Colour Schemes
The 12 colour RYB (or artistic) colour wheelThis colour wheel or colour circle is one of the basic tools for combining
colors. This example shows the 12 colour
RYB (red, yellow, blue) colour model.
Colour SchemesColour wheelHere are others
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Colour Schemes
Make a simple Red:Yellow:Blue colour wheelMixing the 3 primary colours
creates the secondary colours, which mix to create the tertiary
colours, as so forth
Primary Colours (blue/yellow/red) -
these can't be made by mixing others
together
Secondary Colours (purple/green/orang
e) can be made by mixing the primary
colours
Tertiary Colours from mixing primary and
secondary colours
Colour Schemes
Complementary colours
Red Green
blue Orange
Yellow Purple
blue
Orange
Red
Green
Yellow
Purple
Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel are known
as complementary colours
Red/Yellow/Blue (RYB) Colour Wheel
Colour Schemes
Complementary coloursComplementary colour schemes
are highly contrasting and vibrant
Useful for drawing attention or for making things stand out
These combinations can sometimes be jarring -
complimentary colours are often bad for text
Red on GreenGreen on Red
Colour Schemes
The complementary colours of the 3 primary colours:yellow
redblue
are found from mixing the other two to form secondary
colours:
red + blue = purpleblue + yellow = greenred + yellow = orange
Complementary colours
Primary Colour Secondary
Colour/ Complementary Colour
Yellow Purple
Red Green
Blue Orange
Colour Schemes
Complementary coloursComplementary
colour schemes are visually very high contrast, but can
sometimes be jarring
Colour Schemes
The shadow of an object will also contain its complementary colour,
for example the shadow of a red apple will contain green
If you look at a colour for long enough then look at a white
background, you may see the complimentary colour for a second
Look at the following coloured slides then look at the white - do
you see the complimentary colour for a split second when you look at
the white background?
Complementary colours
Colour Schemes
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Triadic coloursTriadic colour schemes use
colours that are evenly spaced around the colour wheel
Triadic colour schemes are quite vibrant
blue
Orange
Red
Green
Yellow
Purple
Green
Purple
Yellow Blue
Orange
Red
Colour Schemes
Triadic coloursTo use a triadic harmony successfully, the colours
should be carefully balanced - let one color
dominate and use the two others for
accent/emphasis
Yellow Blue Red Green
Purple Orange
Colour Schemes
Analogous colours are next to each other on
the colour wheel
They usually match to create serene, natural-
looking and comfortable designs.
Often harmonious and pleasing to the eye
blue
Orange
Red
Green
Yellow
Purple
Analogous colours
Colour Schemes
Analogous coloursMake sure you have
enough contrast when choosing an analogous
colour scheme
Choose one colour to dominate, a second to
support. The third colour is used (along with black,
white or gray) as an accent/emphasis
Colour Schemes
Split-complementary coloursSplit-complementary
colours are the 2 colours adjacent to the
complementary colour
Split-complementary colours are contrasting, but
not not as vibrant as complementary colours
Split-complementary colours are safer and easier
to use than complemetary colours
Colour Schemes
Rectangle (tetradic) and Square coloursThe rectangle (tetradic) uses four colours arranged into two
complementary pairs.
The tetradic color scheme works best if you let one color
be dominant with a balance of warm and cool colors
Colour Schemes
Square coloursThe square color scheme is similar to the rectangle,
but with all four colors spaced evenly around the
color circle.
