There are several generally accepted approaches to creating harmonious color combinations in clothes, as well as in the interior or somewhere else:
- » Monochromatic color combination. In this combination, only different shades of the same color tone are used.
- » Achromatic color combination. To create a composition in this style, black, white and numerous shades of gray are used.
- » Complementary (contrasting) color combination. These are combinations of complementary pairs of colors based on the representation of the color wheel.
- » A combination of three equally spaced shades. This combination uses three shades on the color wheel, located at the same distance from each other. To achieve this, you can inscribe an equilateral triangle in a circle and twist it in different directions.
- » Total look in one color. To create a composition, use only one color for the entire outfit. Small inclusions of contrasting color in accessories are acceptable.
- » A combination of warm and cold tones. These are complex combinations that can be recommended for people with a well-developed sense of style. The introduction of a third achromatic color into the ensemble will help to simplify such combinations.
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Let's look at all the nuances of these techniques in relation to creating a stylistically consistent wardrobe, as well as some specific methods for selecting combined colors.
Monochromatic color combination
A monochromatic color combination involves a combination of three or more shades of the same color. Clothes in this color scheme leave the impression of being quite simple, but at the same time soft, fashionable, feminine and noble. It is important to note that in some cases very close shades within the same tone can merge and create disharmony. To avoid this, it is worth considering not only shades within the same tone, but also consonant shades of adjacent tones. Let's look at a specific example. The blue tone has several shades: cyan (blue-green or “sea green”), azure, neon, ultramarine, cobalt blue, etc. Since these are all shades within the same tone, any combination of them is called monochromatic. Now let's remember the children's rhyme: “Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant sits.” It lists in a certain order all seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Thus, for blue, the adjacent colors are cyan and violet. And we will look for an additional color for our ensemble precisely among the variety of shades of blue (aquamarine, turquoise, electric, etc.) or violet (indigo, lavender, purple, etc.).
Achromatic color combination
As you know, achromatic colors lack tone. There is only one maximum black and one maximum white color and an infinite number of light and dark shades of gray, which can be developed into a continuous scale between white and black. The undeniable advantage of achromatic colors is that they are an excellent background for any other tones.
Achromatic colors are compatible with almost any chromatic color with rare exceptions.
White color weakens the brightness of the colors adjacent to it and makes them darker, black, on the contrary, increases their brightness and makes them lighter. You also need to know that white and black colors greatly increase the contrast of the chromatic colors next to them. And you should play with very contrasting shades with great care.
Neutral gray is a characterless, indifferent, achromatic color that is easily changed by contrasting tones and colors. Any color can immediately raise gray from a neutral achromatic tone into the color series, giving it that shade that is complementary to the color that awakened it. This transformation occurs subjectively in our eyes, and not objectively in the color tone itself. Gray is a sterile, neutral color, the life and character of which depends on the colors adjacent to it. At the same time, gray is the basic color of our world. We distinguish facial features and individual strands of hair precisely thanks to the gray shadows that reflect the relief. Changes in gray help us recognize the texture of fabric, like many other phenomena in the world.
Thanks to this versatility, regardless of the “color” and “season”, each of us can wear clothes in dark gray (charcoal color), but only in the company of colors from the seasonal palette.
Complementary color combination
On the one hand, complementary colors standing next to each other bring each other to maximum brightness. This technique is often used by artists, playing with additional colors where emphasis needs to be placed. On the other hand, the same colors mixed together produce gray. This is very important from a physiological point of view. The human eye is designed in such a way that in order to feel at ease, it needs to see a neutral gray color. This is one of the principles of color harmony: two or more colors are mutually harmonious if their mixture produces gray. Our eyes see gray in two situations: when mixing yellow, red and blue, or from complementary pairs. Moreover, any shade simply needs a complementary shade for integrity and harmony. You can easily verify this by conducting a small experiment. The fact is that the human eye seems to generate additional color where it is lacking. There are two squares in front of you. Look at the red square for one minute, then close your eyes and you will see its complementary green square. This experiment can be done with any color. Each time you will see its additional color. 
In addition, it is necessary to remember that colors that are as far apart as possible from each other do not always look good together. Such colors, which have great saturation and brightness, often hurt the eye with their contrast. 
Therefore, if you are attracted to opposite tones, then it is better to choose their muted shades. Sometimes a technique helps when a shade of an adjacent tone is selected for one of the complementary colors and introduced third into the ensemble. It is designed to soften perception.
If the contrasting details in your wardrobe are small against the general background, for example, a belt, gloves, scarf or hat, then they can have a fairly rich and bright shade.
Combination of three equally spaced shades
Next move - choice of three shades equidistant from each other. This method creates the impression of diversity, strength, and determination. This can be done as follows: inscribe an equilateral triangle in the color circle and twist it in different directions. In this case, the vertices of the triangle will always point to three equidistant shades. In this case, the most pronounced color contrast will be given by three colors: yellow, red and blue. And the intensity of the color contrast decreases as the selected colors move away from these three colors. Thus, orange, green and violet are already much weaker in contrast than yellow, red and blue, and the influence of third-order colors is even less obvious.
Total look in one color
An outfit that is designed in a single color looks stylish and harmonious, and small details and accessories have a shade that contrasts with the main tone of the ensemble. Wearing one color communicates a classic, simple and formal look.
Combination of warm and cool tones
If you want to combine in one ensemble cold and warm tones, it is important to know that cool colors give the impression of transparency and lightness and, in most cases, are used too light, while warm colors, due to their opacity, are used too dark. And some achromatic color or its shade will serve as an excellent conductor between these two poles. Using this simple technique, you are likely to immediately discover a good, harmonious color combination.
I recently resumed my drawing and painting lessons, and I want to tell you about color combinations. In any situation when it comes to color, there are good and bad combinations of shades. Whether it's a manicure or clothes, a drawn card or even a home renovation, it's always important to choose a beautiful and interesting color combination.
With regard to clothing, this is even more important, if you can paint your house and your favorite bedroom in any shades you like, and invite only loved ones there, then clothing is the most important social tool that allows us to form the first opinion about each other, and therefore we cannot allow your clothes said the wrong thing about you. How to choose good shades and choose interesting pairs? What are the rules about this? How to choose any tones with shine?
A little theory
The easiest way to choose the right shade is to use a color wheel. It is divided into 12 sectors and represents the primary colors. Also, each sector is graduated from light (in the center) to dark (along the edge). What can we deduce from this circle?- White harmonizes with absolutely any tone and makes it brighter.
- Black will help dilute any ensemble and at the same time give it depth.
- Complementary and similar color neighborhoods are visible.
- You can derive triads, tetrads and squares.
This is a good combination, and most often many clothing lines use it - they produce the same models in complementary shades, and then if you buy a purple blouse, you can always choose a pistachio skirt to go with it (and vice versa).
Similar pairs- those that stand next to each other on the color wheel. Such pairs are often found in architectural compositions. Surely you have seen when a house is painted light lemon, and the architectural elements - slopes and cornices, balustrades and architraves - are green. This solution is also found very often in accessories - for example, it is much easier to find yellow shoes with orange trim than yellow ones with blue or purple.
Triads, tetrads and squares are patterns that are drawn according to a special shape on the color wheel. For a triad it is a triangle, for a tetrad it is a rectangle, and a square speaks for itself.
Look at different color wheels to understand the principle, and you will never go wrong in choosing the right shade.
Neutral
Neutral colors are called black, white and gray - they go with almost everything and look good together. However, it should also be taken into account that a person dressed in black or gray from head to toe is bad manners; monochrome outfits have long become a sign of bad taste. In the summer, it is appropriate to be dressed in white from head to toe, but here accessories - a bag, shoes, bright jewelry and details - can help maintain the brightness.Any combination of gray should be well balanced. As a rule, fabrics or accessories of a pure gray shade are rarely found on sale; most often the color has a cold or warm undertone. Accordingly, when choosing color combinations with gray, you need to look at:
- to the warmth of gray;
- on the warmth of the selected color;
- on the lightness of two shades and their compatibility.
Warmth of Gray
Gray can be warm or cold.
Warm shades are best combined with warm tones - yellow, orange, red, pink, crimson.
Cool gray looks perfect if you add blue, lilac, green or blue to it.
The warmth of the chosen color
Even yellow can be cold. It is best to choose those paints whose temperature corresponds to the main temperature of the color. Warm yellow and cool blue look good with cool gray.Lightness
This is the position that the chosen color would occupy on a stretch from darkest to lightest. It is best if the gray does not compete with his partner. Can't choose? Choose the brightest shades or pastel colors, and it is better to refrain from dark ones.
Warm
Warm colors on the color wheel range from yellow to violet. This is a pleasant range that lifts the mood and gives a feeling of warmth and light. However, choosing color pairs here is not so easy. Naturally, when I talk about the proximity of red or yellow, these are those combinations where the color I indicated is the main one (that is, it predominates visually).
The best combination of red is with white, blue and black. These are pure shades that were worn by kings and queens; this range (without black) is represented on the Russian tricolor and the flags of other states. Use pure shades, and then you can definitely be confident in your choice.
The combination of burgundy color with shades of blue and gray turns out to be interesting. In general, any berry tones will suit burgundy. But it is better to choose green tones with a cool undertone.
A wonderful combination of brown and beige - you get a pleasant chocolate combination. Shades of cocoa and coffee, tea and milk, pastries and ivory - many color combinations with brown evoke thoughts of desserts.
Naturally, warm tones go well together - brown and light orange look great together, and the combination of red, orange and yellow was once ultra-fashionable.
Want to add some flair to the combination? Try complex tones. Combine brown with plum, beige and blackberry, warm inky and cool turquoise. Yes, don't forget about the brown and mint color combination. The combination of mint and chocolate evokes thoughts of entertainment, pleasure and relaxation.
Do you like extravagance? Add some accessories in a deep shade - for example, cobalt blue will set off orange or pink well, and turquoise looks good against shades of yellow and green.
Cold
Cool colors are those from green to purple. These are shades of grass and water, cool and refreshing, they bring peace and tranquility. If you want to use cool shades in the interior, then it is best to give preference to bright, clean colors, the compatibility of which is very high with other colors.
The best combination for the home is dark blue with white and red. Moreover, red should be a highlight, there should not be a lot of it, but it’s better not to skimp on blue.
My favorite shade is turquoise, also called turquoise and Tiffany's favorite shade. Turquoise color goes well with a variety of shades. You can choose warm pink and rich orange, which can beautifully set off the turquoise color. An interesting combination of turquoise shade is obtained with coral - the reddish-red palette emphasizes the turquoise color well.
It is also worth trying a combination of blue with cold yellow and light green tones, and blue will help to set off green tones. In general, the combination of green with yellow and blue is classic for spring and spring holidays, so try to find your own solutions in this color scheme (and don’t forget to look at the color wheel).
Try to pay more attention to the combination of green with other colors - this year the Panton company announced Greenery as the shade of 2017, so it would be a sin not to acquire a couple of green wardrobe items and buy some emerald jewelry for home. By the way, you can choose beautiful color combinations with green online - the color palette will be created automatically.
Do you want to create interesting purple color combinations? Try light cool colors - lilac, pink, green. Don't like deep purple? Try lilac and lavender, and don't forget lilac.
Different ideas
Can't figure out the combinations of yellow with other colors? Check out original and classic schemes of matching shades.
A cool combination of yellow and lilac with purple, a combination of pink with yellow - this combination of lilac and yellow with purple will be remembered by absolutely everyone.
Looking for beautiful schemes based on brown with others? Save these diagrams for yourself - if the table is always at hand, then you will be able to match all the tones to brown.
Remember that the combination of orange and black is sultry and hot!
And here are schemes for combining pink with other shades and red with other colors.
Do you want to create a palette in cool colors? Then combinations of lilac with cold tones - blue, emerald, blue and gray are at your service.
Now you know almost as much about color combinations as professional artists, which means that you will definitely be able to choose any color combinations - whether for the perfect wardrobe or for a wonderful renovation!
Color harmony
When people talk about color harmony, they are evaluating the impressions of two or more colors interacting. Paintings and observations of the subjective color preferences of various people indicate ambiguous ideas about harmony and disharmony.
For most, color combinations, colloquially called “harmonious,” usually consist of colors that are similar in nature or different colors that are similar in lightness. Basically, these combinations do not have strong contrast. As a rule, the assessment of harmony or dissonance is caused by the feeling of pleasant-unpleasant or attractive-unattractive. Such judgments are based on personal opinion and are not objective.
The concept of color harmony must be removed from the area of subjective feelings and transferred to the area of objective laws.
Harmony is balance, symmetry of forces.
Studying the physiological side of color vision brings us closer to solving this problem. So, if we look at a green square for a while and then close our eyes, a red square will appear in our eyes. And vice versa, observing the red square, we will get its “return” - green. These experiments can be carried out with all colors, and they confirm that the color image that appears in the eyes is always based on a color complementary to what is actually seen. The eyes require or produce additional colors. And this is a natural need to achieve balance. This phenomenon can be called sequential contrast.
Another experiment is that we superimpose a smaller gray square of similar lightness onto a colored square. On yellow, this gray square will appear light purple to us, on orange - bluish-gray, on red - greenish-gray, on green - reddish-gray, on blue - orange-gray and on violet - yellowish-gray (Fig. 31- 36). Each color causes gray to take on its complementary shade. Pure colors also tend to color other chromatic colors with their complementary color. This phenomenon is called simultaneous contrast.
Sequential and simultaneous contrasts indicate that the eye receives satisfaction and a sense of balance only on the basis of the law of complementary colors. Let's look at this from the other side.
The physicist Rumford was the first to publish in 1797 in Nicholson's Journal his hypothesis that colors are harmonious if their mixture produces white. As a physicist, he began by studying spectral colors. In the section on the physics of color, it was already said that if any spectral color, say red, is removed from the color spectrum, and the remaining colored light rays - yellow, orange, violet, blue and green - are collected together using a lens, then the sum of these residual colors will be green, that is, we will get a color complementary to the one removed. According to the laws of physics, a color mixed with its complementary color forms the total sum of all colors, that is, white, and the pigment mixture will give in this case a gray-black color.
Physiologist Ewald Hering made the following remark: “Medium or neutral gray color corresponds to the state of the optical substance in which dissimilation - the expenditure of forces expended on the perception of color, and assimilation - their restoration - are balanced. This means that the medium gray color creates a state of balance in the eyes.”
Hering proved that the eye and brain require medium gray, otherwise, in its absence, they lose calm. If we see a white square on a black background and then look in the other direction, we will see a black square as an afterimage. If we look at a black square on a white background, the afterimage will be white. We observe in the eyes the desire to restore a state of balance. But if we look at a medium-gray square on a medium-gray background, then no afterimage will appear in the eyes that differs from the medium-gray color. This means that medium gray corresponds to the state of balance required by our vision.
Processes occurring in visual perception cause corresponding mental sensations. In this case, harmony in our visual apparatus indicates a psychophysical state of equilibrium, in which dissimilation and assimilation of the visual substance are the same. Neutral gray corresponds to this condition. I can get the same gray color from black and white or from two complementary colors if they contain the three primary colors - yellow, red and blue in proper proportion. Specifically, each pair of complementary colors includes all three primary colors:
- red - green = red - (yellow and blue);
- blue - orange = blue - (yellow and red);
- yellow - violet = yellow - (red and blue).
Thus, it can be said that if a group of two or more colors contains yellow, red and blue in appropriate proportions, then the mixture of these colors will be grey.
Yellow, red and blue represent the overall color summation. The eye requires this general color connection to satisfy it, and only in this case does the perception of color achieve a harmonious balance.
Two or more colors are harmonious if their mixture is a neutral gray.
All other color combinations that do not give us gray become expressive or disharmonious in nature. In painting, there are many works with one-sided expressive intonation, and their color composition, from the point of view of the above, is not harmonious.
These works are irritating and overstimulating with their emphatically persistent use of one dominant color. There is no need to say that color compositions must necessarily be harmonious, and when Seurat says that art is harmony, he confuses artistic means and the goals of art.
It is easy to see that not only the arrangement of colors relative to each other is of great importance, but also their quantitative ratio, as well as the degree of their purity and lightness.
The basic principle of harmony comes from the physiological law of complementary colors. In his work on color, Goethe wrote about harmony and integrity this way: “When the eye contemplates a color, it immediately comes into an active state and, by its nature, inevitably and unconsciously immediately creates another color, which, in combination with a given color, contains the entire color circle . Each individual color, due to the specificity of perception, forces the eye to strive for universality. And then, in order to achieve this, the eye, for the purpose of self-satisfaction, searches next to each color for some colorless empty space into which it could produce the missing color. This shows the basic rule of color harmony.”
Color theorist Wilhelm Ostwald also touched upon issues of color harmony. In his book on the basics of color, he wrote: “Experience teaches that some combinations of certain colors are pleasant, others are unpleasant or do not evoke emotion. The question arises, what determines this impression? To this we can answer that those colors are pleasant, between which there is a natural connection, that is, order. We call color combinations, the impression of which we are pleased, harmonious. So the basic law could be formulated as follows: Harmony = Order.
In order to determine all possible harmonious combinations, it is necessary to find a system of order that includes all their options. The simpler the order, the more obvious or self-evident the harmony will be. We have found two systems that can provide this order: color wheels, connecting colors of equal saturation, and triangles for colors, representing mixtures of a particular color with white or black. Color circles allow us to determine harmonious combinations of different colors, triangles - color-tonal harmony.”
When Ostwald states that “...we call colors, the impression of which we are pleased, harmonious,” he is expressing his purely subjective idea of harmony. But the concept of color harmony must be moved from the area of subjective attitude to the area of objective laws.
When Ostwald says: “Harmony = Order,” proposing color circles for different colors of the same saturation and color-tonal triangles as a system of order, he does not take into account the physiological laws of afterimage and simultaneity.
An extremely important basis for any aesthetic color theory is the color wheel, as it provides a system for the arrangement of colors. Since the colorist works with color pigments, the color order of the circle must be built according to the laws of pigment color mixtures. This means that diametrically opposite colors should be complementary, that is, giving a gray color when mixed. So, in my color wheel, blue is opposite orange, and a mixture of these colors gives us the color gray.
While in the Ostwald color wheel, blue is opposite yellow and their pigment mixture produces green. This basic difference in construction means that the Ostwald color wheel cannot be used in either painting or applied arts.
The definition of harmony lays the foundation for a harmonious color composition. For the latter, the quantitative ratio of colors is very important. Based on the lightness of the primary colors, Goethe derived the following formula for their quantitative relationship:
- yellow: red: blue = 3: 6: 8
We can draw a general conclusion that all pairs of complementary colors, all combinations of three colors in the twelve-part color wheel, which are connected to each other through equilateral or isosceles triangles, squares and rectangles, are harmonious.
The connection of all these figures in the twelve-part color wheel is illustrated in Figure 2. Yellow-red-blue here form the main harmonious triad. If these colors in the twelve-part color wheel system are combined with each other, we get an equilateral triangle. In this triad, each color is presented with utmost strength and intensity, and each of them appears here in its typically generic qualities, that is, yellow acts on the viewer as yellow, red as red and blue as blue. The eye does not require additional additional colors, and their mixture gives a dark black-gray color.
Yellow, red-violet and blue-violet colors are united by the shape of an isosceles triangle. The harmonious consonance of yellow, red-orange, purple and blue-green are united by a square. The rectangle gives a harmonized combination of yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-violet and yellow-green.
A bunch of geometric shapes, consisting of an equilateral and isosceles triangle, square and rectangle, can be placed at any point on the color wheel. These shapes can be rotated within the circle, thus replacing the triangle consisting of yellow, red and blue with a triangle combining yellow-orange, red-violet and blue-green or red-orange, blue-violet and yellow-green .
The same experiment can be carried out with other geometric figures. Further development of this topic can be found in the section devoted to the harmony of color harmonies.
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Scheme No. 1. Complementary combination
Complementary, or complementary, contrasting colors are colors that are located on opposite sides of the Itten color wheel. Their combination looks very lively and energetic, especially with maximum color saturation.
Scheme No. 2. Triad - a combination of 3 colors
A combination of 3 colors lying at the same distance from each other. Provides high contrast while maintaining harmony. This composition looks quite lively even when using pale and desaturated colors.
Scheme No. 3. Similar combination
A combination of 2 to 5 colors located next to each other on the color wheel (ideally 2–3 colors). Impression: calm, inviting. An example of a combination of similar muted colors: yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green, green, blue-green.
Scheme No. 4. Separate-complementary combination
A variant of a complementary color combination, but instead of the opposite color, neighboring colors are used. A combination of the main color and two additional ones. This scheme looks almost as contrasting, but not so intense. If you are not sure that you can use complementary combinations correctly, use separate-complementary ones.
Scheme No. 5. Tetrad - combination of 4 colors
A color scheme where one color is the main color, two are complementary, and another one highlights the accents. Example: blue-green, blue-violet, red-orange, yellow-orange.
Scheme No. 6. Square
Combinations of individual colors
- White: goes with everything. The best combination with blue, red and black.
- Beige: with blue, brown, emerald, black, red, white.
- Grey: with fuchsia, red, purple, pink, blue.
- Pink: with brown, white, mint green, olive, gray, turquoise, baby blue.
- Fuchsia (deep pink): with grey, tan, lime, mint green, brown.
- Red: with yellow, white, brown, green, blue and black.
- Tomato red: blue, mint green, sandy, creamy white, gray.
- Cherry red: azure, gray, light orange, sand, pale yellow, beige.
- Raspberry red: white, black, damask rose color.
- Brown: bright blue, cream, pink, fawn, green, beige.
- Light brown: pale yellow, creamy white, blue, green, purple, red.
- Dark brown: lemon yellow, blue, mint green, purple pink, lime.
- Tan: pink, dark brown, blue, green, purple.
- Orange: blue, blue, lilac, violet, white, black.
- Light orange: gray, brown, olive.
- Dark orange: pale yellow, olive, brown, cherry.
- Yellow: blue, lilac, light blue, violet, gray, black.
- Lemon yellow: cherry red, brown, blue, gray.
- Pale yellow: fuchsia, grey, brown, shades of red, tan, blue, purple.
- Golden yellow: gray, brown, azure, red, black.
- Olive: orange, light brown, brown.
- Green: golden brown, orange, light green, yellow, brown, gray, cream, black, creamy white.
- Salad color: brown, tan, fawn, gray, dark blue, red, gray.
- Turquoise: fuchsia, cherry red, yellow, brown, cream, dark purple.
- Electric blue is beautiful when paired with golden yellow, brown, light brown, gray or silver.
- Blue: red, gray, brown, orange, pink, white, yellow.
- Dark blue: light purple, light blue, yellowish green, brown, gray, pale yellow, orange, green, red, white.
- Lilac: orange, pink, dark purple, olive, gray, yellow, white.
- Dark Purple: Golden Brown, Pale Yellow, Grey, Turquoise, Mint Green, Light Orange.
- Black is universal, elegant, looks in all combinations, best with orange, pink, light green, white, red, lilac or yellow.
Harmony from the Greek harmonia, which means consonance, agreement, the opposite of chaos. In a color composition, harmonization methods can also be used, there are many theories with the help of which they tried to achieve harmonious combinations of colors, many scientists worked on this problem, and not only and not so much scientists studying the physics of color and light worked, but as a rule those minds who tried to comprehend how color affects the human psyche, trying to achieve a certain perception through a combination of colors. Rudolph Adams and Albert Munsell can be named among the first to take significant steps in this direction. After them there were many, to name a few who, in my opinion, are currently the most relevant B. M. Teplov in his theory was based on a circle with three primary colors yellow, blue, red. Shugaeva V.M. and Kozlova V.N. These authors relied on a circle with four primary colors. Accordingly, we will consider harmonies based on the indicated color wheels, and do not forget to mention color combinations where one shade of color is used, that is, a color wheel is not needed.
Harmonious combinations of achromatic colors.
As we have already found out, we call shades of gray, which range from white to black, achromatic. How can you achieve a harmonious combination between these colors? Here it is appropriate to divide the process into harmonization of the colors themselves, that is, building a certain series of colors combined according to one principle or another, which will be used in the composition, and the ratio of the areas on which these colors will be located.
To harmonize achromatic colors, use a stepped gray scale, or if the composition is monochrome, then a scale of shades of a certain tone. There can be a different number of steps in the scale; it is important that the steps divide the segment from black to white into equal parts, that is, the scale must be equally stepped.
Next, the required number of shades is selected from this scale, that is, the composition can consist of two, three or more shades of gray. Compositions of three shades are considered the most harmonious. What you need to understand is that even when a composition consists of a large number of shades, often at the stage of sketch and compositional searches, they try to reduce it to three shades, for example, a landscape is often divided into three spots, the foreground, middle and distant plans, which they try to harmoniously connect with each other by means of tonal relationships. And then, within these spots, develop more subtle gradations, while trying not to violate the integrity of the three main spots and the relationships between them.
Shades for a composition from the gray scale are chosen either with the inclusion of black, white and one or more grays, or only black and white, this harmonic scheme is called full.
If you choose white and light shades of gray, then this scheme is called light gray.
Black and dark shades of gray, dark gray.
When shades are taken from the middle of the scale, then this medium gray harmonic circuit.
Of course, all these schemes are quite arbitrary, for example, a color combination can be medium gray, but at the same time be quite dark. And the statement that a composition divided into three tones is the most harmonious is also not indisputable; there are different opinions on this matter.
Sometimes the gray scale is compiled in such a way that it can be divided into dark shades and light ones, for example, if there are about ten steps, then you can clearly draw the line between dark and light.
It is believed that if you choose shades located on the gray scale at equal intervals, then this scheme is the most harmonious, that is, it is perceived as the most calm. If the intervals between the selected shades are not equal, then a more expressive harmony is obtained.
If in practice it is necessary to use a gray or monochrome scale for harmonization, then it is desirable to have a large enough scale with as many steps as possible in order to have more room for maneuver.
For example, in etching there is such a tool as an etching scale, this is a type of gray scale that is used to obtain certain shades when etching an etching board. So, etchers try to make more shades on the etching scale than they will use when etching, and this is done in order to be able to more flexibly and widely adjust the etching process, that is, lightness ratios.
As for the ratio of the distribution of selected shades in the composition, there may also be different approaches.
For example, in a composition of three shades, you can go this way by dividing the area of the composition, so that one shade occupies 50%, the second 32%, and the last 18%. We get a ratio close to the golden ratio, which will be perceived as a very calm composition.
Or another example, when it is proposed to divide a composition of four tones, thus 1/6 white, 1/6 black, 2/6 first gray, 2/6 second gray, such a distribution allows you to get a fairly calm, balanced composition.
In principle, in this case, you can use any harmonious combinations of numbers that both mathematics and geometry offer, which we will probably talk about someday in more detail, in the corresponding article.
I would also like to say that in fact, the harmonization of shades of gray is the first stage in the harmonization of chromatic colors, that is, artists, before starting to create a color composition, often create a black and white sketch. Many photographers also cannot do without a sketch, and often there is more than one sketch. There is a whole technology for gradually solving all possible artistic problems, from compositional searches, including harmonization, to detailed elaboration of the entire composition in a monochrome or achromatic version, and then they move on to creating a color composition as the final stage of work. Moreover, similar, largely similar approaches exist both in traditional art technologies and in digital ones, and photography also does not shun such approaches and uses them effectively, especially in retouching and collaging.
Harmonious combinations of chromatic colors.
The point is that there are a great many different schemes for combining chromatic colors; they are based on different theories and using all possible color wheels.
Here, first of all, we will consider several of the most used schemes based on the twelve particular color wheel, where the main colors are yellow, red, blue, although these schemes can be more or less successfully used on any other color wheel.
First of all, it must be said that any harmonious combinations are divided into two categories, contrasting and nuanced combinations. Accordingly, any combinations where a clear contrast of colors or shades is used are contrasting. And close combinations, usually located side by side on a circle and not forming an obvious contrast, are nuanced.
And so are the schemes of harmonic combinations.
Single color (monochromatic); monochrome color harmonies - the use of several shades of the same color. This combination is analogous to the combinations of achromatic colors described above. Such combinations consist of at least two colors. Only instead of shades of gray, shades of any of the spectral colors are used here. And a color wheel is not needed to build this harmony, but a monochrome scale is needed, passing from white to black through the required spectral color. Harmony can be contrasting or nuanced depending on the chosen shades.
Harmony of Analogous Colors or Related Triad; This color scheme uses adjacent colors on the color wheel and blends them. This harmony is most often used as a nuanced one, but contrast is also possible here. White or black can be used as an additional color.
Harmony of complementary colors (complementary); A complementary color scheme uses colors that are opposite. In this case, the contrast is obvious, and compositions built on the basis of this harmony can be very contrasting, perceived as dynamic, expressive, even flashy. It's very easy to put accents here.
Broken additional; This is again a complementary scheme. But at one end it is divided in two, breaking into two related colors complementary to the third. The combination is even more complex than the previous one and also contrasting.
The colors lie at the vertices of an isosceles triangle at equal distances from each other. The combination is quite impressive, even if you use pastel colors. Moreover, this scheme can be based on primary colors, as well as secondary and even tertiary ones.
The proposed color combinations are used quite often in all areas of fine art, not only in painting and graphics, but also in photography, design, architecture, and even makeup artists and hairdressers work with harmonious combinations.
But there is an opinion that there are not three, but four primary colors. This point of view is justified by a number of arguments, for example, it is argued, and not without reason, that a mixture of blue and yellow does not give pure green. A color researcher like Michael Wilcox even titled his book “Blue and Yellow Don’t Make Green.”
So, color wheels based on the four primary colors are also used to harmonize a color composition.
Let's consider ways of harmonization using this circle.
First, let's describe the color wheel, using the example of the circle proposed by Shugaev.
A color wheel in which the four main colors are blue, yellow, red, and green.
Between the primary colors there are four groups of intermediate ones:
- yellow-red;
- blue-red;
- blue-green;
- yellow-green.
Based on this circle, a color harmonization system was developed.
Four groups of harmonic combinations have been identified:
- single-tone harmonies;
- harmonies of related colors;
- harmonies of related and contrasting colors;
- harmony of contrasting colors.
Single-tone harmonious color combinations; everything that has been said about Single-color (monochromatic) combinations described in previous models, about combinations of achromatic colors, fully applies to this group; in fact, this is the same group, only the names in different models and among different authors vary.
Harmonic combinations of related colors; Related colors are located in one quarter of the color wheel, between the two primary colors. Shugaev has four groups of related colors: yellow-red (orange), red-blue (purple), blue-green, yellow-green.
In this way, nuanced color combinations are obtained, calm and restrained, although a certain contrast and emotionality can be introduced into them by adding a lightness scale.
Harmonic combinations of related and contrasting colors; Relatedly contrasting colors are located in adjacent quarters of the color wheel, and not all combinations of these colors are harmonious. There are several schemes using which you can choose the desired harmony:
- Horizontal or vertical chords are drawn through the circle; the ends of the chords are located on colors equally distant from the common main color and from contrasting main colors.
- An obtuse triangle is placed on the circle, the long side of which is the chord described above, and the vertex of the opposite obtuse angle is the main color in this combination, the other two located on the other two vertices are respectively subordinate to the main color.
- Colors located at the vertices of a right triangle, the hypotenuse of which is the diameter of the color wheel, and the legs, vertical and horizontal chords.
- Colors at the vertices of an equilateral triangle, in which one of the vertices is the main color, and the opposite side is a vertical or horizontal chord.
- Four colors located at the corners of a square or rectangle, all sides of which are horizontal or vertical chords.
As a rule, if necessary, a light scale is added to these combinations.
Harmonious combinations of contrasting colors; Contrasting colors are those that are located in opposite quarters of the color wheel.
The two colors farthest from each other and respectively located at the ends of the diameter are contrasting and complementary. This type of harmony is the most contrasting, potentially very emotional and expressive, in general, it has the same properties as the “Harmony of complementary colors (complementary)” described above. As in other schemes, it can be supplemented with a lightness scale.
And here it should be noted that the circles are different, and the schemes that are applied to them are in many ways similar, not in details, but in the main points there is undoubtedly a similarity, which is what I mean. In fact, there are much more harmonization schemes, and many can easily work on any color wheel. It will still not be possible to formalize the combing to the end; you will still have to use your instincts and compare the colors obtained using the schemes with your taste, and adjust what you get and the result may be very different from the one that was obtained using all possible schemes.
Get creative with your combing.
By the way, the schemes proposed in this article are simply the most popular.
For example, V.M. Shugaev, mentioned here, identified 120 harmonious color combinations on the 16th private circle.
But in some areas of fine art, for example, in design, masters have to work with color literally according to the numbers in the catalogue, that is, within very narrow limits in which a free search for color combinations, as in painting, for example, is simply not permissible. For example, when creating a corporate identity, you need to very clearly link the corporate colors to the colors available in the catalog. And sometimes there are simply no options other than to strictly follow the harmonic patterns.
When using these schemes, you need to understand that by themselves, in isolation from the other principles and laws that are used in the composition, these schemes will not work properly, that is, the basic laws of composition - integrity, subordination, expediency - must be observed. No matter how many colors there are in a composition, one is always in one way or another the main one, all the others are subordinate to it, and the entire color system is built from it. Yes, there are compositions in which several different colors can act as the main one, for example, in an ornament, but then this composition is divided into several others where in each individual one the main color is always the same.
And so we looked at several ways of harmonization with different color wheels and different harmonization schemes. The point is that nature does not formulate laws as formally as humans do, but they undoubtedly exist, and nature exists in accordance with these laws, and in order to comply with them, sometimes it is not necessary to use such rigid schemes.
The fact is that in practice and very often, artists or photographers do not use the color wheel, and not because it is a bad tool, but because with experience comes the habit of keeping the circle in your head and building color combinations almost unconsciously. Moreover, many generations of artists had no idea about the color wheel; they simply weren’t taught this, but they still managed to make their works harmonious, how did they manage it.
Even before the invention of the color wheel, there were methods of harmonization that did not require the use of a color wheel, and they are still used today. The very nature with which they wrote or drew suggested the necessary combinations of colors, for example, on a sunny day, all objects and the entire environment are saturated with sunlight, with its inherent color, which creates a certain environment in which everything around is immersed, even deep shadows are still in this environment . And although shadows are usually colder than sunlit places, the environment in which they are immersed still makes them warmer. Or indoors, when everything is lit by an incandescent lamp and the environment is even warmer, but the window as part of the composition in which we see the night scene will still not be so cold that it falls out of the overall composition, it will still be immersed in the environment it creates lamp.
This means the environment, that is, any specific shade can work as a harmonizer.
So in Painting and graphics, as well as in photography, there are a number of techniques that allow you to imitate this effect. Let's start with painting, although similar methods also work in graphics, firstly, often when artists paint a scene and select the palette they will paint, they know in advance what color system they will use. Will this composition be cold or warm and, accordingly, if, for example, the composition is warm, then even the coldest shades will be warm to a certain extent, this is called warming or cold.
Often, if a painting has already been painted, if it seems to be falling apart in color, that is, there is no color harmony, then they can go over it with a transparent layer of paint (glaze), thus subordinating the remaining colors to the color that this glaze paint had.
Or, for example, a colored primer is made, and some composition is painted on it with a separate stroke, so the primer shines through from under the paint between the strokes and acts as a medium, subordinating the entire color structure of the picture.
And by the way, there are many similar methods, for example, watercolorists paint on tinted paper; it shines through the paint and also plays the role of a harmonizer.
And what methods the graphics offer, here you can use the contour as a harmonizer. For example, in easel graphics there is the concept of a drawing layer, often it is implemented in the form of a stroke (contour) around the main compositional elements, it can combine elements, the thicker it is, the more it subordinates all other elements to itself and under certain conditions it can work as a harmonizer , that is, permeating the entire composition, it can play the role of a unifying element that aligns the color system in the right direction.
In photography, similar techniques also take place, for example, color filters, which already at the shooting stage already build a color range and work as a harmonizer,
When processing a digital photo or when drawing digitally, there are also opportunities for similar techniques.
And another way of harmonization is a frame and mat, which can also work as a harmonizer, it’s no secret that the thicker the frame and mat or just a color outline around the picture, meaning the ratio of areas, that is, the thicker it is relative to the image that frames the outline, the more collects the picture more or, on the contrary, makes it freer; as a rule, if there is a darker and wider outline around the image (frame, mat), the more collected the composition seems. If the outline is lighter, then the composition feels more free, to the point that the composition may even fall apart.
So, a frame can work as a harmonizer if you skillfully select a combination of color and lightness of the frame. Moreover, the frame can fit the composition into the interior, work as a unifying, harmonizing element between the image and the interior of the room in which the image is located.
And also about the color wheel, we did not touch upon the topic of practical work with the circle in this article, the fact is that there are color circles not only as diagrams, but there are, for example, mechanical dried apricots, or programs based on the color wheel that are specially created for this purpose so that with their help you can select harmonious combinations of colors. I plan to write a separate article on this topic, and in it I promise to talk about such devices and programs.
The topic of color harmony, of course, does not end there; there is much more that can be said on this topic, but it is not the purpose of this article to tell everything, but rather to identify some aspects and arouse interest in this topic.
I’ll say it again, approach the process creatively, and it will be interesting!