What is colour theory?
Colour theory is the art and science of mixing colours together and creating colour schemes based on their placement on the colour wheel.
Primary colours
Primary colours are colours that can’t be made by mixing other colours. In art, the primary colours are red, blue and yellow. If mixed well enough, they can create black.
Red, green and blue are the primary colours of light and are considered additive primary colours.
Cyan, magenta and yellow are used as subtractive primary colours for inks because they allow the printer to create a wider range of colours and are cheaper to produce.
Secondary Colours
Secondary colours are colours made with equal amounts of primary colours. These are green, orange, or purple.
Tertiary Colours
Tertiary colours are made by mixing uneven amounts of primary colours. Examples of tertiary colours would be turquoise and indigo.
Warm and Cool Colours
Warm colours remind us of heat. These are red, orange and yellow.
Cool colours remind us of the cold. Blue is a cool colour.
Purple and green can be more cool or warm.
A single colour can have more cool or warm undertones. For example, if a yellow is closer to orange on the colour wheel it is considered to have a warm undertone and if it’s closer to green, it is considered as having a cool undertone.
Hue
Hue is the dominant colour family of a colour. Hues are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
Saturation
Saturation is how vibrant a colour is.
Tint
A tint is a colour mixed with white to become lighter.
Shade
Shade is a colour mixed with black to become darker.
Tone
Tone is a colour mixed with grey to become less saturated.
Complimentary
Complimentary colours are colours opposite each other on the colour wheel. They can be used to create high contrast. Complimentary colours are also used in makeup to neutralise one another. For example, using a green concealer over redness or acne makes it less noticeable.
Split Complimentary
Split complementary uses one base colour and 2 secondary colours placed evenly around it on the colour wheel. Base colour is used as the dominant colour while the secondary colours are used as accent colours.
Analogous
Analogous colours are 3 colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel. Also referred to as harmonious colours
Triadic
Triadic colours are 3 colours that are equal distance on the colour wheel.
Tetradic
4 colours separated by an equal distance on the colour wheel.
Undertones
An undertone is an underlying pigment in a colour. They’re not noticeable at first but influence the hue.
In skin, an undertone is a subtle colour below the epidermis. People with the same overall skin tone can have very different undertones. There are 3 undertones in skin: cool, warm, and neutral.
There are different ways to test skin undertone.
The most common way to test skin undertone is to check the person’s veins. If someone’s veins appear more green, they likely have a warm undertone. If they’re veins are more blue or purple, it indicates a cool undertone. People with veins that appear colourless or have a mix of both often have neutral undertones.
Another way to test the undertone is putting a white cloth against the person’s bare face. If the skin appears more blue or pink against the white, that indicates a cool undertone. If it appears greenish, that indicates a warm undertone. If it’s a combination of both, that indicates a neutral undertone.
Reference for testing undertone:
Skin Tone
Skin tone refers to the amount of melanin within the skin. More melanin within the skin causes it to be darker.