Colour theory

Jimmyfingerz

Mac-Valve Maestro!
Hello
Could anyone advise me on a good colour theroy book.
From basic to intermediate/advanced.
I’m a complete novice and there are so many choices of books i’ve no idea what one to buy.
 
My suggestion, don't buy one.
You can find everything you need to know online.
heres a free book that covers all you need
https://www.derivan.com.au/assets/downloads/the-colour-book.pdf


Heres a simplified advanced system
http://jon404.com/dload/mix.pdf
From what I gather this system is basically what @musicmacd has been discovering and leaning towards all on his own.

Buy something like this
https://www.dickblick.com/products/artists-color-wheel/


Thank you for this. It looks awesome...
 
I'm still using the grade school version 95% of the time :)
yellow+blue=green
Yellow+red=orange
Blue+red=purple
red+blue+yellow=brown
Brown can be made to lean toward any primary or tertiary color
Any color but red can be lightened with white but it makes it more opaque. Red can only really be diluted
Darkening a color is best done with its complement (which I usually have to look at the wheel to determine unless its red+green)
I'll darken with black if it's earth tones.
 
I’ve got a bit of money to spend on paint next week and was thinking of getting the createx illustration colour wheel set.
Is it worth buying for learning to mix,shade and tint in your opinion or should I look for cheaper paint while i’m practising?
I’m not fussed about the cost but if it’s a waste while i’m learning then I don’t see the point if there is a cheaper alternative.
Also is it worth buying the full colour wheel set or just buying the primaries to start with?
 
I’ve got a bit of money to spend on paint next week and was thinking of getting the createx illustration colour wheel set.
Is it worth buying for learning to mix,shade and tint in your opinion or should I look for cheaper paint while i’m practising?
I’m not fussed about the cost but if it’s a waste while i’m learning then I don’t see the point if there is a cheaper alternative.
Also is it worth buying the full colour wheel set or just buying the primaries to start with?

It's better to practice with whatever you intend to use, every system is a new education, get to know what you've got before moving on the the next, same applies to you're airbrush, switching between tools, paints and substrates will only hold you back so that you waste time learning how stuff works and have less actual practical time, just ask yourself if do you want to experiment or create?

I've given this advice several times over the last 6 years and those who chose to ignore it are still not producing or are still only practicing:(

I'll be starting up again very soon and will be sticking to one brush, one paint and one substrate for the very reasons I've punted out here.
 
I don't know. I don't have the wheel set.
I'll say this
yellow is weak, so for the primary set you burn through yellow making browns and flesh tones like crazy. Unless you have brown :)
Youll burn through white too no matter what.
The whole set is somewhat cheaper than individuals and easier and especially useful if you learn that advanced system or are planning to follow a lot of tutorials that call for stuff like sepia.

I would be likely to get primaries plus brown and extra white.
By the time you go through those you'll probably be ready to just get the set.
But IDK I mean it's kind of a toss up. Until you learn more about that advanced system I don't see you using whole lot of red-violet and stuff like that.
 
Is the advanced system Dru Blairs colour buffer system?
Is there actual online info or and training by Dru Blair on the subject rather than attending his class?
I have searched but i’m either blind or coupdn’t find any info lol
 
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It's better to practice with whatever you intend to use, every system is a new education, get to know what you've got before moving on the the next, same applies to you're airbrush, switching between tools, paints and substrates will only hold you back so that you waste time learning how stuff works and have less actual practical time, just ask yourself if do you want to experiment or create?

I've given this advice several times over the last 6 years and those who chose to ignore it are still not producing or are still only practicing:(

I'll be starting up again very soon and will be sticking to one brush, one paint and one substrate for the very reasons I've punted out here.


Createx illustrate it is then Malky :cool:
 
It's better to practice with whatever you intend to use, every system is a new education, get to know what you've got before moving on the the next, same applies to you're airbrush, switching between tools, paints and substrates will only hold you back so that you waste time learning how stuff works and have less actual practical time, just ask yourself if do you want to experiment or create?

I've given this advice several times over the last 6 years and those who chose to ignore it are still not producing or are still only practicing:(

I'll be starting up again very soon and will be sticking to one brush, one paint and one substrate for the very reasons I've punted out here.
This is good advice. I learned to paint trucks first then when i started doing art it was for work and every day was a different system ,different substrate, different intended environment and I had the fortune to be working beside people who already mastered it. A lot of what I've done for years applies to this. Still, I try to keep it simple because airbrush is airbrush and I'm trying to learn it.

But I do like to experiment, sorry Malky
 
Even though I have money to throw at learning i’m going to stick to the Hp-c plus, bristol board and find a paint set I like then just practice.
I think once I nail it i’ll experiment with different materials.
It’s great getting advice like this, makes making decisions so much easier in the long run rather than making oodles of mistakes getting there so much appreciated people.
 
Is the advamced system Dru Blairs colour buffer system?
Is there actual online info or and training by Dru Blair on the subject rather than attening his class?
I have searched but i’m either blimd or coupdn’t find any info lol

I don't know that much about "dru blairs buffering system"
but until I know better i'm calling BS. It's a normal six color system using transparents mixed with whites ( in other words pastels)

That six color system is what I was referring to. It's kind of an impressionists palette without the prejudice against black.
 
I don't know that much about "dru blairs buffering system"
but until I know better i'm calling BS. It's a normal six color system using transparents mixed with whites ( in other words pastel)

That six color system is what I was referring to. It's kind of an impressionists palette without the prejudice against black.

I’d love to understand any of what you just said but most of that flew straight over my head.
6 months time i’ll know exactly what you meant lol
 
I’d love to understand any of what you just said but most of that flew straight over my head.
6 months time i’ll know exactly what you meant lol
LOL. Grab some CI. It's up to you whether you go primaries or the wheel set. I think the wheel set might be a bit exorbitant until you've gone through a primary set plus brown and more white, but I'm sure theres lots of opinions there and it really depends on your style.
 
LOL. Grab some CI. It's up to you whether you go primaries or the wheel set. I think the wheel set might be a bit exorbitant until you've gone through a primary set plus brown and more white, but I'm sure theres lots of opinions there and it really depends on your style.

I’ll read all up on the links posted first and make my choice.
I want to focus on realism as that is the art I love and also have a massive love for horror which was what I set out to acieve when I started drawing(i haven’t done a horror drawing yet though)so really I think
for now I’ll stick to my dots and lines like a zombie and do some theory first before I delve in.
Thanks for the links, i’ll be hiding in the toilet at work tomorrow brushing up my theory haha
 
That six color deal might be your bag. I might star playing with that a bit more myself. For now I'm still trying to improve my technique before I start getting all anal about colors
You also might be a good candidate for bloodline
 
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Anyone else have the same idea that dru blairs buffering thing is just what the rest of the world calls tints?
Which just mimics pastel techniques.
That may be the case but unless we take one of his courses we will never know.
Its not unheard of for someone to take a technique, tweak it so it works well for their intended use and then give it a name to diferentiate it from other techniques. This applies across everything, not just airbrushing.
 
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