While we think of colors as independent—this blue, that red—a color is never seen alone but always in the context of other colors. Like a musical note, no one color is “good” or “bad.” Rather, it’s one part of a composition that as a whole is pleasing or not. The color wheel is our tool for understanding how colors relate to one another. This 19-page article from issue 45 of Before&After Magazine teaches you how to use the color wheel—our tool for understanding which colors go with what.
The amount of color matters. Palettes can be made warmer/ cooler, darker/lighter, stronger/ quieter and so on by using more or less of some colors.
© John McWade/Before&After Magazine, courtesy of Gaye Anne McWade.
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