Tips and Tricks for Creating Your Own Color Scheme
The trick is to understand how
the different colors interact in order to create balance and harmony in the
final piece. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best tips and
tricks for creating your own Illustrator color scheme and using it effectively
with any design project.
Know Your Audience
In order to create an effective color scheme, you need to know who your audience is. This is because certain color combinations will work better for some audiences than others. For example, red and blue are both very popular colors and make great pairings. However, red and green, on the other hand, are much more likely to clash.
Main Reason
Knowing your audience can help you to
avoid clashing colors and create a more harmonious palette that works well with
your design. Similarly, knowing your audience can help you decide which color
(or colors) to use as a background. Some colors are more effective than others
at drawing attention and holding it. This may be useful if you have information
that you want the audience to focus on above all else.
Create a Preview of Your Colors
One of the best ways to create a color scheme is to create an effective color preview. To do this, you’ll want to use a design program like Illustrator or Photoshop to choose your foreground and background colors.
Once you have decided on these, you can create a color preview of your scheme
by creating a new layer and filling it with your two base colors. Once you’ve
done this, you can adjust the opacity and blend modes of the layers to see how
different shades of these colors will interact with each other. Once you’re
happy with the results, you can remove the color layers and start choosing the
rest of your palette.
Create a Dark and Light Version of Your Scheme
Another way to create your color scheme is to create a dark and light version of your base palette. To do this, you’ll want to choose a primary color that you’ll use for the majority of your piece. This can be either your foreground or background color. Once you’ve chosen this color, you can use it to create a range of dark and light shades.
Once you have a palette of dark and light shades, you can use them to create a palette of mid-tone colors. Once you have a dark and light version of your color scheme, you can try experimenting with different combinations to create a range of different palettes.
You can try choosing a different primary color and building a new
palette from that, or you can try layering different combinations of your
palette to create unusual, interesting results.
Make Sure the Reds and Blues Don’t Clash
When you’re choosing your base palette, it’s important to make sure that the reds and blues don’t clash. This is because red and blue are both very vibrant, powerful colors that can clash if they’re used together. To avoid this, you can try choosing a different primary color.
Alternatively, you can use a complementary color from the opposite side of the color wheel. For example, if your primary red, you can use green or blue for your complementary color. If you don’t want to use a primary blue or red, you can also use a secondary color instead.
To do this, you’ll want to look for the two primary colors on either side of your secondary color. For example, if you want to use yellow as a secondary color, you can use either red or blue as your complementary color.
Another thing you can do is to choose a tertiary color. A
tertiary color is one that sits between a secondary and a primary color. Using
a tertiary color is a great way to get the best of both worlds.
Add Grey Tones to Your Dark Shades
Another useful tip for creating a color scheme is to add a range of grey tones to your dark shades. Once you’ve done this, you can use these grey tones in combination with your primary and secondary colors to create a full palette of mid-tone colors.
Once you have a palette of mid-tone
colors, you can use them to create a palette of light shades. Alternatively,
you can use them in combination with your primary and secondary colors to
create a palette of darker mid-tones.
Add Brown Tones to Your Light Shades
Another effective trick for creating a color scheme is to add brown tones to your light shades. Once you’ve done this, you can use these mid-tone colors in combination with your primary and secondary colors to create a full palette of light colors.
Once you have a palette of light colors, you
can use them to create a palette of darker light shades. Alternatively, you can
use them in combination with your primary and secondary colors to create a
palette of mid-tone light colors.
Bottom line
The key to creating a great color scheme is to experiment with different combinations. Don’t be afraid to try combinations that you wouldn’t have thought of before. Similarly, don’t be afraid to try removing colors from the palette that you don’t like.
It’s important to remember that
while these tips can be useful, they’re not rules that you have to strictly
follow. They’re simply suggestions to help you create a palette that works well
with your design and your brand.