Wacom presents: Color Master, Natalia Taffarel, Color Theory Basics
Hello, I am Natalia Taffarel.
I am going to talk about color.
In the artistic aspect of color, Goethe introduced the perception into the traditional color theory.
The Goethe color wheel is the one we still use today to create color harmonies.
You need to learn this by heart.
In the wheel the complementary colors are opposite to each other.
You can spin this line and it will give you a complement of each color.
Why do we like complementary colors?
You see a relative color depending on what is next to it.
If you place a yellow object into white, the object will appear brighter and less saturated.
But if you put the same object on black, the object appears darker with more contrast and saturation.
Which is the real yellow? There is no real yellow.
The only way the brain knows exactly what a color is, is when placed next to its complementary.
Then there is no effort. The brain already knows.
The main colors you see are the complementary tones.
The tones in the color wheel are the main tones that call your eye.
Another harmony is the divided complementary.
The line splits into the two tones that together create the complement of the first tone.
One important aspect about color theory and color harmonies is the proportion of the colors.
Usually there should be a lot of one color and a little bit of the complementary.
In the case of the devided complementary,
there should be a lot of one color and equal parts of the two colors that create the complementary color.
Everybody can learn all of the harmonies by heart.
The difficult part is to understand how to apply the proportions in an image.
What is the importance of color?
Color theory is not only important for painters, but also for photographers and designers.
When you have a certain scene or a certain product you have some colors that are defined.
For example the logo of the brand cannot be changed.
You need to decide about all the other colors of the palette based on the existing color.
If you have a blond model with a blue jacket, you need a pink background.
And you need to know why.
Saying “I like it” is not good enough. You need to understand why you like it.
Even if it is an object with a white, grey or black background, there can be a tint.
Which tint it is, depends on color theory.
If you do not understand color theory, you cannot put an image together.
You can learn all this.
But working with an uncalibrated screen is like working with your eyes closed.
It might happen that you think you are using a certain color, but you are wrong.
Or you do not have a clue about colors.
Either you rely on happy accidents, or you work correctly like professionals do.
Learn more on: color.wacom.com