Colour Theory for Beginners - Acrylic and Oil Painting

1. Introduction: Imagine the world without color, and you will realize the importance of color theory. Hello, everyone. My name is Domini, I'm an artist and art instructor from India. I have been teaching painting since 2018 and have taught thousands of students in physical workshops. Now, I'm so excited to teach online. If you are a beginner, this course will put you miles ahead of others because at the end, you will have an excellent understanding of how color works, how to match color, and even more fundamental where to start with colors. It will speed up your mixing process. Once the foundation is established, students will learn how to build a painting palette and select paints. Then I will demonstrate color mixing methods, including discussions on color matching and color value. The course ends with several hands on activities meant to solidify the concepts learned. You do not need to have any prior experience in painting or drawing. I will guide you step by step from the scratch. This course is for anyone who paints but has trouble getting the right colors. It does not matter if you paint in acrylics, oils or watercolors. This same basic principle will apply in every art form. I'll teach you these principles and the right method for getting the right color. We will understand various color schemes like monochromatic colors, analogous colors, complimentary colors, triadic colors, neutral colors. You will learn how well your colors will play with other colors on your palette. I invite you to join for the course. Look forward to seeing you inside the course. 2. Supplies: Hello, everyone. Welcome to another tutorial of painting color wheel. In this class, we are going to learn what all materials we require to do this exercise. So here, first of all, we have red color, yellow color, blue color, white color, and black color. I have used camel brands and evicril colors. Three to four sheets of canvas or paper, two to three middle sized round brushes, color palette, some water, a few tissue papers. So let's get started. 3. Primary and Secondary Colours : Hello, everyone. In this class, we are going to learn about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. So we are starting with primary colors. So I'm going to take some yellow and some red, and some blue color. So these three are the primary colors. Primary colors are the ones which cannot be made or mixed using any other colors. So these are the primary colors yellow red. And blue. So these are our primary colors yellow, red and blue. Yellow, red and blue. Now, what happens when we mix yellow yellow plus red. When we mix yellow and red, it's going to become orange color. Becomes orange color. So taking equal quantity of red colour and yellow color, we are going to get orange shade. So the colors that are formed by mixing two primary colors are called secondary colors. And these are secondary colors. So this is orange. And these are secondary colors. Now, what happens when we mix yellow and blue. So when we mix yellow and blue, we are going to get green colour. So we are going to get green color. When we mix red and blue colour. By mixing red and blue colour. We are going to get violet color. So that's violet. So in this class, we learned what are primary colors. Primary colors are yellow, red and blue, which cannot be formed by mixing any other color, which are pure colors. Then we have secondary colors which are combination of primary colors. So we mix yellow Plus red equals to orange. We mix yellow, plus blue equals to green. We mix red, plus blue equals to violet. 4. Tertiary Colours : Now we are going to learn about tertiary colors. Tertiary colors are obtained by mixing primary colors and secondary colors together. For example, we are going to mix blue and orange, red and orange, yellow and orange. Similarly, we are also going to mix red and violet, blue and violet, yellow and violet. Again, we are going to mix yellow, green, red, green, blue, green. So let's begin m, so we are starting with yellow color. We will take yellow and orange yellow plus orange. When we mix these two colors, we get a lighter shade of orange. Now we are going to mix yellow and green. So this is secondary color green. And by mixing these two colors, we are going to get a shade of light green color. Now we are going to mix. Yellow and let. We are mixing yellow and let. We get yellow aqua color. Red color. With orange color. So we are going to get a shade of red, which is a little lighter. It's like tomato color. Then we are going to mix red and green color. We are going to get brown color. By mixing red and violet color. We are going to get red violet. Now, taking this blue colour And orange color. So by mixing blue and orange, we are going to get a shade of green. By mixing blue and green color. We are going to get blue green by mixing blue and violet color. We are going to get blue violet. Oh. So we learned what are tertiary colors. Tertiary colors are combination of primary colors and secondary colors. So starting with yellow, yellow and orange is equal to yellow orange or light orange. Yellow and green equals to light green. Yellow and violet equals to yellow ochre. Oh. Red with orange, equal to red orange or tomato red. Red and green equals to brown color. Red and violet equals to red violet. Blue and orange equals to blue orange or a shade of green. Blue and green equals to blue green or teal color. Blue and violet equals to blue violet. So this is This is light orange. This is light green. This is yellow ochre. Tomato red brown. This is red volet. This is dark green. This is teal color. And this is blue volet. Oh Oh 5. Colour Wheel Part 1: Hello, everyone. In this class, we are going to see the color wheel. Now, the color wheel is a representation of the colors and their relationship with each other. So we are going to start making the color wheel. By first taking the primary colors which are yellow, red and blue. So we are going to mix yellow and red color yellow and red equal quantity of yellow and red will give us orange color. Now, if we mix more quantity of red and less quantity of yellow, we are going to get this shade. Now when we mix more quantity of yellow and less quantity of red, We are going to get this shed. Now, we are going to mix yellow and blue together in equal quantity. And we are going to get a shade of green. Now, by taking more of blue and less of yellow, we are going to get dark green color or teal color. Now, mixing more of yellow and less of blue. We are going to get light green shade. Now, taking red and blue colour together, we are going to get violet color. Now, by mixing more of red and less of blue, We are going to get dark brown color. Now, by taking more of blue and less of red, we are going to get a shade of blue and red, which is like purple blue red. 6. Colour Wheel Part 2: Hello, everyone. In this class, we are going to see the color wheel. Now, the color wheel is a representation of the colors and their relationship with each other. So we are going to start making the color wheel. By first taking the primary colors which are yellow, red and blue. So we are going to mix yellow and red color yellow and red equal quantity of yellow and red will give us orange color. Now, if we mix more quantity of red and less quantity of yellow, we are going to get this shade. Now when we mix more quantity of yellow and less quantity of red, We are going to get this shed. Now, we are going to mix yellow and blue together in equal quantity. And we are going to get a shade of green. Now, by taking more of blue and less of yellow, we are going to get dark green color or teal color. Now, mixing more of yellow and less of blue. We are going to get light green shade. Now, taking red and blue colour together, we are going to get violet color. Now, by mixing more of red and less of blue, We are going to get dark brown color. Now, by taking more of blue and less of red, we are going to get a shade of blue and red, which is like purple blue red. 7. Colour Wheel Part 3: Uh now moving to the next color that is light orange or yellow orange. Now, after adding white, we get a lighter shade of it. And this is a very pretty color. We are getting shades of turmeric color, and this looks very beautiful. And that's the next shade. So when we move towards the center, we keep on adding more of white. So do try this. If you want try it more than once, it's a useful exercise for beginers as well as for artists. It's like a warm up before starting a painting that requires your knowledge and understanding on colors. So it's a very useful exercise. Now yellow, adding some white to it. Now we are getting shade of lemon yellow. Adding more white. So we keep on adding white and we see the various transition, the various hues. Now, green color yellow green, and adding some white to yellow green, this one is a shade lighter, taking more white and making the next shade. More white. And the fourth shade So now we have got a very light shade of green. And like I said, towards the center, it's more of white and less of that color. Now we have completed most of the colors, just three are left. And we have already discovered various shades of one color, and now it's green color, which is equal quantity of blue and yellow, adding more white so now you can see how many shades can be created with just a few colors. We started with just three primary colors, and we have got so many colors. Now we will start with a teal color, which is the next color, more of blue and less of yellow will give us blue green, which is teal color. And so I'm mixing it now. It's more of blue and less of yellow. Now adding white and applying the paint adding more white to form the next shade. And so on. So it is the same with every color. The same process we are following with every color, we keep on adding white to form one shade and then more white to the existing shade to get the next one. So the wheel looks very beautiful. And now we are going to start with the blue color, which is just blue, which is the primary color. There is no other color added to it. Now, when we add white, we get a lighter shade of blue. Now we will get shade of sky sky blue color. So that's how we have completed our color wheel with white color, adding white to primary, secondary and tertiary colors. And these are the shades and the colors that we get. Do try this activity and see the colors that you get. 8. Colour Wheel Part 4: Hello, everyone. In this class, we are going to add black with every color primary, secondary, and tertiary color and explore the darker shades of each color. In the previous class, we saw how adding white can lighten the color and we get lighter shades. Now in this class, we are going to add black to see the darker shades. So let's start. We'll take some red and add just a bit of black. Not too much, just a bit. And mix. And then we are going to apply. Now I'm going to take some more black along with red. And I'm going to apply. Taking a lot of black. We're going to add it. So this is a transition of red color. Here we added white, and here we are adding black. Now we will move to this color. We will add a bit of black to this. So this is the resulting color. And we're going to add some more black. And then again apply. Making another shade, taking some more black in the same colour, making a shade a little darker than the previous one. And then, again, we are going to apply. So you see the difference from here to here. Now, we are going to mix some black, very little black in this color. And this is the next shade of it. And then we will take some more black and add to the same color. And it will be a shade darker than the previous one. And then I take some more black and add to it. So these are the next three shades that we get. Now we will move on to this color. So we will add a bit of black to this. So this is the color that we got, and now I'm going to add some more black to it. And that's the shade that we are getting here. And then if we add a little more black, then we will get one shade darker. That's precisely it. Next is yellow, so I'm going to take a little black and yellow. And apply then we are going to take some more black in yellow and see what comes next. And then we will add some more black and we get a shade darker. Moving on to the next color. So I'm adding a bit of black in light green. And apply and then take some more black to it. And apply taking some more black and apply. So we have painted shades of red, orange, yellow, now green. We are moving towards green and then blue. We will add some black to the shade and faint. I add some more black to this and paint taking a bit more black and then again apply. So I see a variety of green here. When we go below this, we see a lot of different shades of green, and if we go above it, then it's darker shades of green. Now we will move towards this color teal color. We'll take some black, add black to it and apply here. Take some more black. Taking some more black. And we apply. So these are the different shades and hues that we get. Now for the blue, this is the next shade that we get adding some more black to this. That's the next shade here. And then taking some more black here. That's another shade. Now, for the shades of violet color this side and apply. So it's already a lot dark. Add some more black and apply taking some more black will apply. Remember, black is a very strong color, so we just have to add a bit, not too much. Now moving on to the next color. This is the next shade that we get. That's another shade of toilet. Taking some more black. Now, this color we add some black to it. And then paint. Adding some more black the darker chocolate color effect. So that's it. We have here made all the colors. Now we will name all the colors. So we're going to start with the blue. So this is blue. Now, moving towards this side towards red here, this is red. This is yellow. So this color is violet. So we will write let color. This is red violet. This is blue violet. This side, this is green. Or teal color. This is yellow green or light green. Yellow green. This is yellow. This is orange. This is yellow orange. This is red orange. So this way we have named all the colors. 9. Cool and Warm Colours : You can see in the color wheel, the warm colors start from yellow to yellow orange, orange, red orange, red, and red violet. These are the warm colors. And the cool colors are let, blue violet, blue, blue green, green and yellow green. So we will start painting them So here, cool colors. We'll start painting the cool colors. So tight green. Then green. So this one is yellow green, then green, then blue green, then blue. This is blue let. This is let. So these six are the cool colors. Now, moving towards the warm colors. These are cool colors. The same way we are going to paint the warm colors. So starting from red violet, red, red orange, orange, yellow orange and yellow. So we will partition them. These are cool colors, and these are warm colors. So in the color wheel, starting from yellow green to let. These are cool colors, and these are warm colors. 10. Analogous Colours : In this class, we will see analogous color. Analogous color are the ones which fall next to each other in the same color palette. For example, red orange, orange and yellow orange are analogous color because these have the same color values. Similarly, yellow green, green, and blue green are analogous color. They fall next to each other with the same color value. Then the next is blue let, let, and red volet. These are analogous color. We will paint them. This is blue volet then let then red violet. These are analogous colors. Then we will see yellow orange. Orange. And red orange. These are analogous color. Now, light green or yellow green. Then green. Then blue green. These are called analogous colors. 11. Complementary Colours: Now we will learn about complimentary colors. Complimentary colors are the colors which fall directly opposite to each other in the color wheel. For example, here is a blue. Now right opposite to blue is orange color. So these are complimentary colors. The same way for the yellow color, complimentary color is violet. This falls directly opposite to this. Now for the red color, the complimentary color is green. It falls directly opposite to it in the color wheel. So we are going to paint it starting with red. Oh. Now the complimentary color of red is green. The same way, complimentary color of yellow is violet. Now, complimentary color of blue. Blue is orange. Uh, So likewise, we can create complimentary colors of all the colors. The color which is directly opposite to each other are complimentary. For example, complimentary color of yellow green is red violet. Complimentary color of red orange is blue green. Complimentary color of yellow orange is blue violet. That way we can create complimentary colors of all the shades. 12. What is Monochromatic Colours, Tint, Shade and Tone: Now we will learn about monochromatic colors. So monochromatic colors are the colors which have the same color hue and shade. For example, this red will have monochromatic colors of light red, then even lighter, then even lighter than even lighter. So these are all monochromatic colors. The same way for any other color, say yellow, this is dark yellow. Then yellow, this is lemon yellow, and then lighter shades. So these are monochromatic shades. Same way for the blue, blue, dark blue, sky blue, even lighter blue, and then it goes on. So that is how we have monochromatic shades of all the colors. So let's say, now I will paint the monochromatic shade of this green. Now, if we add some white to it, We will keep on adding some white. So these are monochromatic shades of green, as you can see here, green, then a shade lighter than a shade lighter that way. Hello, everyone. Now in this class, we will see what is tint. Now, tint are the colors which are added with white. Tint is a color which is added with white. For example, taking this blue. If we add some blue to it, then it becomes a lighter shade of blue. Then if we add some more white, then it becomes even lighter. That is called a tint. Okay? So we will take the example of blue here. So what is called tint. So I'm going to take this blue first. And then if we add some white to it and apply, then it's one shade lighter. Then we are going to add some more white Then the next shade of blue. So this is called tint. Uh, so tint is any color which has a mixture of white in it. Okay? So that is basically adding white. Now we will see what is a tone. So tone is described as a color which has gray in it. So we will take the example of red color here. So this is red color. So to form the tone, we will have to gray to each color that we make to further make a darker tone. So each time we are going to take a bit more gray in the existing color. So that way we get various tones of one color. Uh, now we will see what is shade. So a shade is any color that has an element of black in it, slight black. So we're going to start. We are going to take tale blue color and we're going to add a bit of black to it to form a darker shade now. In general, we call every color a shade, but in the literary meaning of what a shade is, a shade is when black is added to any color. So this way, we are creating third shade of teal green. And now is the fourth one. 13. Triadic Colours: Now we will see what are triadic colors. Triadic colors are the color schemes of three colors on the color wheel, which are equally apart from each other. In a triangle. For example, yellow, blue and red, they are triadic colors. Similarly, we can create any other color scheme of triadic colors. Uh, like yellow green, blue violet, and red orange. Next is green, let and orange. So that way we have painted trid colors. 14. Split Complimentary, neutral, rectangular and square colour scheme: Now we will see what is split complimentary color scheme. It is similar to complimentary color scheme. Instead of using two colors directly across from one another on the color wheel, it uses three colors, one primary color, and then two colors adjacent to its compliment. For example, yellow would be paired with red violet and blue violet. Likewise, red orange would be with blue and green. These are the split complimentary colors. Yellow green will go with red and violet. Now we will learn about neutral colors. Neutral colors are white, gray and black. Tetradic colors or rectangular color scheme features four colors spaced apart in a rectangular shape. This will help you choose two complimentary color pairings that work well together, allowing for colorful yet harmonious combinations. So we are pairing blue and green, along with orange and red. A square color scheme is four color equal distance apart from one another. Square color schemes are bold, vibrant, and well balanced. For example, yellow orange and red will be with blue violet and green. 15. Final Word : Painting your own color wheel is an excellent way to understand colors and create something on your own at the same time. It will give you a detailed understanding on how colors work. When you paint, mix the colors you're using with a small amount of white or black. It's an easy way to create natural looking highlight and shadow colors. Try this technique yourself and see what results. Some artists create entire paintings using shades and tints from just one color for a beautiful piece of color theory. So do practice all the exercises given in this course. Make the color wheel, experiment with primary secondary and tertiary colors, make various tints, shades. I would love to see what you create. Please do lever review. Thank you for watching. We'll see you in the next course. 16. Connect with me : [No Speech]