This post is about my creation of a color "wheel". Above you see my swatches waiting to be cut and put into a wheel. (There are also value and intensity scales to come.) Note that I did not spend more than one click adjusting the colors from the photograph! If you want a wheel, make one, it will be educational. :-)I have been battling with color for about a year and a half now. (I avoided it the previous 10 years because I knew I wouldn't get it. ;-) Now, I must say that I have painted a color wheel in the last year (actually painted - with acrylics.) Sadly, I didn't learn anything. So, this weekend with the gracious help of Ann Nemcosky I worked on one in colored pencil. Thanks again Ann for the ideas and answering my questions, you've been a big help.
I did not cheat and find the pencil that matched the most, I actually tried to "mix" them with layers of colored pencil.
Here's what I learned:
- A warm red (like Pale Geranium Lake in Polychromos) does not make a violet. It will tend to make a neutral when combined with a blue.
- A cool blue (like Cobalt Green in Polychromos) does not make a violet, again it moves more towards a neutral. (Clearly this point applies to other primaries as well.)
- When making a color wheel, just make swatches and then cut them out and put them together (so you don't mess up on the last square!)
- I think I may now understand the allure of Prismacolor pencils. I have never liked the wax bloom issue and I've always thought that oil-based pencils just felt better going on. Apparently though I'm in the minority because the three local art shops all only carry Prismacolors in open stock. I may be converting, we'll see. Anyway, the colors behaved how one would expect, they really did. They were the simplest to find the right primaries with.
And for you virtual sketchers...don't forget this Friday I will be posting the reference! I can hardly wait.
5 comments:
Did you decide to make a new blog for the virtual sketch?
Rose, thank you for explaining your color problems. I'm never scientific, I do by trial and error. If one color doesn't work I try another color and of course forget because it is a long time in between and make the same mistake again. I can see where you can speed up your work and I'm sure you eventually learn which colors work well and use them out of habit.
I probably have about 60 colored pencils but there are duplicate colors. About three sets mixed, I think. They may not even be the same brand. Hmmm. I will have to check this out.
Thanks again for making me think and try things. :)
Jeanne,
I think I have made a blog for the virtual sketch date, but I won't put the sketch date on there until the next one. I already told people that it would be on this blog and I don't want people to get lost in the shuffle. So, the posting on this blog on Friday will be the reference. Then, I will put the other blog live and off we'll go. Glad you are as keen as I am.
Jo, whatever your process is, it works for you - beautifully I might add. I don't think mixing brands is a problem, as long as they are of the same type, i.e. all wax-based or oil-based. You can mix oil and wax based, but it is tricky. Best to do wax first, then layer on the oil-based ones. You can do it the other way around, but it is a fight! :D
Interesting - I'm getting round to colour wheels in the next week or so and I'm also planning on doing some layering! :)
(Jeremy) I Love the colors you uesd so much. I Love you ssssssssssssuper much.
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