Color Theory for Artists: 7 Tips to Color Like a Pro

Color is an instrument that gives life to your artwork. Think Dorothy stepping into Oz. As important as color is, it's easy for things to go incredibly wrong. We've all seen examples of artwork where it seems every color has been thrown at it.

How do you create exciting color choices without going overboard?

In this tutorial, we're talking all about color, including:

• How to understand the basics of color
• How to utilize value and contrast.
• How to choose the best colors for your art.

You'll come away with a solid understanding of color and have fun in the process.

So, let's get into it!

Watch Our Color tutorial Video

This week, our discussion of color will primarily be using no specific brushes, but the final artwork utilizes:

• DupliTone
• ColorLab

Check out our collection of retro-inspired coloring brushes and tools for more coloring inspiration.

Because this tutorial doesn't require you to use any particular brush, you'll be fine using the defaults if that's your choice. However, we recommend exploring premium brushes for their wide range of textures and effects that would be difficult to simulate otherwise. Our range of brushes inspired by vintage art techniques will help you nail the look while you work on exploring everything color can offer.

01. Understand the Terminology

The monster on the left has high saturation while the one on the right is low saturation.

It's hard to grasp on color if you don't understand the basics, so let's set ourselves up for success and learn some key concepts.

• Hue: Just a fancy name for color. If you were to ask what hue veridian has, for example, you would say green, while cobalt is blue.
• Saturation: The intensity of a color. Another way of thinking about this is how much of that color there is. A highly saturated red (think 100% on your color slider) is the most red that red can be. A low-saturation red has very little red; the rest would be some form of grey.
• Value: How light or dark a color is. This differs from saturation in that you can have very light, low saturation colors, like steel blue, and very dark, high saturation colors, like indigo.
• Tint: Adding white to a color. This lightens a color's value but not necessarily its saturation.
• Tone: Adding black or grey to a color. This darkens a color's value and can also make it less saturated.
• Primary Colors: Red, yellow, and blue (or cyan, magenta, and yellow.) Primary colors are the building blocks of all other colors and cannot be made by mixing other colors.
• Secondary Colors: Green, orange, and purple. Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors.
• Tertiary Colors: All other colors in the rainbow. Examples of tertiary colors are yellow-green, blue-purple, and red-orange. You can create tertiary colors by mixing secondary and primary colors.

Knowing these terms and how they interact with each other will be instrumental in implementing the rest of our tips. Make sure that you understand them before continuing.

02. Use Reference

Reference how inspiring artists use color and try it in your own work.

Think of an artist you admire who utilizes color expertly. They didn't achieve that skill from nowhere; they studied from others just as you are doing now. Let's consider popular artists among our community members and see what they bring to the table.

• Jack Kirby: Bold, high-contrast color palettes.
• Coop: Highly saturated and contrasting colors.
• Jim Flora: Well-balanced cornucopias of color.

There are many different artists from whom to draw inspiration, and every artist approaches color differently. What is common between them is a solid understanding of what works so they can express themselves.

03. Understand Color Temperature

Use cool (left) and warm (right) color schemes to convey emotion.

A concept that is very helpful in creating interesting color schemes is temperature. This is the perceived warmth or coolness of a color. The key word is perception because, of course, colors don't have temperatures. Knowing the basics of color temperature will help harmonize your colors right away.

• Warm Colors: Red, yellow, orange, etc. These colors are associated with heat, danger, excitement, passion, and hunger.
• Cool Colors: Blue, purple, green, etc. These colors are commonly associated with cold, calmness, relaxation, mystery, and eeriness.

It's important to note that these aren't hard and fast rules. Pinks and soft yellows can communicate a cozy atmosphere, or shades of blue for white-hot fires. However, it might be best to avoid ambiguity until you're better acquainted with these concepts.

Warm colors can have cool variants and vice versa to make things even more complicated. There are warm reds and cool reds, warm greens and cool greens. You don't have to have an encyclopedic knowledge of which is which. Take a look at your color, then at the color wheel. Does that yellow seem to be shifted more towards the reds or the blues? If your colors clash, it may be because your temperatures are all over the place. Look at the overall color temperature and see if you can find anything that doesn't fit.

04. Master Contrast with Value

Good values are balanced and let each color stand out.

This might surprise you, but the most important thing you can learn about color has nothing to do with color. Instead, value is the most crucial skill you can develop when using color.

An image with perfect contrast and value will remain legible even when using completely random colors. However, an image with all the same values will be flat and illegible no matter how good your color choices are.

How do you know your value and contrast are on point? Try this quick test:

1. Create a new layer over all your artwork and fill it with a solid black.
2. Set that layer's blend mode to Saturation.

If you can tell everything apart and your artwork doesn't look like a flat wash of grey, then congratulations, you have good contrast!

It can be tricky to know the value of color because some hues have a perceived darkness or lightness that might not align with their actual value. Using the test above as you work through your illustration will help keep your work legible and exciting.

05. Use the 60-30-10 Rule

Use the 60-30-10 tool to balance your work.

Probably the second most important skill to master in terms of color is balance. Knowing the right proportion of each color to place in your composition is something that beginner artists struggle to perfect.

Thankfully, there's another handy tool you can use to keep everything well balanced:

• 60%: Your dominant color should take up most of your canvas, setting the tone for the image and the remaining colors.
• 30%: A supporting color that uplifts and complements the dominant color.
• 10%: An accent color that provides contrast and focal points.

You don't need to break out a calculator to measure the exact proportions of your colors carefully. Think of it as a general feel; everything will work out fine. You can turn on your color layers one at a time to measure the approximate proportions of each color. What percentage of the composition would you say this color takes up in your canvas? Adjust accordingly if it feels like there is too much or too little.

06. Use Saturation Wisely

Oversaturated artwork is a pain on the eyes; literally!

Many beginner artists, still grasping the basics, choose highly saturated colors, perhaps to compensate for insecurities elsewhere in the design. Too much saturation, however, can be very hard on the eyes, especially now in our digital age, when you can achieve colors strong enough to burn a hole in your screen.

Just like with value, saturation should be balanced. You use saturation as a tool to highlight your focal point, direct your eye to key areas of the illustration, support rhythm or other design principles, or enhance mood.

07. Get to Know Color Schemes

Using color schemes keeps your colors harmonious and well-balanced.

Color schemes can be thought of as a genre. They are conventions for choosing colors to help rein in your choices. Although many color schemes exist, it's best to get acquainted with the basics. Don't feel you need to reinvent the wheel or strive for something never seen before. These concepts are classic for a reason.

• Complementary: Using two colors opposite each other on the color wheel. Complements are always either a primary and secondary color or a secondary color and a tertiary color.
• Analogous: Colors sitting next to each other on the color wheel. An example would be yellow, yellow-green, and green.
• Monochromatic: Using shades (tints and tones) of only one color.
• Triadic: Using three colors (triad refers to three) evenly spaced on the color wheel. An example would be yellow, blue, and red.

Consider all the different ways these color schemes could be used in practice, especially after implementing the tips above. You'll have an endless amount of options ahead of you.

Final Thoughts

Diving into color presents a world of fun and limitless options, which can make it seem daunting and easy to mess up. Learning the basics will build a strong foundation to let your imagination soar.

Here they are again in a nutshell:

• Learn the terminology and how to use them.
• Keep your colors balanced by using the 60-30-10 rule and color schemes.
• Lean on value and contrast to give your work life and depth.
• Study the people who use color best.
• Avoid using too many saturated colors.
• Keep your color temperatures consistent.

Remember to practice and bookmark this tutorial so that you can reference it again. With time, color will become another powerful tool in your arsenal for making awesome designs.

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