mum23

Thanks to hanging for passing the baton for this challenge to me!

I’ve been reading about complementary colours recently. From primary school days, I remembered that complementary colours are those that are opposite on the colour wheel; red and green, orange and blue, and yellow and purple are the three sets of opposite colours.

I’ve found it fascinating to learn that not only do complementary colours appear to intensify each other when they are used next to each other, but that artists also mix or underpaint with a complementary colour when they want to tone a bright colour down.

For this challenge, I would like you to draw pictures which strongly feature complementary colours. Your pictures may use some other colours, but try to use the pairs of colours together so that they dominate your pictures.

Here are a few examples to illustrate (thank you to the artists – I hope nobody minds me using their pictures for this) :

Red and green

By marky
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119830

by cdaws12
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119793

by maggiemae
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119744



Orange and blue

By pollyesther
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=83600

by Luna
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=52899


Yellow and purple

By polenta
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119727

By denee
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119723

by maggiemae
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119820


Have fun! Do pictures, doodles, patterns or whatever takes your fancy! The challenge will run to 9 October and I’ll pass the baton the following day.

... and if anybody else would like to expand on the subject and theory of complementary colours, please feel free to impart your wisdom here too!

mum23

Here's one to start the ball rolling...

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119837

This is from a photograph I took of my younger son a few months ago. He was sitting at the table having breakfast. The sun had just risen and was casting almost horizontal shadows across his face. I took a series of photos; in most of them he was laughing and hamming it up for the camera, but I loved this thoughtful one!

He was most amused that I wanted to draw it in purple and yellow... "I'm not purple and yellow, mum!" and he went off laughing to himself. When he came back into the room with his sister some time later, they were still laughing about me trying to draw him in those colours!

Then he saw the picture. His expression was priceless; it actually brought tears to my eyes. It was written all over his face - he was just rapt! After he stood looking for a few moments, he ran over and hugged me. He was obviously very touched, and so was I. It was a beautiful moment!

hanging

Mum, this is stunning! I didn't know about the complementary colours and it surely makes the difference in drawing by knowing it.
I feel so excited to draw and see the difference using the colours!!!

Normal

You mentioned the 3 obvious sets of complementary colors, using the 3 each primary & secondary ones. The tertiary colors also have their opposites, or complements. Examples are red-violet to yellow-green, or green-blue (aqua!) to red-orange.

stevedover1965

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=107211

I did this picture using contrasting colours

hanging

I just had to try this once...!

yellow/purple (purple didn't come out as I wished though. Lol.
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119911
orange/blue
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119913
red/green
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119914

five

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119915

five

orange/yellow and blue on fruit

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119922

polenta

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=11985

polenta

Sorry I meant this one

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119857

mum23

It's great to see some entries already!

Normal, thank you for adding your comment about the other complementary colours. I suppose every colour has an opposite on the colour wheel, doesn't it? The primary and secondary colours are just the easiest to recognise and describe!

Thank you for your 'older' picture, Steve. I did look around for examples... if anybody else has 'old' pictures that would suit this challenge, please add them too, although only new pics will be eligible for the baton!

Hanging, I love your experiments! The blue/orange one illustrates perfectly another attribute of complementary colours. The warm (in this case, orange and red) colours almost jump out of the picture at you, while the cool (blue) recedes into the background. Keep having fun with it!

Thanks for your pictures too, five! The way you've used all three combinations throughout the picture in 'grumpy' is wonderful... and a good lesson in how to use the colours when doing a realistic picture. With 'rush in' the blue is more muted (grey-blue), but still very effective against the orange.

Once you start to look at the way colours work together, you see them everywhere... bright red flowers against green foliage, ochre desert sands against blue skies, and a multitude of flowers which are purple and yellow.

Keep the pics coming in, and have fun!

mum23

Thanks polenta... you posted yours while I was typing! That red cape against the green bull(!) works brilliantly!

five

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119931

five

When thinking of compliments in terms of red/ green, orange/blue, and yellow/purple, remember those are quite broad descriptors (the "blue" that compliments "orange" tends toward turquoise, not darker blue (the compliment of which is more yellow than orange), most purples find a better compliment in greens (the yellowish side of green); etc.

The compliment of a color is its after image -- stare at the color (a little hard on the eyes with the computer, so more for looking at colors not on the computer screen) and then move your eyes to a white wall; the after image will flash the exact compliment to the color you stared at. You can also put the color up against a light grey paper and the edge between the color and the grey paper will flash the complimentary color.

With color, it's best to build a "feel" than to get bogged down in color theory shorthand. You can actually create more than one color wheel (not a bad color exercise) depending on whether your looking at additive or subtractive color (light or pigment) and through one color model or another color model. This is not to dismiss the basic color wheel we learn as kids; it's useful as a short hand. Just pointing out shortcomings.

There's a pretty good Wikapedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementary_color

clorophilla

I think the right link is the following: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementary_colours

I remember a very enlighting debate on this matter, in an old topic, with link to many useful palettes: do anyone remember where it was?

clorophilla

Not sure that those old pics fit - I tend to use a lot of colours!

this may be? http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=116326

green and red:
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=114660
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=113594
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=109582
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=100995
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=99742
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=97119
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=71806

blue and orange
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=109773
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=101138

purple and yellow:
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=99414
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=71699

all three matching:
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=104097

clorophilla

mmmh... the jumping fish should be in the orange/blue group

solange62

Here two old of mine, just for fun...

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=117046
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=66531

clorophilla

a new one
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=119952

polenta

I remember my mother saying to me:

-"Brown and green match. After all nature can't be wrong and a tree has these two colors."

Was she right?