Conceptual framework used by artists, designers, and anyone working with colors to understand how colors interact with each other and influence human perception.
Color Theory Concepts Cheatsheet
Pure color—one without tint or shade.
On a color wheel, the hues are the colors that make up the wheel: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
Determine how much black or white does color have.
A saturated color ( high chroma ~ intense ) is bold and pure, while a desaturated ( low chroma ) color appears more washed out or gray. A high chroma color is pure and free from white, black, or gray. A color with low chroma would be more muted or dull, having been mixed with gray or the color's complement.
Measurable amount of light emitted by a color.
It's often perceived as brightness in human vision. Luminance can help distinguish colors even if their hue and saturation are the same.
Perceived warmth or coolness of a color.
Warm colors are those which closer to orange: include reds, oranges, and yellows, while cool colors are those which closer to blue: include greens, blues, and purples. The warmness or coolness of a color is determined by where it falls on the color wheel, with warm colors generally being perceived as more energetic and cool colors being perceived as more soothing.
Increasing / decreasing saturation ~ chroma ~ intensity.
Adding black / white to change value ~ lightness ~ luminance.
Color is colder if its hue is closer to blue and warmer if its hue is closer to orange.
Selection of colors that are used in a design or work of art, chosen to work well together and complement each other.
- Monochrome Color Schema
- Analogous Color Schema
- Complementary Color Schema
- Split Complementary Color Schema
- Triadic Color Schema
- Tetradic Color Schema
In traditional color theory, these are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues. Primary colors are colors at their basic essence.
- red
- yellow
- blue
Secondary Colors are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.
- green
- orange
- purple
Tertiary Colors are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color.
- yellow-orange
- red-orange
- red-purple
- blue-purple
- blue-green
- yellow-green
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- Textured / Smoothed
- Size
- Direction
- Shape
- Proximity
- Color Hue
- Color Value ~ Color Lightness
- Color Warmness
- Detail
- Softness
- Thickness
- Focus ~ Edge Quality ( Blurred or Focused )
- Golden Ration
- The Rule of Thirds
- Full Frame
- Composition Type
- Circle : focusing
- Rectangle : formal
- Pyramid : feel of stability
- Reverse Pyramid ~ V-arrangement : high tension
- Iconic : formal and power
- Cross : formal and power
- Symmetrical : formal and power
- Slide ~ Diagonal : feels dynamic
- Z-arrangement : feels dynamic
- L-arrangement : sense of movement
- radial : sense of movement
- H-arrangement : sense of stability
- Y-arrangement : high tension
- C-arrangement : uneasy feeling
- V-arrangement : high tension
- X-arrangement : high tension, focusing
- Keep proper balance of primary, secondary and tertiary shapes
- Rule of odds
- Symmetry: avoid unless deliberately aimed
- Avoid same size, number, spacing
- Overlap object to make depth
- Prefer to put small outside and big inside
- Add a standout item
- Using contrast
- Using structure
- Using guiding lines -- Using circular diagram -- Using diagonals
- Using tangents
- Using character's view
- Using overlapping Objects
- Balance
- Proportion
- Movement ~ Focal Point
- Rhythm
- Variety / Unity
- Harmony ~ Tactics
- Emphasis ~ Contrast
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- Object touching another Object
- Object in foreground touching Object in background
- Object in foreground touching Object in background in a straight line
- Two unrelated Objects share the same horizontal or vertical line ( usually dynamic )
- Object touching the edge of the frame
- Object cut down the middle
- Primary, Secondary And Tertiary Overlays
- Does painting tell a story?
- Is composition as good as it can be?
- Does it has a dramatic camera angle?
- Is it balanced?
- Is everything lead to the focal point?
- Is contrast okay?
- Does the eye flow diagram go out of the image accidentally?
- Flip along the x-axis to check balance is good.
- Blur to check it is balanced?
- Does it has depth
- Does the image has several layers?
- Does the image use dark and light layers composition?
- Do details up to scale?
- Does it not has perspective mistakes?
- Does not it has accidental tangents?
- Checking Color and Light
- Is it not too monochromatic?
- Set saturation to zero to check if it is still good?
- Use a levels diagram to check does it have enough black blacks and white whites.
- Checking shapes and forms in a painting
- Does it has interesting shapes?
- Does it has areas of visual detail and rest?
- Does it has a proper ratio between primary, secondary, and tertiary shapes?
- Texture Check
- Does it has more than one material?
- Do materials look differently?
- Asking for an Opinion
- Take into account the Ikea effect
- Compare
- Does it feels as good as the sketch?
- Does it feels as good as the works of others?
- Does it look as good after a break?
- Does it look as good on all devices you have?
- Technical Tests
- Flip along the x-axis to check balance is good.
- Set saturation to zero to check it is still good.
- Blur to check it is balanced?
- Use a levels diagram to check does it have enough black blacks and white whites.