Subtractive Theory of Color, Continued
Set palette
A set palette is a collection of pigments to which a small amount of one color
or grey has been added to each one.
The advantage of this is to achieve color
harmony and unity. It also restricts the beginning painter to a predetermined
set of colors. Adding greys or one dominant hue to all other colors will have
the greatest effect on the complimentary of the added color.
Adding one
color to light areas and one color to dark areas will also create harmony and
unity. When you want to emphasize one color in a picture, add the same
color to all other colors except the color you want to emphasize.
Color
Color is said to have warm or cool characteristics.
Warm and cool colors are
characteristics
qualities of hue rather than value or intensity.
Our experiences and how we
feel about certain colors determine their perceived temperature
characteristics.
You may use the warmth or coolness of colors to suggest the
location of an object or to give pictures a striking contrast.
Any hue may be
cooled by adding blue or warmed by adding yellow.
To add realism to
pictures, paint the planes receiving direct sunlight with warm colors and the
shadow planes with cool colors. Look at a color wheel. Note that it is split
nearly in half by hues containing reds, oranges, and yellows associated with
heat, flame, or sunshine. The other half of the color wheel contains greens,
blues, and violets, which relate to water, sky, and ice.
Figure 2-20 illustrates how a 12-hue color wheel is split between colors with
warm and cool characteristics.
Figure 2-20.—Warm and cool characteristics.
Continued on next page
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