When it comes to colors things aren’t just black and white. In fact some would even argue if those are colors, but that discussion is for another day. For now, we’re just going to talk a little about the color wheel and hopefully give you enough coloring tips to make your adult coloring journals amazing works of art.
The color wheel identifies three types of colors: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary
colors (Red, Yellow, and Blue – P in the color wheel) are true colors from nature and are used to create all other colors. Secondary colors (Orange, Green, and Purple – S in the color wheel) are created by mixing two primary colors. Tertiary colors (Red-Orange, Orange-Yellow, Yellow-Green, Green-Blue, Blue-Purple, Purple-Red) are created by mixing adjacent primary and secondary colors.
Half of the color wheel has “Warm” colors that are said to reflect passion, happiness, enthusiasm, and energy. The other half of the color wheel has “Cool” colors, which are said to give a sense of calm or professionalism. And finally we have the complementary colors. Complementary colors are directly opposite each other on the color wheel (Red – Green, Orange – Blue, Yellow – Purple, etc.)
Color Theory
Now in color theory you will also find these terms:
- Hue – the actual color with its qualities of yellowness and blueness. Intensity is the degree of purity, or saturation of the color.The more intense a color, the more of the pure color is added.
- Tint – formed when a color is mixed with white. The more white in a color the lighter the tint.
- Shade – formed when a color is mixed with black. The more black added to the color the darker the shade.
- Tone – formed when a color is mixed with grey.
By the way, it’s color theory that also defines the cool and warm colors we talked about earlier.
Color Schemes
Once you have a basic understanding of the color wheel and see how different color combination are formed, you can use one or more colors to create a color scheme.
- Monochromatic Schemes – single-color schemes; use one color and its variations for intensity and values. Neutrals colors are considered part of the monochromatic color schemes. Using this scheme, your drawings will look unified.
- Harmonious Schemes – colors from the same side of the color wheel. Yellows and oranges, or greens and blues are two examples of harmonious combinations.
- Analogous Schemes – composed of related color schemes; bring colors together that are beside each other on the color wheel. Even though this scheme is easy enough to accomplish, to avoid a flat overall drawing, use one or two light dominant colors and for the third one choose a darker shade as an accent. An example of this color scheme would be blue, blue-green and blue-violet.
- Triadic Schemes – created using three colors (hues) all at the same distance from each other on the color wheel. An example would be blue, red, and yellow. Because these colors are unrelated you should use their tints and shades in order to avoid a harsh overall effect.
Keep in mind that in almost all cases, when choosing a color scheme, all colors are altered and combined to soften their impact and create a mood.
Coloring Tips
The cool thing about color is that what you like and we like, and everyone else likes, is not going to be the same. And since the adult coloring journal your drawing in is all yours, we suggest that you draw from your own experiences and decide on the colors you want to use for each of your drawings.
However, we do know that most people prefer to use colored pencils when coloring their drawings. One reason is because colored pencils offer a lot of versatility, enabling you to easily blend and shade colors. Another reason is that they typically don’t have the bleed through problem that felt-tip markers have. Of course you also have the option of using crayons, chalks, and paints. Although some of those tend to get a little messy and require drying time. WARNING: if you’re going to use something that will bleed through, make sure you put something in between your pages and also realize that you’ll probably not be able to use the item on the back side of the page you just used.
Shading
Our final coloring tip relates to shading. Shading allows you to add “dimension” to your drawings. Dimensions can be created by layering your colors or mixing different colors along the edges or corners of your drawing. Shading can also be added with dots or fine black lines before coloring with your pencils, or by using a darker color over a lighter area of the same color.
Creating Your Master Piece
When all is said and done, or colored, however you color in your drawings and whether you stay within the lines or not, is total up to you. Whether you use it to express how you’re inner most feelings, or to release built up tension from a stress filled day, or just to color, your adult coloring journal is yours and yours alone. Each and every drawing you color is your master piece.
We hope you enjoy your journal and if you’re looking for more journals, or just other books in general, checkout our other books when you have a chance. And don’t forget to visit our coloring downloads page for some extra special stuff too!
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