Module 4. Color Theory Lab

Traditional Pigment Logic for Artists

ColorNeutralization

Neutralizing a color with its complement creates “chromatic grays” that feel more natural in painting than mixing black and white.

Color 1 (Base Hue)Click Color to Set

Color 2 (Neutralizer)

MIX RATIO: Left %=Color 1. Rigth %=Color 2.50% / 50%

#888888 MIXED COLOR RESULT

Exercise 1: Creating an Atmospheric Gray

Skill: Neutralization

Goal: Mix a rich, dark gray suitable for a winter sky, ensuring it has warmth without being muddy.

Go to the RYB Neutralizer tab (Tab 1).
Set Color 1 to Blue.
Use the ‘Set Color 2 to RYB Complement’ button (this should set Color 2 to Orange).
Adjust the Mixing Ratio slider to 70% Color 1 / 30% Color 2.

Observe: The resulting tone should be a deep, slightly warm slate gray. In painting, this is how you mix chromatic grays using a complement, instead of just black and white.

Tints & Shades (Value Scale)

Traditional values are created by adding white (Tints) or black (Shades) to a pure hue.

Tint (Hue + White)

Base Hue (Pure Color)

Tone (Hue + Gray)

Shade (Hue + Black)

Exercise 2: Establishing a Full Value Range

Skill: Values

Goal: Generate the correct tint, tone, and shade for a base color to give a three-dimensional effect (highlight, mid-tone, shadow).

Go to the Values tab (Tab 2).
Set the Base Color (Hue) to Blue.
Observe the four resulting blocks:
- The Tint is your highlight color (Blue + White).
- The Base Hue is your mid-tone color.
- The Tone your base hue plus grey(mixture of BLack+White)
- The Shade is your deep shadow color (Blue + Black).

Challenge: Change the Base Color to Yellow. Notice how the Tint and Shade change drastically, illustrating Yellow’s naturally high value.

Color Harmony Designer

Use these classic geometric relationships to build professionally balanced palettes.

1. Select Dominant Hue

2. Harmony Scheme

Exercise 3: Designing a High-Energy Portrait Palette

Skill: Harmony

Goal: Select a scheme that offers high contrast and energy, perfect for eye-catching design.

Go to the 3. Schemes tab.
Set the Dominant Hue to Red-Violet. This is a popular hue for subtle portrait shadows.
Select the Harmony Scheme ‘Triadic’ .

Observe: The resulting scheme will be Red-Violet, Yellow-Orange, and Blue-Green. These three colors form a vibrant triangle on the RYB wheel.

Variation: Change the scheme type to ‘Analogous’ and note how the palette instantly becomes much softer and more harmonious.

Practical Exercises: Putting Theory to Work

Use the tools in the previous tabs to complete this exercise, introducing the real real-world mixing and palette planning.

Exercise 4: Application of a Color Scheme

Skill: Using Color Schemes

Goal: Chose a photograph and select the appropriate color scheme to develop a painting.

Select a photograph that you would like to use for this exercise.
Using the Viefinder select the best composition from your photograph.
Go to the Schemes tab (Tab 3).
Set the Dominant Color to the Dominant color in your photograph (usually the color of the photograph’s background) .
Using the Dominant color select the best harmony (Complementary,Analogous, Triadic, Split Complementary, Square, or Tetradic Scheme type)
Go to Values (Tab 2.), select your colors, and use Black or White in your mix to match the Tint and Shades of the Color Harmony Scheme that you have selected for your painting.
When mixing your colors use the Neutralizer (Tab 1) to preview your color mixes and the percentages needed for each color paint to arrive to the right values and hues in your mix.

Apply: Transfer the composition to your canvas and make a painting using the selected Scheme. Your painting clor don’t have to be and exact match to the photograph’s, follow the selected Color Scheme. When finished, upload the name and colors of the selected Color Scheme, a copy of the Viewfinder Composition, and an image of your final painting for evaluation.