Color Harmonies 1 PDF

AS1809 COLOR HARMONIES 1 Color Harmony Rhyne (2016) states that “color harmony is the process of choosing colors that work well together in the composition of an image.” Instead of a hit-or-miss result, common guidelines or schemes are used to comb...

AS1809 COLOR HARMONIES 1 Color Harmony Rhyne (2016) states that “color harmony is the process of choosing colors that work well together in the composition of an image.” Instead of a hit-or-miss result, common guidelines or schemes are used to combine hues that will create balance in an image. Further discussed by Holtzschue (2017), color harmony “occurs when two (2) or more colors are sensed together as a single, pleasing, collective impression.” She added that harmony requires grouping of elements because a single color can be beautiful but not necessarily harmonious. Remember that a color creates harmony because of its relationship among other colors in a composition and not because of the color alone. Hence, there is no single factor or law used to determine color harmony. According to Holtzschue (2017), hue, value, saturation, the spacing of intervals, and completeness are aspects of color composition that when considered can only contribute to a harmonious effect. Harmony is also found in this Josef Albers’ statement: “What counts here—first and last—is not so- called knowledge, but vision—seeing” (as cited in Holtzschue, 2017). Albers wants to emphasize that in color choices, natural inclination is the first factor more than learning or experience. Before anything else, color harmony is about intervals or the logical order and smooth sequences that feels right and comfortable for the brain and the eyes. Moreover, to be a successful colorist, one must think of a goal of what s/he is trying to achieve when combining colors instead of solely thinking about harmonious combinations. The Neutrals Color harmony is created and applied with the component of the neutrals. The achromatic range or the neutrals are black, gray, and white. The prefix “a” means “not” and “chroma” means color in Greek (Bleicher, 2012). This definition explains that the neutrals are not hues or not colored; they are just about lightness or darkness and do not have a place in the color wheel. While each hue has an equivalent value, black and white do not. In a hue scale, white is just the lightest value possible while black is the darkest or the absence of all colors. These neutrals serve an important purpose in color harmony because they are either mixed with hues or paired to them to form different harmonious combinations. Tints, Tones, and Shades Tints, tones, and shades are components of color harmony created with the neutrals. Hue, as the purest form of color, mixed with different levels or amount of black, white, and gray can form other different hues or a monochromatic scheme. Tint is a hue and an addition of white. Tints are soft, full of light, and often seen as pastel colors (Bleicher, 2012). Tone is a hue mixed with gray. It can range from light to extremely dark. Shade is a hue mixed with black. The intensity can vary depending on the type of black. Maroon - Shade Red - Hue Pink - Tink The base hue is red, and when mixed with white, it creates a tint, in this case, pink. If the same red hue is mixed with black, a shade is created, namely maroon. Regardless of whether it is a tint or a shade, the hue is still red. Figure 1. Range of a Monochromatic Red Source: Contemporary color theory and use (2nd ed.), 2012, p. 63 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 3  AS1809 Hue, Value, and Saturation Hue, value, and saturation are other components needed to be understood, to properly communicate color harmony. These three (3) components must be considered when working with colors because each of them can be controlled and affect color perception and harmony among the other elements of an illustration. Hue While hue and color are generally the same, hue is more specific, and it is a color that can be found on a color wheel. Hue is the actual name of any given color (Bleicher, 2012), and it is the brightest form of a color that resides on the outermost part of a color wheel (Rhyne, 2016). It is also as specific as color red being different with red-violet or red-orange. Holtzschue (2017) states that “historically, the search for color harmony has focused on the relationship between hues and, more specifically, on the link between harmony and complementary colors.” She elaborated that there is a natural inclination towards complementary colors as this relationship is psychologically satisfying and restful which the eye is comfortable. Holtzschue also has a simple proposition for the menu of harmonious hue combinations: “Any hues used together can be harmonious. This does not mean that any hues used together are harmonious. It means only that there are no inherently bad hue combinations.” Thus, aside from complements, there are other harmonious color schemes such as monochromatic and analogous. Value In color harmony, a hue can be added with black or white whenever needed, to change or adjust its value. According to Holtzschue (2017), traditional color theory has three (3) ideas between value and color harmony: Even intervals of value are harmonious; Middle values are harmonious; and Equal values in different hues are harmonious. Holtzschue (2017) discusses that “even intervals of any color quality have a natural flow.” Thus, it gives smooth sequence of values for an instant harmony. For the second idea, it talks about the middle values in a value scale. It is believed that the light and dark ends of a series in a value scale are less pleasing. However, it does not mean that the extreme darks and lights are less harmonious by nature. Middle values are just preferred because “they are easier to discriminate” (Holtzschue, 2017). For the third idea, equal or close values are harmonious in two (2) aspects: first, “different hues of close value can be pleasing when they are used together against a value-contrasting ground and second, “different hues of close value create elegant harmonies without a contrasting ground when no image is intended.” The first aspect creates spatial effect where colors seem to float making warm colors to forward while the second can create surfaces without forming an image or pattern. Saturation It is the component which refers to the “intensity and purity of the given hue” or “the brightness or dullness of a color” (Bleicher, 2012). As added by Bleicher, brighter and intense color denote purer saturation of hues while desaturated hues appear more gray, drab, and dingy. According to Holtzschue (2017), though the restfulness presence of muted colors appears to be more harmonious than the brilliant ones, one must always remember that it is always the relationship that creates harmony and not the colors alone. Brilliant colors are bright, intense, and stimulating while muted colors are restful and can get extremely dull. The combination of these two (2) can create depth due to its spatial effect. Holtzschue (2017) further suggested that in most color compositions, it is more pleasing to have a constant overall level of saturation because “when a general level of saturation is in place any atypical element is disruptive. A “pure color inserted into a muted palette will pop forward” while “a spot of muted color in a composition of clear colors is a blot in the clean brightness around it.” 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 3  AS1809 As the color becomes increasingly more desaturated, it loses its green color and becomes grayer and washed out. Figure 2. Example of the Desaturation of the Green Hue Source: Contemporary color theory and use (2nd ed.), 2012, p. 65 The center image of the flower is shown at its normal hue and saturation. Its even tones of red and green create a normal-looking picture and are pleasing to the eye. The image on the left is desaturated. It has lost most of its color, and there is only a hint of color peeking out of the gray. The picture on the right is super-saturated. Using Adobe Photoshop, the color saturation of the image was enhanced, increasing the intensity of the hues. The colors are so intense they begin to vibrate and jump off the page and are hard to look at for any length of time. Pumping up the saturation of an image can be used to grab the viewer’s attention or to create a focal point. Figure 3. The Different Saturation of a Flower Source: Contemporary color theory and use (2nd ed.), 2012, p. 65 REFERENCES Bleicher, S. (2012). Contemporary color theory and use (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Holtzschue, L. (2017). Understanding color: An introduction for designers (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Rhyne, T.M. (2016). Applying color theory to digital media and visualization. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 3