Every Monday is Tip Day! Grab a cup of coffee and get over the Monday morning bump with tips, tools, and inspiration from Perch.
This Week: Make Color Charts
Making color charts is one of the easiest ways to explore new color combinations and break out of a creative rut. Color charts also serve a dual purpose in that they allow you to see how your colors look in different values on your medium of choice.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
There’s a color chart for just about every art genre. I love working with colored pencils when I make my color charts, but you could tape paint swatches, fabric samples, or yarn swatches to a sheet of paper. Paints are easy to work with, but you could also use clay, regular Crayola crayons, oils pastels, comte crayons, or even sidewalk chalk for this project. Even magazine clippings would work!
Two Kinds of Color Charts
My favorite kind of color chart is less about theory and more about creating a pleasing color palette. I arrange different color swatches and textures on a sheet in my sketchbook or on a sturdy board until I create a combination that works for me. (Interior designers also use this technique when they are selecting colors and textures for a space.)
The second kind of color chart is a bit more technical, but it helps open up your mind to new color combinations, as well as new hues and variances possible with the color palette you have available. To create this kind of color chart, you want to create a grid outline on a sheet of paper and use a “mixable” medium – like paint, colored pencil, crayon, etc. On the top row and far left column, create a “pure” swatch of each color (I used white, yellow, orange, and red). Then, work your way across the columns to create new combinations. My second row (first row of combinations) looked like this: Y, Y+W, Y+O, Y+R. For more detailed instructions, visit Susan Savad’s website.
Color Inspiration
I can’t leave you to your color chart-making without first offering some inspiration from fellow artists.
Seascape Color Chart by Lorus Maver, Flickr
Color Chart #2 by vickysketches, Flickr
Color Chart - Muted Earth Colors, by vickylw, Flickr
Color Chart, by insect anatomy, Flickr
For more inspiration, check out the Colour Charts group on Flickr. Time to start coloring!
Related posts:
- Every Monday is Tip Day! This Week: Keep Your Ideas in Front of You
- Every Monday is Tip Day! This Week: See with Colour
- Art is Everywhere. This Week: Pantone Color of the Year
- Every Monday is Tip Day! Try Exploratory Art
- Every Monday is Tip Day! This Week: Get Out in the World
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