In Color Theory With Crayons part one we were introduced to color, hues. This week in Part Two we look at tints and shades and some color combinations.
There is more to color theory than just the combination of hues in a composition, but also how light and dark are utilized.
Tints and shades are achieved by mixing a pure hue with white or black. Tints are lighter, and shades are darker.
Tints can be achieved by applying lighter pressure with a crayon or pencil. Application techniques can lighted the hue of a marker. Typically to achieve a tint with markers a lighter hue is selected.
A single hue with tints can appear to be many colors. This application creates a monochromatic image (one color).
This monochromatic image was created using a single colored pencil. Tints, lighter appearances of the color, were achieved by limiting the pressure when coloring.
In contrast, adding layers of color, increased pressure, or color blending will help you to achieve a darker shade of a given hue.
 Using hues from a similar color group can give the effect of a monochromatic image with tints and shades. A range of green markers were used to give this image the monochromatic appearance of tints and shades.
Color Combinations
There are many ways to help with the selection of color combinations. Magazines frequently will publish color pallets or color schemes (a selection of hues) that they predict will be the season’s popular colors, or are currently the popular colors.
Pintrest is rife with inspirational color pallets. Color choice is always going to be subjective, simply because different people favor certain hues over others.
Here are some links to get you started with Pintrest color searches:
Search Pintrest for Color Pallets
Search Pintrest for Color Schemes
Search Pintrest for Color Inspiration
Now lets start putting color combinations together
Last time you were introduced to Analogous (rainbow order) and Complementary (opposites) colors. You can modify these concepts to create you own combinations.
Skipped Analogous
Analogous colors are always pleasing combinations. A skipped analogous range can be created with a “jump” or skip over a single color in the range.
To “jazz-up” a selection of analogous hues, add an accent color – such as in the example:
In this skipped analogous example the colors yellow, orange, and magenta were used, red was skipped.
Complementary Colors
Pure complementary colors can be a bit jarring—think of bright red and green together. A modified complementary combination can be quite pleasing. Using a combination of split complementary with tints of the hues create very successful combinations. Copper and turquoise are a good example of this: copper represents the orange hue and turquoise is a tint of the aquamarine hue.
Modified complementary color scheme using using turquoise colors and coppery/orange colors
Next time: contrast
Coloring page examples from When Octopods Dream, Celestial Love Song, and the Zodiac Coloring Book