Harmony of color, or harmonization in color composition. Harmony of colors. Color harmony palette Color harmonies blue

Harmony from the Greek harmonia, which means consonance, harmony, the opposite of chaos. Harmonization methods can also be used in a color composition, there are many theories with the help of which they tried to achieve harmonious combinations of colors, many scientists worked on this problem, and not only and not so much scientists studying the physics of color and light worked, but, as a rule, those minds who tried to comprehend how color affects the human psyche, trying to achieve a certain perception by means of a combination of colors. Rudolph Adams and Albert Munsell are among the first to take significant steps in this direction. After them there were many, I will name some who, in my opinion, are currently the most relevant BM Teplov in his theory was based on a circle with three primary colors yellow, blue, red. Shugaeva V.M. and Kozlova V.N., these authors relied on a circle with four primary colors. Accordingly, we will consider harmonies based on the indicated color circles, and do not forget to mention color combinations where one shade of color is used, that is, a color wheel is not needed.

Harmonious combinations of achromatic colors.

As we have already found out achromatic we call shades of gray, which range from white to black. How can you achieve a harmonious combination between these colors. Here it is appropriate to divide the process into the harmonization of the colors themselves, that is, building a certain series of colors combined according to one principle or another, which will be used in the composition, and the ratio of the areas on which these colors will be located.

To harmonize achromatic colors, a stepped gray scale is used, or if the composition is monochrome, then a scale of shades of a certain tone. There can be a different number of steps in the scale, it is important that the steps divide the segment from black to white into equal parts, that is, the scale should be equally stepped.

Further, the required number of shades is selected from this scale, that is, the composition can consist of two, three or more shades of gray. Compositions of three shades are considered the most harmonious. Moreover, it should be understood that even when the composition consists of a large number of shades, often at the stage of sketching and compositional searches, they try to reduce it to three shades, for example, the landscape is often divided into three spots, the front middle and distant shots, which are trying to harmoniously connect with each other by means of tonal relationships. And then, inside these spots, to develop more subtle gradations while trying not to violate the integrity of the three main spots and the relationship between them.

Shades for a composition from a gray scale are chosen either with the inclusion of black, white and one or more grays, or only black and white, such a harmonic scheme is called complete.

If you choose white and light shades of gray, then this scheme is called light gray.

Black and dark shades of gray dark gray.

When the shades are taken from the middle of the scale, then this medium gray harmonic circuit.

Of course, all these schemes are rather arbitrary, for example, the combination of colors can be medium gray, but at the same time be quite dark. And the statement that the composition, divided into three tones, is the most harmonious is also not indisputable, there are different opinions on this matter.

Sometimes the gray scale is composed in such a way that it can be divided into dark shades and light shades, for example, if there are ten steps, for example, then you can clearly draw the line between dark and light.

It is believed that if shades are chosen that are located on a gray scale at regular intervals, then such a scheme is the most harmonious, that is, it is perceived as the most calm. If the intervals between the selected shades are not equal, then a more expressive harmony is obtained.

If in practice you have to use a gray or monochrome scale for harmonization, then it is desirable to have a large enough scale with as many steps as possible in order to have more room for maneuver.

For example, in etching there is a tool such as an etching scale, a type of gray scale that is used to obtain certain shades when etching an etching board. So etchers try to make more shades on the etching scale than they will use in etching, and this is done in order to be able to more flexibly and widely adjust the etching process, that is, light relations.

As for the ratio of the distribution of the selected shades on the composition, then there can also be different approaches.

For example, in a composition of three shades, you can go this way, divide the area of ​​the composition, so one shade takes 50%, the second 32%, the last 18%. We get a ratio close to the golden ratio, which will be perceived as a very calm composition.

Or another example, when it is proposed to divide a composition of four tones, thus 1/6 white, 1/6 black, 2/6 first gray, 2/6 second gray, such a distribution allows you to get a fairly calm balanced composition.

In principle, in this case, you can use any harmonious combinations of numbers that both mathematics and geometry offer, which we will probably talk about someday in more detail in the corresponding article.

I would also like to say that in fact, the harmonization of shades of gray is the first stage in the harmonization of chromatic colors, that is, artists, before proceeding to create a color composition, often create a black and white sketch. Many photographers also cannot do without a sketch, and often there is more than one sketch. There is a whole technology for the step-by-step solution of all possible artistic tasks, from compositional searches, including harmonization, to a detailed study of the entire composition in monochrome or achromatic version, and then they move on to creating a color composition as the final stage of work. Moreover, similar in many ways similar approaches exist both in traditional artistic technologies and in digital ones, and photography also does not shun such approaches and effectively uses them, especially in retouching and collage.

Harmonious combinations of chromatic colors.

The bottom line is that there are a great many different schemes for combining chromatic colors, they are based on different theories and using all possible color wheels.

Here, first of all, we will consider several of the most commonly used schemes based on twelve particular color wheel, where the main colors are yellow, red, blue, although these schemes can, more or less successfully, be used on any other color wheel.

First of all, it must be said that any harmonious combinations are divided into two categories, contrasting and nuanced combinations... Accordingly, any combination where a clear contrast of colors or shades is used and there are contrasting ones. And close, combinations, as a rule, located next to each other on a circle do not form an obvious contrast, are nuanced.

And so are the schemes of harmonic combinations.

Single color (monochromatic); monochrome color harmony - the use of several shades of the same color. This combination is analogous to the combinations of achromatic colors described above. Such combinations consist of at least two colors. Only in the place of shades of gray are shades used here, whichever of the spectral colors. And the color wheel is not needed to build this harmony, but a monochrome scale is needed, passing from white to black through the required spectral color. Harmony can be contrasting or nuanced, depending on the selected shades.

Harmony of Similar Colors or Related Triad; This color scheme uses adjacent colors on the color wheel and blends them. This harmony is most often used as a nuance one, but contrast is also possible here. White or black can be used as a complementary color.

Harmony of complementary colors (complementary); the complementary color scheme uses opposite colors. In this case, the contrast is on the face, and the compositions built on the basis of this harmony can be very contrasting, perceived as dynamic, expressive, even flashy. It is very easy to put emphasis here.

Broken extra; This is again a complementary scheme. But at one end, it divides in two, splitting into two related colors complementary to the third. The combination is even more complex than the previous one and is also contrasting.

The colors lie at the vertices of an isosceles triangle at an equal distance from each other. The combination is quite effective, even if you use pastel colors. Moreover, this scheme can be based on both primary colors and secondary, and even tertiary.

The proposed color combinations are used very often in all areas of the visual arts, not only in painting and graphics, but also in photography, design, architecture, and even makeup artists and hairdressers work with harmonious combinations.

But there is an opinion that the primary colors are not three, but four, this point of view is justified by a number of arguments, for example, it is argued, and not without reason, that a mixture of blue and yellow does not give pure green. A color researcher like Michael Wilcox even called his book “Blue and Yellow Don't Give Green”.

So the color wheels based on the four primary colors are also used to harmonize the color composition.

Consider ways to harmonize using this circle.

To begin with, let's describe the color wheel, using the example of the circle proposed by Shugaev.

The color wheel, in which the four colors blue, yellow, red, green are considered the main ones.

Between the primary colors, there are four groups of intermediate ones:

• yellow-red;
• blue-red;
• blue-green;
• yellow-green.

On the basis of this circle, a color harmonization system has developed.

Four groups of harmonic combinations have been identified:

• monochromatic harmonies;
• harmony of related colors;
• harmony of related-contrasting colors;
• harmony of contrasting colors.

Monochromatic harmonic color combinations; everything that has been said about the Monochromatic (monochromatic) combinations described in previous models, about the combinations of achromatic colors, fully applies to this group, in fact, this is the same group only the names in different models and different authors differ.

Harmonious combinations of related colors; Related colors are located in one quarter of the color wheel, between two primary colors. Shugaev has four groups of related colors: yellow-red (orange), red-blue (purple), blue-green, yellow-green.

Thus, nuanced color combinations are obtained, calm and restrained, although a certain contrast and emotionality can be introduced into them if you add a light scale.

Harmonious combinations of related-contrasting colors; Relatively contrasting colors are located in adjacent quarters of the color wheel, and not all combinations of these colors are harmonious. There are several schemes, using which you can choose the desired harmony:

• Horizontal or vertical chords are drawn through the circle, the ends of the chords are located on colors equally distant from the general main color, and from contrasting main colors.

• An obtuse triangle is placed on the circle, the long side of which is the chord described above, and the vertex of the opposite obtuse angle is the main color in this combination, the other two located on the other two vertices are respectively subordinate to the main color.

• Colors located at the vertices of a right-angled triangle, the hypotenuse of which is the diameter of the color wheel, and the legs, vertical and horizontal chords.

• Colors at the vertices of an equilateral triangle in which one of the vertices is the main color, and the opposite side is a vertical or horizontal chord.

• Four colors located at the corners of a square or rectangle, all of which are horizontal or vertical chords.

As a rule, if necessary, a light scale is added to these combinations.

Harmonious combinations of contrasting colors; Contrasting colors are those located in opposite quarters of the color wheel.

The two colors farthest from each other and, respectively, located at the ends of the diameter, are contrast-complementary. This type of harmony, the most contrasting, potentially very emotional and expressive, in general, has the same properties as the "Harmony of complementary colors (complementary)" described above. As in other schemes, it can be supplemented with a light scale.

And here it should be noted that the circles are different, and the schemes that are applied to them are in many respects similar, not in details, but in the main points there is undoubtedly a similarity, what am I for. In fact, there are much more harmonization schemes, and many may well work on any color wheel. It will still not work to formalize the comb to the end, you still have to turn on the flair and compare the colors obtained using the schemes with your own taste, and correct the result and the result can be very different from the one that was obtained using all possible schemes.

Get creative with your combing.

By the way, the schemes proposed in this article are simply the most popular.

For example, V.M.Shugaev, mentioned here, on the 16th private circle, revealed 120 harmonious combinations of colors.

But in some areas of fine art, for example, in design, masters have to work with color literally by the numbers in the catalog, that is, in a very narrow framework in which the free search for color combinations, as in painting, is simply not allowed. For example, when creating a corporate identity, you need to very clearly link the corporate colors to the colors available in the catalog. And here sometimes there are simply no options but to strictly follow the harmonic patterns.

When using these schemes, you need to understand that by themselves, apart from the other principles and laws that are used in the composition, these schemes will not work properly, that is, the basic laws of composition, integrity, subordination, expediency, must be observed. No matter how many colors there are in the composition, one is always the main one in one way or another, all the others are subordinate to him, the entire color system is built from him. Yes, there are compositions in which several different colors can act as the main one, for example, in an ornament, but then this composition is divided into several others where in each separate one is always the main color.

And so we looked at several ways to harmonize with different color wheels, and different harmonization schemes. The bottom line is that nature does not formally formulate laws as man does, but they undoubtedly exist, and nature exists in accordance with these laws, and in order to comply with them sometimes it is not necessary to use such rigid schemes.

The fact is that in practice and very often artists or photographers do not use the color wheel, and not because it is a bad tool, but because with experience comes the habit of keeping the circle in your head and building color combinations almost unconsciously. Moreover, many generations of artists had no idea about the color wheel, they were simply not taught this, but they still managed to make their works harmonious, how did they manage it.

Even before the invention of the color wheel, there were harmonization methods that did not require the use of the color wheel, and they are still used today. The very nature with which they wrote or drew prompted the necessary combinations of colors, for example, on a sunny day, all objects, the entire environment is saturated with sunlight, with its inherent color, which creates a certain environment in which everything around is immersed even deep shadows are still in this environment ... Although shadows are usually colder than sunlit places, the environment in which they are immersed still makes them warmer. Or indoors, when everything is illuminated by an incandescent lamp and the environment is even warmer, but the window as part of the composition in which we see a night scene will still not be so cold as to fall out of the overall composition, it will still be immersed in the environment it creates lamp.

This means the environment, that is, any particular shade can work as a harmonizer.

So in Painting and Graphics, as well as in photography, there are a number of techniques that allow you to simulate this effect. Let's start with painting, although in graphics such methods also work, firstly, often, when artists write a scene and select the palette of which they will write, they know in advance what color system they will keep. Will this composition be cold or warm and, accordingly, if, for example, the composition is warm, then even the coldest shades will be warm to a certain extent, this is called to take away to a warm range or to a cold one.

Still often, according to an already painted picture, if it seems to be falling apart in color, that is, there is no color harmony, then they can walk over it with a transparent layer of paint (glaze), thus subordinating the rest of the colors to the color that the given glaze paint had.

Or, for example, a colored soil is made, and some composition is painted on it with a separate brushstroke, thus the soil shines through from under the paint between the strokes and acts as a medium, subordinating the entire color structure of the picture to itself.

And by the way, there are many such methods, for example, watercolors write on tinted paper, it shines through the paint and also plays the role of a harmonizer.

And what methods the graphics offer, here you can use a contour as a harmonizer. For example, in easel graphics there is the concept of a drawing layer, it is often implemented in the form of a stroke, (contour) around the main compositional elements, it can combine elements the thicker it is, the more it subjugates all other elements and under certain conditions it can work as a harmonizer , that is, permeating the entire composition, it can play the role of a unifying element that aligns the color scale in the desired direction.

In photography, similar techniques also take place, for example, color filters, which already at the shooting stage already build a color range and work as a harmonizer,

When processing a digital photo or drawing in digital, there are also opportunities for similar techniques.

And one more way of harmonization is a frame and a mat, which can also work as a harmonizer, it is no secret the thicker the frame and the mat, or simply the outline with color around the picture, I mean the ratio of areas, that is, the thicker relative to the image that the outline is framed, the more it is collects the picture more or vice versa makes it more free, as a rule, if around the image there is a darker and wider outline (frame, mat), the more the composition seems to be collected. If the stroke is lighter, then the composition feels more free, in the flesh to the point that the composition may fall apart altogether.

So the frame can work as a harmonizer if you skillfully choose the combination of color and lightness of the frame. Moreover, the frame can fit the composition into the interior, work as a unifying, harmonizing element between the image and the interior, the room in which the image is located.

And more about the color wheel, we have not touched on the topic of practical work with a circle in this article, the fact is that there are color circles not only as schemes, but there are, for example, mechanical dried apricots, or programs based on the color wheel that are specially created for so that with their help it was possible to select harmonious color combinations. I plan to write a separate article on this topic, and in it I promise to talk about similar devices and programs.

Of course, the topic of color harmony does not end there, you can still say a lot on this topic, but the tasks of this article do not include telling everything, rather to outline some aspects and awaken interest in this topic.

Once again, be creative, and it will be interesting!

Dear friends,

when working with color, the goal of an artist, a designer is to create color harmony.

Color harmony- this is the consistency of colors with each other as a result of the found proportionality of their areas and shapes, balance and harmony, based on finding a unique shade of each color. This harmony should evoke certain positive feelings and sensations in a person.

By the nature of psychophysiological perception, it is customary to subdivide harmonic combinations into five color groups: monochromatic harmonic combinations of colors, harmonic combinations of related colors, harmonic combinations of contrasting colors, harmonic combinations of related-contrasting colors and harmonic combinations "Triad".

1. Monochrome harmonic combinations built on the basis of one color. They are created by combining the selected color with its light and dark shades, obtained by adding white and black. As a result, strong tonal contrast can be achieved, on the one hand, and subtle color relationships, on the other. The overall color tone gives the monochromatic combinations a calm, balanced character.

Monochrome harmony

Depending on the tasks set, color harmony can be organized in different light ranges. For example, using the full light range expresses calmness, stability. The selection of colors, separated from each other by different intervals, contributes to the manifestation of activity, color intensity. To express dynamic contrast, choose two colors with a small tonal interval between them and the third with a larger interval. The uniform ratio of the areas occupied in the combined colors confirms the statics, the uneven one - the dynamics.

Monochrome harmony in nature

1. Harmonious combinations of related colors are achieved through the use of three colors located side by side in the color wheel. Due to the proximity of the location, these colors are easy to combine. This harmony can have a lot of depth, rich personality and elegant look. The harmony of related colors is based on the similarity of color tones (or on their slight contrast in color tone) and evokes a sense of balance and calmness.

Harmony of related colors

The introduction of a small amount of white or black into combinations of related colors leads to harmony, enhances the emotional expressiveness of the composition. Active light contrast is inherent in the harmonies of related colors, contributing to the expressiveness of tonal combinations. For example, equally saturated three color tones of the same lightness do not form subtle color combinations. As soon as black or white is added to two of the three matching colors, the color combinations become consistent.

Harmony of related colors in nature

1. Harmonious combinations of contrasting colors are created by using two colors that are opposite each other in a color wheel. This technique is usually used to create accents, as combinations of these color pairs have the greatest color contrast, causing active sound, tension and dynamics of the composition. This allows one color to complement another in such a way that one of them attracts attention and the other is the background.

Harmony of contrasting colors

Starting to create contrasting harmonic combinations, first select the original color, then determine the corresponding contrasting color. By creating a harmony of contrasting colors, you can add achromatic colors to each of the combined colors.

Harmony of contrasting colors. Square

"Square"- a variety of harmonic combinations of contrasting colors of four colors, equidistant from each other.

Harmony of contrasting colors. Tetrad

"Tetrad"- a variety of harmonious combinations of contrasting colors of four colors, in which two pairs of colors are located opposite each other.

Harmony of contrasting colors in nature

1. Harmonious combinations of related-contrasting colors Is the most common type of color harmony, forming an isosceles triangle in the color wheel. Here harmony is achieved through the use of any color and colors adjacent to its complementary. These colors are softer than a combination of just two complementary colors.

Harmony of related contrasting colors

A characteristic feature of the compilation of harmonious combinations of related-contrasting colors is the presence in the combinations of the same amount of the main and contrasting colors.

Harmony of related contrasting colors in nature

1. 5... Harmonic combinations "Triad" - a combination of three colors, equidistant from each other and forming an equilateral triangle in the color wheel. This scheme is popular with artists because it offers strong visual contrast while maintaining balance and color saturation. This composition looks quite lively even when using pale and desaturated colors.

Harmonic combinations "Triad" show very distinct and strong color combinations, being, however, the most difficult from the point of view of correct creation. To achieve harmony in the triad, one color is taken as the main one, and the other two are used for accents.

Triad in nature

However, it should be remembered that in creating color harmony, not only the colors themselves are of great importance, but also the configuration of the spots, the size of the areas of the compared color tones. There is an obvious relationship between the different colors of any composition, each color balancing out or bringing out the other, and the two together affect the third. Changing one color leads to the destruction of the coloristic, color harmony of the artwork and makes it necessary to change all other colors.

What is color? This concept has dozens of complex definitions, but in simple terms, color is a feeling that a person has when light rays hit his eyes. It is easy to guess that the sensations of all people are different, therefore we perceive colors individually. Someone will say that yellow reminds him of the July heat, while another, on the contrary, associates this color with sadness and longing, recalling the well-known song about “yellow tulips”.

Each interior is unique in its own way, but each must have harmony: not just one room, but the whole dwelling as a whole. To create it in rooms located on the south side, you need to use cold shades:

• purple is the color of idealism that helps to increase self-esteem;
• blue - a calming, stress-relieving and emitting tenderness color of carelessness, which is ideal for relaxation, but not for mental and physical labor;
• blue - a symbol of constancy, perseverance, dedication and severity, helping to achieve harmony with oneself and with the world around;
• green - symbolizing prosperity and a new, unencumbered life.

It is customary to decorate rooms from the northern (cold) side with the shades remaining in the rainbow palette:

• red - a strong dominant, symbolizing power, stubbornness, determination and strength;
• yellow - the personification of mind, willpower and self-confidence;
• orange is the color of warmth, kindness, bliss and fun, it keeps you in good shape every day.

Cold to warm, warm to cold - this is an essential rule for combining colors in the interior!

Each of the above colors in the interior has a wide palette of shades, which also need to be used correctly, for which there is a special science - color science.

A little about color theory

Before you is a 12-part color wheel, which formed the basis of this science and directly the harmony of color.

You can see that all the spectral colors available in the circle are distinguished by excessive brightness, and to reduce it, achromatic shades are added to them: white and black. As a result, hundreds of new shades are obtained, in a narrow range which can be represented in the following figure:

This is already called "Itten's color wheel". As you can see, each color has several shades, i.e. own spectrum. And now we come close to the question of how these shades can be combined with each other.

Monochrome (monochrome) combination

From the name it is clear that monochrome color harmony is achieved by using shades (in unlimited quantities) from only one spectrum. A monochrome interior will always be in demand - this is a classic room design option that is especially attractive to people who prefer one color.

Contrast combination

It consists in the arrangement of two shades located strictly opposite each other in the color wheel. Using the principle of contrasting, you will make the room truly bright and memorable, highlighting the most important functional areas in it with the brightest color (in the kitchen - a set or bar counter, in the bathroom - sanitary ware, in the bedroom - bed and furniture, etc.) ... Add unusual things for your home, and then the interior of the room will become not only creative, but also unique.

Classic triadic combination

It is based on the use of three shades equally spaced from each other in distance within the color wheel. To achieve harmony in a triad, it is necessary to take one color as the main one, and use it in most of the elements of the home interior (mainly the main ones that play a dominant role), and with the help of the rest, make several bright accents.

Analog Triad Combination

Three colors are already used here, which are "neighbors" on Itten's color wheel. This combination is found everywhere in nature, so it looks extremely harmonious. By the way, as one of the shades, you can use green, unpretentious care.

Notebook combination (tetrad)

The use of 4 colors, equidistant from each other, or two pairs of colors located opposite each other. One shade is made dominant, two others complement it, and the fourth is accentuated.

Accent analogy

This is a triadic combination, complemented by another shade located opposite the selected group of colors. It turns out to be a rather aggressive palette, which needs to be worked with very carefully.

There has always been, is and will be a fashion for color solutions, as well as for everything in our world. Your choice: to follow it or not, but it is imperative to observe harmony in creating an interior.

Color harmony

When people talk about color harmony, they are evaluating the impression of the interaction of two or more colors. Painting and observation of the subjective color preferences of different people speak of ambiguous ideas about harmony and disharmony.

For most, color combinations, colloquially called "harmonious", usually consist of colors similar in nature or different colors of similar lightness. In general, these combinations do not have strong contrast. As a rule, the assessment of harmony or dissonance is caused by a feeling of pleasant-unpleasant or attractive-unattractive. Such judgments are based on personal opinion and are not objective.

The concept of color harmony should be removed from the area of ​​subjective feelings and transferred to the area of ​​objective laws.

Harmony is balance, symmetry of forces.

Studying the physiological side of color vision brings us closer to solving this problem. So, if we look at a green square for a while, and then close our eyes, then a red square will appear in our eyes. And vice versa, observing the red square, we get its "return" - green. These experiments can be performed with all colors, and they confirm that the color image that appears in the eyes is always based on a color that is complementary to what is actually seen. The eyes require or generate complementary colors. And this is a natural need to achieve balance. This phenomenon can be called sequential contrast.

Another experience is that on a colored square we overlay a gray square of a smaller size, close in lightness. On yellow, this gray square will seem to us light purple, on orange - bluish-gray, on red - greenish-gray, on green - reddish-gray, on blue - orange-gray and on violet - yellowish-gray (Fig. 31- 36). Each color causes gray to take on its complementary shade. Pure colors also tend to color other chromatic colors with their complementary color. This phenomenon is called simultaneous contrast.

Consistent and simultaneous contrasts indicate that the eye receives satisfaction and a sense of balance only on the basis of the law of complementary colors. Consider this also from the other side.

The physicist Rumford first published his hypothesis in 1797 in the Nicholson Journal that colors are harmonious if their mixture gives white. As a physicist, he proceeded from the study of spectral colors. In the section on the physics of color, it was already said that if you remove any spectral color, say, red, from the color spectrum, and the rest of the colored light rays - yellow, orange, purple, blue and green - are collected using a lens together, then the sum of these residual colors will be green, that is, we will get a color complementary to the one removed. According to the laws of physics, a color mixed with its complementary color forms the total sum of all colors, that is, white, and the pigment mixture will give in this case a gray-black color.

Physiologist Ewald Goering has the following remark: “A medium or neutral gray color corresponds to that state of optical substance, in which dissimilation - the expenditure of forces expended on color perception, and assimilation - their restoration - are balanced. This means that the middle gray color creates a state of balance in the eyes. "

Goering proved that the eye and the brain need a medium gray, otherwise, in the absence of it, they lose their calmness. If we see a white square on a black background and then look the other way, we see a black square as an afterimage. If we look at a black square on a white background, the afterimage is white. We see in the eyes a desire to restore a state of balance. But if we look at a medium gray square against a medium gray background, there will be no afterimage in the eyes other than the medium gray. This means that a medium gray color corresponds to the state of balance required by our vision.

The processes taking place in visual perception cause corresponding mental sensations. In this case, harmony in our visual apparatus testifies to a psychophysical state of equilibrium, in which the dissimilation and assimilation of the visual substance are the same. Neutral gray corresponds to this state. I can get the same gray from black and white, or from two complementary colors, provided they have three primary colors — yellow, red, and blue — in the right proportions. In particular, each pair of complementary colors includes all three primary colors:

• red - green = red - (yellow and blue);
• blue - orange = blue - (yellow and red);
• yellow - purple = yellow - (red and blue).

Thus, it can be said that if a group of two or more colors contains yellow, red and blue in appropriate proportions, then the mixture of these colors will be gray.

Yellow, red and blue represent the total color sum. The eye needs this common color bond to satisfy it, and only in this case does the perception of color achieve a harmonious balance.

Two or more colors are harmonious if their mixture is a neutral gray.

All other color combinations that do not give us a gray color become expressive or disharmonious in nature. In painting, there are many works with one-sidedly expressive intonation, and their color composition, from the point of view of the above, is not harmonious.

These works act annoyingly and too excitingly with their emphatically persistent use of one predominant color. There is no need to assert that color compositions must necessarily be harmonious, and when Seurat says that art is harmony, he confuses the artistic means and the goals of art.

It is easy to see that not only the arrangement of flowers relative to each other is of great importance, but also their quantitative ratio, as well as the degree of their purity and lightness.

The basic principle of harmony comes from the physiological law of complementary colors. In his work on color, Goethe wrote about harmony and integrity as follows: “When the eye contemplates a color, it immediately comes into an active state and, by its nature, inevitably and unconsciously immediately creates another color, which, in combination with a given color, encompasses the entire color wheel ... Each individual color, due to the specificity of perception, makes the eye strive for universality. And then, in order to achieve this, the eye, for the purpose of self-satisfaction, looks for some colorless-empty space next to each color, into which it could produce the missing color. This is the main rule of color harmony ”.

Color theorist Wilhelm Ostwald also touched on the issues of color harmony. In his book on the basics of color, he wrote: “Experience teaches that some combinations of some colors are pleasant, others are unpleasant or do not evoke emotions. The question arises, what determines this impression? To this we can answer that those colors are pleasant, between which there is a natural connection, that is, order. We call color combinations, the impression of which is pleasant to us, harmonious. So the basic law could be formulated as follows: Harmony = Order.

In order to determine all possible harmonious combinations, it is necessary to find a system of order that provides for all their variants. The simpler this order, the more obvious or self-evident the harmony will be. We have found two systems that can provide this order: color circles connecting colors of equal saturation, and triangles for colors representing mixtures of one color or another with white or black. Color circles allow you to define harmonious combinations of different colors, triangles - tonal harmony. "

When Ostwald asserts that "... colors, the impression of which is pleasant to us, we call harmonious", he expresses his purely subjective idea of ​​harmony. But the concept of color harmony must be moved from the area of ​​subjective attitude to the area of ​​objective laws.

When Ostwald says, "Harmony = Order," proposing color circles for different colors of the same saturation and color-tonal triangles as a system of order, he ignores the physiological laws of afterimage and simultaneity.

An extremely important foundation for any aesthetic theory of color is the color wheel, as it provides a system for the arrangement of colors. Since an artist-colorist works with color pigments, then the color order of the circle should be built according to the laws of pigment color mixtures. This means that diametrically opposite colors must be complementary, that is, giving a gray color when mixed. So, in my color wheel, blue is against orange, and a mixture of these colors gives us gray.

Whereas in Ostwald's color wheel, blue is opposed to yellow, and their pigment mixture gives green. This basic construction difference means that Ostwald's color wheel cannot be used in painting or applied arts.

The definition of harmony lays the foundation for a harmonious color composition. For the latter, the quantitative ratio of colors is very important. Based on the lightness of the primary colors, Goethe derived the following formula for their quantitative ratio:

• yellow: red: blue = 3: 6: 8

It can be generally concluded that all pairs of complementary colors, all combinations of three colors in a twelve-part color wheel, which are connected to each other through equilateral or isosceles triangles, squares and rectangles, are harmonious.

The connection of all these figures in a twelve-part color wheel is illustrated in Figure 2. Yellow-red-blue here form the main harmonious triad. If these colors in the system of the twelve-part color wheel are connected to each other, then we get an equilateral triangle. In this triad, each color is represented with extreme strength and intensity, each of them appearing here in their typical generic qualities, that is, yellow acts on the viewer as yellow, red as red and blue as blue. The eye does not require additional complementary colors, and their mixture gives a dark black-gray color.

Yellow, red-violet and blue-violet colors are united by the shape of an isosceles triangle. The harmonious consonance of yellow, red-orange, violet and blue-green are united by a square. The rectangle gives a harmonized combination of yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-violet and yellow-green.

A bunch of geometric shapes, consisting of an equilateral and isosceles triangle, square and rectangle, can be placed at any point on the color wheel. These shapes can be rotated within a circle, thus replacing the yellow, red and blue triangle with a yellow-orange, red-violet and blue-green or red-orange, blue-violet and yellow-green triangle. ...

The same experiment can be done with other geometric shapes. Further development of this theme can be found in the section on the harmony of color consonances.

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Scheme No. 1. Complementary combination

Complementary, or complementary, contrasting colors are colors that are located on opposite sides of Itten's color wheel. Their combination looks very lively and energetic, especially with maximum color saturation.

Scheme No. 2. Triad - a combination of 3 colors

A combination of 3 equally spaced colors. Provides high contrast while maintaining harmony. This composition looks quite lively even when using pale and desaturated colors.

Scheme No. 3. A similar combination

A combination of 2 to 5 colors next to each other on the color wheel (ideally 2-3 colors). Impression: calm, inviting. An example of a combination of similar muted colors: yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green, green, blue-green.

Scheme No. 4. Separate-complementary combination

A variant of the complementary color combination, only the neighboring colors are used instead of the opposite color. A combination of a primary color and two additional ones. This scheme looks almost as contrasting, but not so intense. If you are not sure that you can use complementary combinations correctly, use separate-complementary combinations.

Scheme No. 5. Exercise book - combination of 4 colors

A color scheme where one color is the main one, two are complementary, and one more emphasizes accents. Example: blue-green, blue-violet, red-orange, yellow-orange.

Scheme No. 6. Square

Combinations of individual colors

• White: goes with everything. Best combination with blue, red and black.
• Beige: with blue, brown, emerald, black, red, white.
• Gray: with fuchsia, red, purple, pink, blue.
• Pink: with brown, white, mint green, olive, gray, turquoise, pale blue.
• Fuchsia (dark pink): with gray, yellow-brown, lime color, mint green, brown.
• Red: with yellow, white, brown, green, blue and black.
• Tomato red: blue, mint green, sandy, creamy white, gray.
• Cherry red: azure, gray, light orange, sandy, pale yellow, beige.
• Crimson red: white, black, damask rose color.
• Brown: bright blue, cream, pink, fawn, green, beige.
• Light brown: pale yellow, creamy white, blue, green, purple, red.
• Dark brown: lemon yellow, blue, mint green, purplish pink, lime color.
• Reddish brown: pink, dark brown, blue, green, purple.
• Orange: light blue, blue, purple, purple, white, black.
• Light orange: gray, brown, olive.
• Dark orange: pale yellow, olive, brown, cherry.
• Yellow: blue, purple, light blue, purple, gray, black.
• Lemon yellow: cherry red, brown, blue, gray.
• Pale yellow: fuchsia, gray, brown, shades of red, yellowish brown, blue, purple.
• Golden yellow: gray, brown, azure, red, black.
• Olive: orange, light brown, brown.
• Green: golden brown, orange, salad, yellow, brown, gray, cream, black, creamy white.
• Lettuce color: brown, yellowish brown, fawn, gray, dark blue, red, gray.
• Turquoise: fuchsia, cherry red, yellow, brown, cream, dark purple.
• An electrician is handsome in combination with golden yellow, brown, light brown, gray, or silver.
• Blue: red, gray, brown, orange, pink, white, yellow.
• Dark blue: light purple, light blue, yellowish green, brown, gray, pale yellow, orange, green, red, white.
• Lilac: orange, pink, dark purple, olive, gray, yellow, white.
• Dark purple: golden brown, pale yellow, gray, turquoise, mint green, light orange.
• Black is versatile, elegant, looks in all combinations, best of all with orange, pink, salad, white, red, lilac or yellow.