FREE COURSE · COLOUR THEORY
Make colour
work for your ideas.
Three short lessons and three original exercises. Start with the basics and practise on paper or with any drawing tool.
LESSON 01
Hue, value and chroma
Hue is the colour family: red, yellow, blue and everything between. Value describes how light or dark a colour appears. Chroma describes its intensity, from muted to vivid. These are different properties: a bright red and a dark red share a hue but differ in value.
Try it
Choose a hue. Make five swatches from light to dark, then three versions from muted to intense. Label what changes in each row.
LESSON 02
The colour wheel and relationships
A colour wheel arranges hues in a circle. Neighbouring hues are called analogous; hues opposite one another are complementary. These relationships help you explore contrast and unity. Traditional paint wheels and digital colour models differ, so test the colours in the medium you use.
Try it
Create two small compositions of the same object. Use neighbouring hues in one and an opposite pair in the other. Compare the mood and which areas attract attention.
LESSON 03
Mixing and matching in practice
Start with a limited palette. Test mixtures before committing to a composition and keep notes about proportions. Paint and light mix differently; adding white to paint changes value and often chroma. Colour appearance also changes with the background and lighting.
Try it
Choose three colours and make a six-swatch palette. Design a simple event poster using those swatches. Check it in greyscale: can you still see the main message clearly?