Color Harmony

Color harmony is the art of choosing colors that work together. A random set of colors fights for attention; a harmonious palette feels intentional and creates a mood. Color schemes based on the color wheel are a reliable starting point.

Classic color schemes

• Complementary: two opposite hues (blue and orange). Maximum contrast and vibrancy. Use one as the dominant color and the other as an accent.
• Analogous: three or so neighboring hues (yellow, yellow-orange, orange). Calm, natural, unified, like a sunset or an autumn forest.
• Triadic: three hues evenly spaced (red, yellow, blue). Lively and balanced; let one dominate and mute the others.
• Split-complementary: a hue plus the two neighbors of its complement (blue + yellow-orange + red-orange). Strong contrast with less tension than a pure complementary scheme.
• Tetradic: two complementary pairs. Rich but difficult; works best when one hue dominates.
• Monochromatic: one hue in different values and saturations. Elegant and unified.

Explore them interactively:

Dominance and accent

Harmony isn't only about which colors, but how much of each. A good rule of thumb is 60–30–10:

• 60% dominant color (sets the mood).
• 30% secondary color (supports).
• 10% accent (attracts attention, usually at the focal point).

Equal amounts of two strong colors create tension and confusion.

Unifying a palette

• Mother color: mix a little of one color into all the others. It ties everything together, like a colored light shining on the whole scene.
• Limited palette: use only 3–4 paints and mix everything from them. Harmony comes almost automatically (see color mixing).
• Colored ground: paint on a toned surface and let it show through.

Color and mood

• Warm palettes (reds, oranges, yellows): energy, warmth, passion, danger.
• Cool palettes (blues, greens, violets): calm, sadness, distance, night.
• Low saturation: quiet, nostalgic, realistic, foggy.
• High saturation: playful, loud, fantastic.