The Xara Xone Workbook
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Color Combinations

The Secondary Colors

Secondary Colors are created by mixing each of the 3 primary colors. In this example the theoretical mixed paint model is used. The primary colors of red and yellow produce orange. Blue and yellow produce green. And red and blue produce violet.

 

The Secondary Colors

This logo uses the secondary colors.

 

Complementary Colors

Colors that appear opposite one another on the color wheel, such as red and green, yellow and violet, and blue and orange, are called Complimentary colors.  In art school, we were taught that mixing equal amounts of Complementary colored paint would produce pure gray. I had to adjust the two colors shown on the left to come close to this ideal. Of course the success of the mixture of the two colors depends upon the colors themselves. Mixing red and green, in reality, produces brown.

 

Complementary color palette

Here are two examples of Complementary color palettes. These colors are often used in the western world to represent the holidays of Christmas and Easter.

Alalagous Colors

Analogous colors are colors that are found next to each other on the color wheel such as red orange, orange and yellow.

 

Alalagous Colors

This logo example uses a palette of Analogous colors.

 

Alalagous Colors

Here are some palettes made up of other groups of Analogous colors. These colors can be lighter or darker as well.

 

Warmer and cooler colors

Colors can also be classified as warmer or cooler. This refers to the amount of warm colors, such as red, Vs the amount of cool colors such as blue, that appear in each color. The colors in the center of each blend represent the pure color. As the colors move to the left they become warmer, and as they move toward the right, they become cooler. Grays and even black can be warmer and cooler as well.

In CMYK printing, small amounts of Cyan, Magenta and Yellow may be added to solid black to add depth and richness to the color.

 

Continued on next page >

 

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