The 1st tutorial, Color Combinations
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Before I start on those tutorials that require your graphic program, I wanna say about color combinations. The ability to combine colors correctly is a thing required for every digital artist. Ever seen a graphic that has a color combination that looks ugly? Thats why, this color combination thing is vital. We know that not everyone reading here knows art theory, so we try to make things simple...
1st think hard about your subject, the main focus of a digital graphic you want to make. What your theme is about. What feelings your subject gives. The main impression you want to give. Is it more to the darker side or the lighter side.
Because all designs are either light or dark, or somewhere between. So, decide if your picture is more of white or black.
2nd, choose the hue that represents your design... you can go somewhere in between hues or two and more suitable ones. Refer to what you think of your subject often. Do not choose a hue just because it looks nice. Like, if your subject hints about bloodshed, maybe you wanna use red. If your subject depicts fun, you wan to use orangish yellow. Afterall, digital art is a way of conveying your feelings.
Now, think of which color style depicts your topic the best. We have given a few common ones used in modern webdesign here. For other forms of graphic design, you may want to try your own style, but please make sure it looks nice to you and ask others as well. Try to use your own colors. Don't just take what is here, because we're sure you have your own taste as well.
- Striking. Uses contrasting hues and shades. Saturation is mostly high. Something like this blog. Used mostly in blogskins or fansites, as it depicts energy and blodness.
- Monotone. All in 1 hue. Only difference in saturation and brightness. It may seem a bit boring and dull, but if shades are correctly chosen, a calming effect can be prodeced.
- Corporate Style. The typical color style depicted in those company websites. Colors are slightly paler and combines to give a smooth feeling, as they are quite similar in hue. Can be used to create more of a professional look.
Apply it. When you use the tools in your image program, use the colors you have thought of or predefined in your color scheme. If you are plain lazy, or skillful enough to choose a good color on the spot, you may just change the colors on the spot till it looks good. If you do not have much experience in graphic editing or art, you may need some time to cultivate or find your preferred style of combining colors. Anyway, a good color scheme should have good contrast in terms of saturation and brightness. This is the way for your design to captivate viewer's eyes.
We have found a good color scheme maker here
http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme2/index-en.html
Some of the terms used may be unfamiliar, but you can try and play around and get what you want! If you really like a particular result, copy the hex values into your favorite image editor.
A simple guild line: When you are making a website, please note that the content text and background should not contrast each other in hue to greatly (eg. red and blue), but instead contrast more in terms of saturation and brightness (eg. Blackish green and Pale white green). This is a rather important factor to make your text look soothing to the eye/easy to read.
Labels: Graphic Tutorials
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