Scheming

Could the world even exist without color schemes?

I'm pretty sure it couldn't.  Coincidence or design, the world is full of color schemes.  Sure, we may have named them and imposed them upon things, but warm firey schemes, cool watery groupings, and earth tones are found first in nature, and then on our walls and websites.

So the answer?  Of course the world would come to a perilous end if it were not for color scemes. :)

Okay, seriously though.  Let's do a breakdown of color schemes!

Monochromatic is exactly what it sounds like: mono = one, chromatic = color.  Launching the Imagination uses Tracers - Side Order by Guy Goodwin.  For a less fine-art application, think Fiesta Ware, famous for classic monochromatic dish sets (unless of course you mix and match).

Analogous is just a bit off from monochromatic, using a few colors which are all next to each other on the color wheel.  This can get very technical depending on who you talk to.  I'm not sure if it's easier to pick the perfectly aligned pigments in painting or when designing on a computer, but all you really need to do is make sure they're not including too many primary or secondary colors into it.  It should only range between two primary and secondary colors, and include the connected tertiaries.

Analogous is the bomb-diggity of color schemes for people who get bored with just one color, but aren't "wild" and want to look somewhat sane.  Just imagine all the ocean-themed wall art, dining sets, paint chip booklets, carpets, clothes, appliances... it's kind of like the safety of the design and art world.  When in doubt, choose analogous.

Complementary color schemes are for people who know what they're doing.  Any two colors that are opposite on the color wheel are a complementary scheme.  It's almost as easy to create art with complementaries as it is with monochromatic... but it looks a lot cooler, and people notice when you start combining colors that aren't obviously related to each other.  The most recognizable complementary color scheme?  Christmas.  Red and green.  Of course it gets complicated with all these newfangled lights and creative people who want more than two colors to put on display during the holiday, but at the core, Christmas is a die hard complementary scheme.

However, I did say that complementary scheming is for people who know what they're doing, and this is starting to sound like an easy one isn't it.  See, complementary is for people who are a little more daring than analogs, but it is also the crucial bridge between simple and very tricky color schemes.  (Also, anyone who likes purple and yellow, or primary red and green outside of christmas needs to be banished from the world.  Kidding.)

Split Complementary is the step-up from the average wild-child artist's complementary scheme.  This one is kind of like putting complementary on steriods, or trying to do geometry after algebra.  You need to be careful, or else you might explode either from frustration, confusion, or pure elation.  Split complementary takes a complementary scheme, but instead of just two opposite colors on the wheel, it uses one color and then the two near-opposites.  For instance, instead of the complementary red and green, a split complementary would be red, blue-green, and yellow-green.  Or with orange and blue, it would be blue, red-orange, and yellow-orange (my favorite).

This type of scheming is definitely for the advanced artist, because as it is so complicated and sometimes mentally crippling, it's hard to identify in natural circumstances.  The three previous schemes are easy to find in the world around us: monochrome in just about anything, analogous in the sea or fire, and complementary in christmas.  But three colors (that aren't all within steps of each other) are too many for us to analyze everything around us for.  It takes mad skill to notice a bird or a flower is split complementary.

Luckily, these things can come naturally to those in tune with their artistic whisperings (voices in your mind) and those who just pay attention in class and try hard when they design.  Enjoy some split complementary art now, guys...

Georgia O'Keeffe, Jack in the Pulpit No V