previous post when I was dyeing the coverlet grey, I was trying to get rid of the purple base.  If you want to neutralize a color, such as the purple tint the black dye was giving off, simply add the opposite of purple or the opposite of whatever color you are trying to get rid of.  That's why I added yellow to the black.    It killed the purple just enough.  

Here are a few more tips when it comes to color.  

Tints are when you add white to any color.  Take for instance pink.  Pink is simply white added to red.  You decide the intensity of the pink by how much white you add.  Even just adding water will dilute a color.  

Tones are when you add black to any color.  Burgandy is simply Red with a touch of black added to it and there you have a tone.

Using the color wheel takes the guess work out of mixing colors.  Not only that, there is so much information out there on the web.  Don't be scared by color.  If you don't like it, change it!