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Marvels' Nick Fury in the city

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Nick Cage as the leader of the singing people

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If Neil Breen were to get a big role in a big movie

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www.canva.com

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9 Great Websites Where Kids Can Learn Digital Art

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Introducing your kids to digital art is a great way to encourage creativity while helping them get accustomed to using technology. Art provides an opportunity for children to express themselves and can also contribute positively to their development.

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Guardians of the Galaxy 3

AND

The Marvels

Final portfolios are due April 25th.

Final portfolio presentations - April 26th

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We've missed you!

I hope you are feeling better!

Smiles,

Mrs. G.

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Bad Guys with "Face" Masks

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Ant Man in the Quantumania Universe with Godzilla

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Thor logo

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Chris Pratt as Zeus

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Week 14 - Art History in Context - 1990 - 2000

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Week 14 - Art History in Context - 1990 - 2000

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Guggenheim Bilbao - Spain - Gehry 1997

Humana Building - Michael Graves - 1988

The USA Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opens 1995

Frank Sinatra - 1915- 1998

World Wide Web - 1993

Google - 1997

Canada - Life of Pi - 1997

First Kidney Transplant - 1995

Berlin Wall comes down - 1989

Gulf War - 1991

Collapse of Soviet Union - 1991

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Since not all anime is intended for children to watch, we've compiled a list of series that are safe for younger viewers. This is our list of the best kids anime of all time, featuring shows with minimal violence and adult themes that are not appropriate for children. Need a suggestion for some anime your kids will enjoy? There are at least 30 great titles listed below, and they've been voted on by other Ranker users so that the most recommended shows will show at the top of the list!

What makes an anime good for a young audience? These shows are silly and fun, and most will teach a life lesson to your children in some capacity. Shows like Pokemon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Wedding Peach are all great choices, and most can even be found on YouTube if you want to watch them for free. Vote for the anime you would recommend to other parents, or simply use this list as a guide for shows that are suitable for your own kids to watch.

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Since not all anime is intended for children to watch, we've compiled a list of series that are safe for younger viewers. This is our list of the best kids anime of all time, featuring shows with minimal violence and adult themes that are not appropriate for children.

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Anime Art - 2000s

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Easy anime drawing || How to draw anime step by step || Easy drawing ideas  for beginners

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Cool Shades!

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You're tearing my shirt apart... Lisa!

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Starving Marvin

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Nice Jungle Tree for Africa

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https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/pSawnZM_JN-NdtbDH0d11Yght6lP1dPFOG-bn1__GPuUgC-sZc2-zzLAosUkxhxa.bfyXfOEMC6EKsLr5

Passcode: Pu6LD*PE

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Week 14—There will be no live class - on April 12th, but I will post a recording and information for you to use for Ant-Man and Guardians 3.  

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Week 14—There will be no live class - on April 12th, but I will post a recording and information for you to use for Ant-Man and Guardians 3.  

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(Next week, Week 15, you will be assigned to watch the last of the Marvel Movies, "The Marvels," and prepare your portfolios due April 25th.). I know we are doubling up to get them all in.. if you do a project each week, that is fine, or if you want to do a couple of extra projects so you have one for each movie.. that is fine too:)

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Portfolio presentations and last class - April 26th.

(Finish anything you have not finished to add to your portfolios:).

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April 12th - no live class, but there will be a recording posted for you:).

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April 12th - no live class, but there will be a recording posted for you:).

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Week 13 - Art History in Context - 1980-1990

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Week 13 - Art History in Context - 1980-1990

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Environmental Art - 1964 - Present

Georgia O'Keefe - 1887-1986

England - Beatle - John Lennon was killed - 1980

CD was invented - 1984

Chuck Berry in Hall of Fame - 1986

The Color Purple - 1983

Lonesome Dove - 1986

Aids diagnosed - 1982

USA - Artificial Heart - 1982

Gene Transfer - 1989

China - Tianaman Square - 1989

USA - 1st woman on the Supreme Court - 1981

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RICHARD LONG

Alice Aycock

Walter De Maria

Nancy Holt

Edward and Nancy Kienholz

Mary Kelly

MAYA LIN

Beverly Pepper

James Turrell

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Andy Goldsworthy - Earth Artist and his Process

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Week 13 - Art History -Environmental Art (1964+)

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Week 13 - Art History -Environmental Art (1964+)

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Environmental Art is sometimes called "Earth and Land Art". It began when artists used a 'new' medium - piles of rocks or dirt- to form gallery installations. The materials might be shaped by chance (such as a heap of sand) or by an artist (a circle of rocks on a museum floor). Ultimately, artists went out of the way places to create their (often impermanent) artworks. Some of the works exist today solely in films - photographs, drawings, and prints.

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Week 14 - Ant-Man and the Wasp - Quantumania

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Week 14 - Ant-Man and the Wasp - Quantumania

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Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania | New Trailer

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Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder | Official Trailer

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Official Trailer | November 11

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Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Project

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Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Project

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How many universe portals do you need?

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Strange and Happy

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The Strange-ing

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We will be honoring CLRC's Spring Break this week.

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Week 11 - Compositional Techniques - Color and Emotion

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Week 11 - Compositional Techniques - Color and Emotion

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Color theory is a body of principles that provide guidance on the relationship between colors and the physiological impacts of certain color combinations.

Color theory is one of the most fundamental areas of painting. The importance of understanding color theory far exceeds simply knowing how to mix colors together (for example, knowing that yellow and blue make green).

As an artist, you do not need to worry yourself about all the complex underlying principles of color theory. Rather, all you need to understand is the general application of color theory and the relationship between colors. Color theory is a fundamental base of understanding for artists and should not be ignored.

Color theory will help you understand the relationship between colors and how we perceive them.

In this post, we will discuss all the major elements of color theory. However, this will only just touch the surface of it. Color theory is an incredibly complex area. Luckily as artists, we only need to know certain elements of color theory that relate to us.

The History of Color Theory

General principles of color theory were evident in writings of Leone Battista Alberti (c.1435) and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (c.1490). The first color wheel was developed by Sir Isaac Newton around the start of the 17th century. This color wheel was an arrangement of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet on a rotating disk.

Since the origination of the color wheel by Newton, it has become one of the most powerful tools available to artists for explaining the relationship between colors.

The three primary colors are red, blue and yellow. The three secondary colors are green, orange and purple. These are made by mixing two of the primary colors. There are six other tertiary colors.

Using the primary colors, you could mix pretty much any color in the spectrum. This is why a solid knowledge of color theory is so important when it comes to painting and mixing your colors. This is also why you should always at the very least have the primary colors on your palette.

Boutet's 7-color and 12-color color circles from 1708

A Modern Day Color Wheel

Color Theory Terms

There are a number of color theory terms you will come across in art that are commonly misunderstood and confused.
Hue
The term " hue " is often used as a simile for the term color. Hue generally refers to the dominant wavelength of color out of the twelve colors on the color wheel (being the primary, secondary and tertiary colors).

For example, the hue of navy is blue. The hue of burgundy is red. The hue of sap green is green.

The colors below are hues.

Saturation
Saturation is a measure of how pure a color is. You can reduce the saturation of a color by adding gray or a color on the opposite side of the color wheel (which essentially kills the color).

If you completely de-saturate the color wheel, you are left with the following:

Tone
Tone is a widely misunderstood term and many artists are not entirely sure what it means, despite it being used so commonly.

Tone is a broad term used to describe a color which is not a pure hue and is not black or white. In many cases, artists use tone to describe a color which has been grayed down (de-saturated).
Value
Value is how light or dark the color is, on a scale of black to white. Value is widely considered to be one of the most important variables to the success of a painting.

A general rule I like to follow for painting is:

To increase (lighten) the value of a color - add white and/or yellow.

To decrease (darken) the value of a color - add blue, black and/or raw umber.

Value should be simple to understand, however, the inclusion of color can make it a challenging concept to grasp. You can have different colors which have the same value. If you take color out of the picture, then you will be left with just a range of black to white colors, with black being the lowest and white being the highest value.

This is why drawing is so highly regarded for improving painting ability, as it makes it easier to grasp the concept of value without having to worry about the inclusion of color.

It is widely considered by artists that value is more important than the color used in a painting. This is because value really sets the structure of your painting.

A value scale is below, starting with the highest value (white) to the lowest value (black). Between is basically a grayscale. You can make a colored value scale by adding white to increase the value and black to decrease the value. When you take the color away (de-saturate) the scale should look exactly the same as the value scale below. It is that translation between color and value which is extremely difficult to learn in painting.

High Key Versus Low Key
You will often hear paintings described as being high key or low key. This refers to the overall value scale used in the painting. A high key painting has a high-value scale (light) whilst a low key painting uses a low-value scale (dark).

High or low-key paintings often have a very limited value range. Below is a low key painting by Vincent van Gogh (painted before he found color):

Vincent van Gogh, Cineraria, 1886

Below is a high-key painting by Claude Monet.

Claude Monet, Grainstacks in the Sunlight, Morning Effect, 1890

Tints and Shades
Put simply, a tint is a color plus white. A shade is a color plus black. You can get a range of tints/shades by adding varying levels of white/black.

TIP: At the moment, these are just words. They have no benefit without application. So I urge you to think of this scenario to put the terms into perspective. Say you have a tube of red paint. Most beginners would think, great, one color to use in my painting. But by adding different amounts of white, black and gray you have infinite variations of that color at your disposal. Once I understood this, I really started to see the options that were available to me.

Color Temperature - Warm Versus Cool Color

The color wheel is divided into warm and cool colors. When a warm color is placed next to a cool color, there is a very strong contrast. Alternatively, when a cool color is placed next to another cool color (for example, green next to blue) there is a pleasing harmonious effect. These color combinations are discussed in more detail in the section below.

Warm colors traditionally indicate activity and light. Cool colors on the other hand indicate calm, distant and soothing environments.

White, black and gray are generally considered neutral colors. I get the most use out of these neutral colors not by using them for what they are, but rather to change the value of my colors. For example, if you have cadmium red on your palette, you can add various amounts of gray to make a range of tones.

At the start of a painting, you should determine whether you want to achieve a warm, cool or neutral (balanced) feel. When I write neutral, I do not mean just to use white, black and gray, but rather an equal balance of warm and cool colors.
Learn more: Color And Light - What Is Color Temperature

Color Combinations or Schemes

There are a number of commonly known color combinations that can be used to evoke certain emotions from the viewer.

Before starting a painting, you should briefly consider your color combination to ensure it aligns with your desired statement of the painting. For example, a complementary color scheme could be used for an aggressive and active scene. Whilst an analogous color scheme could be used for a calm and passive environment.

Here are some of the most well-known color combinations:
Complementary
Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel. When placed next to each other, there is an extremely strong contrasting and vibrant effect. If overused, your painting may become jarring and uncomfortable to look at.

You should select a dominant color and use the other color as an accent.

Analogous
A relaxing color combination using colors positioned next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous color combinations were famously used by impressionist artists such as Claude Monet to create beautiful harmonious paintings.

It is often most effective to select one dominant color, a secondary color and a third accent color.

Triadic
A triadic color scheme uses three colors which are evenly placed around the color wheel. The resulting effect is a vibrant scheme, even with low saturation. It is important to properly balance the colors to not overwhelm the viewer.

Generally, a dominant color is selected and the other two colors are used as accents.

Split-Complementary
This is a variation of the complementary color scheme. In addition to the dominant base color, there are two complementary adjacent colors.

This color scheme is easier to balance than the complementary color scheme and is a great starting point for beginner artists.

Learn more: Color Schemes in Art
The Psychology of Color Theory

Color has a powerful influence over human behavior, to the extent that it can manipulate your perception of what is actually there.

Here are some colors and their emotional influences:

Red: Passion, love, anger and danger

Orange: Vitality, creativity and activity

Yellow: Energy, light and hope

Green: Health, nature and wealth

Blue: Trust, security and spirituality

Purple: Creativity, royalty and wealth

We can use these psychological triggers to influence how we want the viewer to perceive the painting. If you want the viewer to have a passionate and aggressive response, then you should be utilizing reds and other warm colors. If you want a calming scene, then greens and blues should be utilized.

Idealized Views of Color

We all have preconceived ideas of what color an object should be. This idealized view can influence our perception of what is actually there.

If you are painting trees for example, there is a preconceived idea that trees must be green. But that is of course not the case. If you are not careful and do not observe the tree for what it actually is, then you may be drawn towards adding more green than is necessary based on your idealized view of what the tree is supposed to look like.

It is therefore important to paint what you see, not what you think.

Learning Color Theory as an Artist

Color theory can be incredibly complex, however for artists you only need to understand the general fundamentals of color theory. The best way to learn color theory is to purchase a color wheel or better yet, make your own using your own paints.

Another technique for learning color theory is to mix your own value charts of the twelve colors on the wheel (three primaries, three secondary and six tertiary). You will end up with a range of different values of the same color.

For the value chart, start with your base color, then work your way up in value by adding white (tints) and down by adding black (shades).

You should end up with a range of charts which you can use for later paintings as a reference.

You should also learn how to paint with a limited palette. The fewer paints you have on your palette, the more you will be forced to mix your own colors. This will train your mind as to how the colors relate to each other.

Summary

I hope you found this post useful. Color theory is a fascinating area and a fundamental knowledge for all artists.

This post just touches on the surface of color theory as it is an incredibly complex area. However, I encourage you to learn as much as you can about color theory as it will only improve your painting ability.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to add them in the section below.

Take the Quiz

I put together a simple quiz to test your color knowledge. Click here to take the color theory quiz.

Additional Readings
How To Mix Vivid Greens And Why You Must Understand Color Bias Inspirational Color Quotes By The Masters The Beauty Of Muted Colors - How You Can Use Muted Colors More Effectively How The Impressionists Used Complementary Colors To Great Effect Using An Analogous Color Scheme To Create Harmonious Paintings
Want to Learn More?

You might be interested in my Painting Academy course. I'll walk you through the time-tested fundamentals of painting. It's perfect for absolute beginner to intermediate painters.

Thanks for Reading!

I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and I hope you found it helpful. Feel free to share it with friends.

Happy painting!

Dan Scott

Draw Paint Academy

About | Supply List | Featured Posts | Products

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A Comprehensive Guide to Color Theory for Artists

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Color theory is a body of principles that provide guidance on the relationship between colors and the physiological impacts of certain color combinations. Color theory is one of the most fundamental areas of painting.

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Color Field Painting

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Understanding Minimalism & Colour Field Painting | ARTiculations

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Week 11 - Art History in Context - 1940 - 1950

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Week 11 - Art History in Context - 1940 - 1950

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Abstract Expressionism - 1945-1960

Pop Culture - 1945 - 1965

USA, Live Robert - Indiana - 1928

USA - Andy Warhol - 1927-87

USA - Jacob Lawrence - The Great Migration Series - 1941

Italy - Marnin's Horse and Rider

USA - Chattanooga Choo Choo - 1st gold record

USA - LP - record introduced - 1948

China - People's Republic - 1949

USA - Lilian Hellman wrote "Watch on the Rhine" - 1940

England - Churchill wrote "Blood Sweat and Tears" - 1941

USA - Fermi splits the atom - 1942

Computer - 1944

USA - Atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima - ends WW2 - 1945

India - British rule ended - 1947

Middle East - Israel established - 1948

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Week 11 - Art History - Abstract Expressionism (1945-1970)

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Week 11 - Art History - Abstract Expressionism (1945-1970)

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As the name implies, artists of this period expressed their emotions energetically and visibly in their artwork. Frequently, there was no subject at all (as in Jackson Pollock's work), but other artists allowed you to see abstract reality.

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Introduction

The abstract expressionists were mostly based in New York City, and also became known as the New York school. The name evokes their aim to make art that while abstract was also expressive or emotional in its effect. They were inspired by the surrealist idea that art should come from the unconscious mind, and by the automatism of artist Joan Miró.

TYPES OF ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

Within abstract expressionism were two broad groupings: the so-called action painters, who attacked their canvases with expressive brush strokes; and the colour field painters who filled their canvases with large areas of a single colour.

The action painters were led by Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, who worked in a spontaneous improvisatory manner often using large brushes to make sweeping gestural marks. Pollock famously placed his canvas on the ground and danced around it pouring paint from the can or trailing it from the brush or a stick. In this way the action painters directly placed their inner impulses onto the canvas.

The second grouping included Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and Clyfford Still. They were deeply interested in religion and myth and created simple compositions with large areas of colour intended to produce a contemplative or meditational response in the viewer. In an essay written in 1948 Barnett Newmann said: 'Instead of making cathedrals out of Christ, man, or ''life'', we are making it out of ourselves, out of our own feelings'. This approach to painting developed from around 1960 into what became known as colour field painting, characterised by artists using large areas of more or less a single flat colour.

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Tate glossary definition for abstract expressionism: Term applied to new forms of abstract art developed by American painters in 1940s and 1950s, often characterized by gestural brush-strokes or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity

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 Alex shared a  "How it should have ended"  link to how Spiderman No Way Home should have ended.   It is funny.  There are some other funny videos on that site too:).                                                              We hope that you feel much better soon!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNCOA8AUxdw

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Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Official Trailer

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Week 10 - Spiderman: No Way Home Project

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Week 10 - Spiderman: No Way Home Project

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Spiderman in a video game universe

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Superhero Scream!

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Hey Doctor, I have a pain in my universe!

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Maybe there is a way...

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Week 10 - Compositional Techniques - Color and Emotion

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Week 10 - Compositional Techniques - Color and Emotion

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Color theory is a body of principles that provide guidance on the relationship between colors and the physiological impacts of certain color combinations.

Color theory is one of the most fundamental areas of painting. The importance of understanding color theory far exceeds simply knowing how to mix colors together (for example, knowing that yellow and blue make green).

As an artist, you do not need to worry yourself about all the complex underlying principles of color theory. Rather, all you need to understand is the general application of color theory and the relationship between colors. Color theory is a fundamental base of understanding for artists and should not be ignored.

Color theory will help you understand the relationship between colors and how we perceive them.

In this post, we will discuss all the major elements of color theory. However, this will only just touch the surface of it. Color theory is an incredibly complex area. Luckily as artists, we only need to know certain elements of color theory that relate to us.

The History of Color Theory

General principles of color theory were evident in writings of Leone Battista Alberti (c.1435) and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (c.1490). The first color wheel was developed by Sir Isaac Newton around the start of the 17th century. This color wheel was an arrangement of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet on a rotating disk.

Since the origination of the color wheel by Newton, it has become one of the most powerful tools available to artists for explaining the relationship between colors.

The three primary colors are red, blue and yellow. The three secondary colors are green, orange and purple. These are made by mixing two of the primary colors. There are six other tertiary colors.

Using the primary colors, you could mix pretty much any color in the spectrum. This is why a solid knowledge of color theory is so important when it comes to painting and mixing your colors. This is also why you should always at the very least have the primary colors on your palette.

Boutet's 7-color and 12-color color circles from 1708

A Modern Day Color Wheel

Color Theory Terms

There are a number of color theory terms you will come across in art that are commonly misunderstood and confused.
Hue
The term " hue " is often used as a simile for the term color. Hue generally refers to the dominant wavelength of color out of the twelve colors on the color wheel (being the primary, secondary and tertiary colors).

For example, the hue of navy is blue. The hue of burgundy is red. The hue of sap green is green.

The colors below are hues.

Saturation
Saturation is a measure of how pure a color is. You can reduce the saturation of a color by adding gray or a color on the opposite side of the color wheel (which essentially kills the color).

If you completely de-saturate the color wheel, you are left with the following:

Tone
Tone is a widely misunderstood term and many artists are not entirely sure what it means, despite it being used so commonly.

Tone is a broad term used to describe a color which is not a pure hue and is not black or white. In many cases, artists use tone to describe a color which has been grayed down (de-saturated).
Value
Value is how light or dark the color is, on a scale of black to white. Value is widely considered to be one of the most important variables to the success of a painting.

A general rule I like to follow for painting is:

To increase (lighten) the value of a color - add white and/or yellow.

To decrease (darken) the value of a color - add blue, black and/or raw umber.

Value should be simple to understand, however, the inclusion of color can make it a challenging concept to grasp. You can have different colors which have the same value. If you take color out of the picture, then you will be left with just a range of black to white colors, with black being the lowest and white being the highest value.

This is why drawing is so highly regarded for improving painting ability, as it makes it easier to grasp the concept of value without having to worry about the inclusion of color.

It is widely considered by artists that value is more important than the color used in a painting. This is because value really sets the structure of your painting.

A value scale is below, starting with the highest value (white) to the lowest value (black). Between is basically a grayscale. You can make a colored value scale by adding white to increase the value and black to decrease the value. When you take the color away (de-saturate) the scale should look exactly the same as the value scale below. It is that translation between color and value which is extremely difficult to learn in painting.

High Key Versus Low Key
You will often hear paintings described as being high key or low key. This refers to the overall value scale used in the painting. A high key painting has a high-value scale (light) whilst a low key painting uses a low-value scale (dark).

High or low-key paintings often have a very limited value range. Below is a low key painting by Vincent van Gogh (painted before he found color):

Vincent van Gogh, Cineraria, 1886

Below is a high-key painting by Claude Monet.

Claude Monet, Grainstacks in the Sunlight, Morning Effect, 1890

Tints and Shades
Put simply, a tint is a color plus white. A shade is a color plus black. You can get a range of tints/shades by adding varying levels of white/black.

TIP: At the moment, these are just words. They have no benefit without application. So I urge you to think of this scenario to put the terms into perspective. Say you have a tube of red paint. Most beginners would think, great, one color to use in my painting. But by adding different amounts of white, black and gray you have infinite variations of that color at your disposal. Once I understood this, I really started to see the options that were available to me.

Color Temperature - Warm Versus Cool Color

The color wheel is divided into warm and cool colors. When a warm color is placed next to a cool color, there is a very strong contrast. Alternatively, when a cool color is placed next to another cool color (for example, green next to blue) there is a pleasing harmonious effect. These color combinations are discussed in more detail in the section below.

Warm colors traditionally indicate activity and light. Cool colors on the other hand indicate calm, distant and soothing environments.

White, black and gray are generally considered neutral colors. I get the most use out of these neutral colors not by using them for what they are, but rather to change the value of my colors. For example, if you have cadmium red on your palette, you can add various amounts of gray to make a range of tones.

At the start of a painting, you should determine whether you want to achieve a warm, cool or neutral (balanced) feel. When I write neutral, I do not mean just to use white, black and gray, but rather an equal balance of warm and cool colors.
Learn more: Color And Light - What Is Color Temperature

Color Combinations or Schemes

There are a number of commonly known color combinations that can be used to evoke certain emotions from the viewer.

Before starting a painting, you should briefly consider your color combination to ensure it aligns with your desired statement of the painting. For example, a complementary color scheme could be used for an aggressive and active scene. Whilst an analogous color scheme could be used for a calm and passive environment.

Here are some of the most well-known color combinations:
Complementary
Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel. When placed next to each other, there is an extremely strong contrasting and vibrant effect. If overused, your painting may become jarring and uncomfortable to look at.

You should select a dominant color and use the other color as an accent.

Analogous
A relaxing color combination using colors positioned next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous color combinations were famously used by impressionist artists such as Claude Monet to create beautiful harmonious paintings.

It is often most effective to select one dominant color, a secondary color and a third accent color.

Triadic
A triadic color scheme uses three colors which are evenly placed around the color wheel. The resulting effect is a vibrant scheme, even with low saturation. It is important to properly balance the colors to not overwhelm the viewer.

Generally, a dominant color is selected and the other two colors are used as accents.

Split-Complementary
This is a variation of the complementary color scheme. In addition to the dominant base color, there are two complementary adjacent colors.

This color scheme is easier to balance than the complementary color scheme and is a great starting point for beginner artists.

Learn more: Color Schemes in Art
The Psychology of Color Theory

Color has a powerful influence over human behavior, to the extent that it can manipulate your perception of what is actually there.

Here are some colors and their emotional influences:

Red: Passion, love, anger and danger

Orange: Vitality, creativity and activity

Yellow: Energy, light and hope

Green: Health, nature and wealth

Blue: Trust, security and spirituality

Purple: Creativity, royalty and wealth

We can use these psychological triggers to influence how we want the viewer to perceive the painting. If you want the viewer to have a passionate and aggressive response, then you should be utilizing reds and other warm colors. If you want a calming scene, then greens and blues should be utilized.

Idealized Views of Color

We all have preconceived ideas of what color an object should be. This idealized view can influence our perception of what is actually there.

If you are painting trees for example, there is a preconceived idea that trees must be green. But that is of course not the case. If you are not careful and do not observe the tree for what it actually is, then you may be drawn towards adding more green than is necessary based on your idealized view of what the tree is supposed to look like.

It is therefore important to paint what you see, not what you think.

Learning Color Theory as an Artist

Color theory can be incredibly complex, however for artists you only need to understand the general fundamentals of color theory. The best way to learn color theory is to purchase a color wheel or better yet, make your own using your own paints.

Another technique for learning color theory is to mix your own value charts of the twelve colors on the wheel (three primaries, three secondary and six tertiary). You will end up with a range of different values of the same color.

For the value chart, start with your base color, then work your way up in value by adding white (tints) and down by adding black (shades).

You should end up with a range of charts which you can use for later paintings as a reference.

You should also learn how to paint with a limited palette. The fewer paints you have on your palette, the more you will be forced to mix your own colors. This will train your mind as to how the colors relate to each other.

Summary

I hope you found this post useful. Color theory is a fascinating area and a fundamental knowledge for all artists.

This post just touches on the surface of color theory as it is an incredibly complex area. However, I encourage you to learn as much as you can about color theory as it will only improve your painting ability.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to add them in the section below.

Take the Quiz

I put together a simple quiz to test your color knowledge. Click here to take the color theory quiz.

Additional Readings
How To Mix Vivid Greens And Why You Must Understand Color Bias Inspirational Color Quotes By The Masters The Beauty Of Muted Colors - How You Can Use Muted Colors More Effectively How The Impressionists Used Complementary Colors To Great Effect Using An Analogous Color Scheme To Create Harmonious Paintings
Want to Learn More?

You might be interested in my Painting Academy course. I'll walk you through the time-tested fundamentals of painting. It's perfect for absolute beginner to intermediate painters.

Thanks for Reading!

I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and I hope you found it helpful. Feel free to share it with friends.

Happy painting!

Dan Scott

Draw Paint Academy

About | Supply List | Featured Posts | Products

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A Comprehensive Guide to Color Theory for Artists

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Color theory is a body of principles that provide guidance on the relationship between colors and the physiological impacts of certain color combinations. Color theory is one of the most fundamental areas of painting.

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Week 10 - Art History in Context 1930-1940

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Week 10 - Art History in Context 1930-1940

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USA - Art Deco - Chrysler Building - 1930

France - Rounault - "The Old King" - 1937

German - Self Portrait - Beckmann 1884-1950

USA - The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere - Grant Wood - 1931

USA - Swing Era - Duke Ellington

Electric Guitars introduced - 1936

USA - Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" - 1942

John Steinbeck wrote "Mice and Men" 1937

Jet Engine - 1936

Photocopier - Chester Carlson - 1938

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Week 10 - Art History - 1920 - 1945  - Modernism - Pop Art

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Week 10 - Art History - 1920 - 1945  - Modernism - Pop Art

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Modernism

The rules appear broken in color, form, and reality. They were all distorted to reflect the artist's viewpoint. The Armory Show in NY in 1913 brought European trends to America, effectively ending the naturalist trends of the Hudson River School and the Ashcan School's ways of creating.

Pop Art

Pop artists chose band consumer products or ordinary objects (such as the Campbell soup can or a target) to use as themes for their paintings. They often directly copied advertising techniques such as the Benday Dot or comic book styles.

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SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME - Official Trailer (HD)

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Week 9 - Spiderman:Far from Home Project

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Week 9 - Spiderman:Far from Home Project

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Spider in Blue

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Spiderpool

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If Tommy Wiseau were Spiderman

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Monkey-man in the dark

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Week 9 - See Art Theory for information.

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Week 9 - See Art Theory for information.

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No one showed up for class.

Please use the posted information for this week's projects.

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Please watch the movie and respond artistically using split-complementary colors in a dada or surrealist style.

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SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME - Official Trailer

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Use the Dada, or Surrealist style for your artistic response.

Color Theory Review - Note on your artistic response the intentions behind your color or color sche

Keep in mind the color theory that we have learned:

Color wheel

Monochromatic Colors

Analogous Colors

Primary Colors

Complementary Colors

Rule of Thirds

Focal Points.

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Dada - 1916-1922

The Dada movement began in France as a revolt against WWI. The name "dada' is a French child's word for "hobby horse," representing the non-sensical nature of its art. It fostered creativity by rebelling against transitional logic, art, and cultural forms.

France

Jean Arp

Constantin Brancusi

Marcel Duchamp

Germany

Kurt Schwitters

USA

Man Ray

Surrealism - 1914 - 1940s

Surrealism literally translates as "above reality". The movement which features unrealistic or fantastic images began France. The stream-of-consciousness writing style of André Breton inspired it. Freud's theories of the unconscious existed at the same time period.

Belgium - Rene Magritte

England - Leonora Carrington

France - Jean Dubuffet

Germany -Ernest Max

Mexico -Frida Kahlo

The Netherlands -Martis Escher

Russia - Marc Chagall

Spain - Salvador Dali, Joan Miro

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Week 9 - Art History in Context - 1920-1930

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Week 9 - Art History in Context - 1920-1930

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Spain - Salvador Dali - 1904-1888

Spain - Joan Miro - 1893 - 1983

England - Henry Moore - 1898-1986

Modernism - 1920-1945

USA - Harlem Renaissance - 1914 - 1940

USA - Romare Beardon - 1911- 1988

USA - Grand Old Opry - Nashville - 1924

USA - Nat King Cole - 1919 - 1965

USA - Showboat by Hammerstein - 1927

USA Probation - no liquor - 1920

England - Agatha Christie - 1920

Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby - 1929

USA - Discovery of nylon - 1931-34

England - Penicillin - 1920

Panama Canal - 1904

German - Leica Camera - 1914

USA - Stock market crash - 1929

USA - Lindberg flies over the Atlantic - 1927

League of Nations - 1920

Russia - Death of Lenin - 1924

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Week 7 - Ant-Man and the Wasp - Project 

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Week 7 - Ant-Man and the Wasp - Project 

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For ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ I painted Ant-Man riding an ant. I painted this in the impressionistic style.

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This week I painted Ragnarok’s crown in a dark cave with streams of lava. I painted as a movie poster using complementary colors.

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I painted Dr. Strange using the analogous colors: orange (which turned out more reddish), yellow-orange and yellow.

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I painted one of the ancestors in the tree as a panther. I used primary colors to paint this.

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Abstract Spiderman

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It looks like he got "Wasted." That's the End of the Game.

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Mystery Science Theater INFINITY!

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I'm (Nick) furious that the Avengers all went away.

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Week 8A/8B - Art History - Fauvism, Cubism and Futurism (1905-1918)

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Week 8A/8B - Art History - Fauvism, Cubism and Futurism (1905-1918)

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Fauvism - "The Wild Beasts" - interpreted their world as wildly unrealistic and with clashing colors.

Belgium - Maurice Vlaminck

France - Adre Derain

France - Henri Matisse

Germany - Erich Heckel

Cubism - The appearance of a real subject is fragmented and reassembled to show different aspects.

France - Marcel Duchamp

France - George Braque

France - Sonia Delaunay

Spain - Pablo Picasso

Futurism - Futuristic/Cubist painting was primarily an Italian movement in which painters attempted to show the speed and energy of modern life.

Italy - Gino Severini

Italy - Carlo Carra

USA - Joseph Stella

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Week 8A/8B - Art History in Context - 1905-1918

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Week 8A/8B - Art History in Context - 1905-1918

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France - Picasso's Old Blind Guitar - 1903

Italy - Boccioni's Unique Forms of Continuity in Space - 1913

France - Aristide's Seated Woman - 1901

France - Rodin's "The Thinker" - 1880-1900

USA - Ragtime - 1901

USA - Leonard Bernstein 1918 - 1990

USA - Los Angeles Symphony founded 1919

USA - Eliza Fitzgerald -1917-1996

USA - San Francisco Earthquake - 1918

USA - NAACP founded - 1909

USA - Income tax - 1919

Women's suffrage movement - 1910-1928

England - Doyle writes "Hound of the Baskervilles" - 1902

USA - Enstein's Theory of Relativity. 1905

Germany - Aspirin - 1897

USA - Wright brothers 1st flight - 1903

France - Marie Curie - 1902

China - Boxer Rebellion - 1900

Russia Revolution - 1917

Austria - beginning of WW1

USA - Model T - Henry Ford - 1908

Titanic Sinks - 1912

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Use the Fauvistic, Cubist or Futurist Style - include the name of the artist whose work you are using as inspiration.

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Week 8A/8B - Contemporary Artists who plan in the fauvist, cubist, and futurist styles.

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Week 8A/8B - Contemporary Artists who plan in the fauvist, cubist, and futurist styles.

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https://www.riseart.com/artists/cubism

https://www.artmajeur.com/en/magazine/5-art-history/cubism-from-its-origins-to-contemporary-art/331792

https://magazine.artland.com/art-movement-futurism/

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The term 'Fauve' means 'wild beasts', and refers to how wild and violent these paintings must have seemed when first seen at the end of the nineteenth century. Fauvism in art meant paintings that used intense pure colors in a totally non-naturalistic way.

The Fauvist Movement was a form of expressionism and was characterised by paintings of landscapes or people where both forms and colours were distorted for the purpose of expressing something beyond the superficial image of the object being painted.

History of the Fauvist Movement (1898-1908)

Fauvist Movement - Maurice De Vlaminck 'The Potato Pickers' 1905

The name of Fauvism as an art movement was originally coined in 1905 when these artists first exhibited together in Paris. The name apparently comes from the occasion when the art critic Louis Vauxcelles, referring to a classical sculpture situated among the Fauvist paintings, called it "Donatello au milieu des fauves", meaning Donatello among the wild beasts.

Fauvism in art was characterised by the move away from the impressionist and post impressionist short brush-marks to more radical and bold distortions of form and areas of violent colour. The Fauvist movement rejected the idea of three dimensional space in paintings, preferring a two dimensional surface of intense colours and vigorous brush-marks.

The leading artists of the Fauvist Movement included Henri Matisse, Georges Rouault, Andre Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck and Raoul Dufy. Another key figure in the Fauve movement was Gustave Moreau, who was a professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and who taught Matisse, Roualt and others. It was his encouragement to think beyond the norms of tradition that led to these artists creating their Fauvist paintings.

Fauvist Movement - Henri Matisse - 'Mme Matisse, or The Green Stripe' 1905

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The term 'Fauve' means 'wild beasts', and refers to how wild and violent these paintings must have seemed when first seen at the end of the nineteenth century. Fauvism in art meant paintings that used intense pure colours in a totally non-naturalistic way.

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Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame - Official Trailer

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Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War Official Trailer

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Impressionistic Ant Man

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Ant Man encounters the Venus Flytrap.

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Ant Man & The Wiseau - "I did not hit him... I did not!"

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The "Ghost" Girl

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Fauvist, Cubist or Futuristic Painting

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Week 6 - Ant Man and the Wasp - Due Feb 29th

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Week 6 - Ant Man and the Wasp - Due Feb 29th

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Watch recorded class

Watch "Ant Man and the Wasp"

Draw three ideas in your visual journal

Use the Impressionistic style to create your response.

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Marvel Studios' Ant-Man and the Wasp - Official Trailer #1

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Impressionistic Painting

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Week 6 - Art History in Context - Impressionism 1875- 1900

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Week 6 - Art History in Context - Impressionism 1875- 1900

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Art Nouveau 1890 - 1910

Post- Impressionism 1886 - 1920

France - Van Gogh's Sunflowers - 1888

USA - Louis Armstrong 1890 - 1971

USA - Berlin - 1888 - 1989

USA - Boston Symphony Orchestra 1881

USA - Carnegie Hall - 1891

India - Gandhi - 1869-1948

USA - Mark Twain - Tom Sawyer - 1876

USA - Telephone - 1876

USA - Lightbulb - 1879

Contact Lens - 1887

Xrays - 1895

Cause of Malaria founded by Ronald Ross - 1897

Germany - 1st Zeppelin Flies

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Week 6 - Art History - Impressionism. 1875 - 1900

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Week 6 - Art History - Impressionism. 1875 - 1900

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Original Impressionists are basically outsiders of the traditional French (salon). They were often friends who painted together outdoors. They were concerned with the effects of light.

Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917)

Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)

Camille Pissarro (1830 - 1903)

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919)

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Week 6 - Contemporary Artists who paint in the Impressionistic Style

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Week 6 - Contemporary Artists who paint in the Impressionistic Style

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Sujin Wattanawongchai

Diana Malivani
Frank Suplie

Marina Podgaevskaya

Xiaoyang Galas

Sandy Dooley

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Demon guy

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Uh... Jeff Goldblum.

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Why doesn't Thor use his lightning power all the time?

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Kind of Eilish-like!

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Watch recorded class

Watch "Thor Ragnarok"

Draw three ideas in your visual journal

Use Complementary colors to create your response.

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Complementary Colors

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Realistic Period 1850-1880

France - Paris Opera House - 1861-1874

France - Henri Matisse - 1869 - 1964

France - Debussy - 1882 - 1918

German - Strauss 1864 - 1949

USA - Scott Joplin 1868 - 1917

Russia - Rachmaninoff 1873 - 1943

Japan - Meiji Restoration - 1868

Woman's Suffrage Movement - 1869

USA - Barnum's Circus 1871

USA - Uncle Tom's Cabin - 1851-52

USA - Robert Frost - 1874 - 1963

France - Louis Pasteur's Theory of the Germ - 1861

Russia - Mendeleev's Periodic Law of Elements - 1869

USA -Buys Alaska from Russia 1867

USA - Civil War - 1861-1865

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Week 5 - Art History - Realism (1850-1880)

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Week 5 - Art History - Realism (1850-1880)

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"In place of lofty subjects such as mythology, history, or religion, Realistic painters preferred everyday, modern life subjects. A variety of personal styles emerged."

Photography was also invented during this time period, enhancing the trend toward realism.

France - Asters and Fruit on a Table Henri Fantin-Latour - 1868

Japan

Katsushika Hokusai - 1831 "The Great Wave of Kanagawa

USA

Washington Allston, 1804 - The Rising of the Thunderstorm at Sea

George Caleb Bingham - 1845 - Fur Traders Descending the Missouri.

Homer Winston - 1866 - The Game of Croquet

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Week 5  - Contemporary Artists who use Complementary Colors

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Week 5  - Contemporary Artists who use Complementary Colors

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Complementary Colors in Art

Complementary colors in art are opposite each other on the color wheel. They create a lot of contrast in art. Look around in the world, and you will be surprised how often complementary colors are used. What are the sets of complementary colors? The basic complementary color pairings are red and green, purple and yellow, and orange and blue.

Wassily Kandinsky, Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle), 1913

Pablo Picasso, Woman in Striped Armchair, 1941

Rufino Tamayo, Women of Tehuantepec, 1939, Oil on canvas

Red and Green

Shinobo Ishihara, Test for Color Deficiency

Vincent van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888

Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434

Henri Matisse, Portrait of Madame Matisse (Green Stripe), 1905

Pablo Picasso, Woman with Hat, 1962

Georgia O’Keeffe, Anything, 1916 (Click link, top right image)

Vincent van Gogh, La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle; Augustin-Alix Pellicot Roulin, 1851-1930), 1889

Orange and Blue

Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child, 1890

Edgar Degas, Ballerina and Lady with Fan, 1885

Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight, 1892

Paul Klee, Ad Parnassum, 1932

Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait, 1889

Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, 1872

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893

Purple and Yellow

Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1914-1926

Fritz Scholder, Dream Horse G, 1986

Henri Matisse, The Dream, 1940

Ray Spillenger, Purple and Yellow, 1963