Knowing some basic colour principals will help you when it comes to the selection for your paper crafting masterpieces. We will start with the basics and work our way to the more complex for those who are game!

Firstly, we've all seen a colour wheel. These colours are always placed within the same order as this is how the spectrum of light from the shortest wavelength to the longest is viewed.

The following are the 12 colour families located on the colour wheel; 

EK Success Rainbow Color Selector

• Green
• Blue/Green
• Blue
• Blue/Violet
• Violet
• Red/Violet
• Red
• Red/Orange
• Orange
• Yellow/Orange
• Yellow
• Yellow/Green

These families are made up by the following;

First stage in colours: Primary Colours - Red, Yellow and Blue

These are the basic three colours. These cannot be mixed from any other colours.

Second stage in colours: Secondary Colours - Orange, Green, Violet

Secondary colours are mixed from two primary colours. So,

Red + Yellow = Orange

Yellow + Blue = Green

Blue + Red = Violet

Third Stage in colours Tertiary Colours - Blue/Violet, Red/Violet, Yellow/Green, Blue/Green, Yellow/Orange, Red/Orange

Tertiary colours are mixed from one primary colour and one secondary colour. So,

Blue + Violet = Blue/Violet

Red + Violet = Red/Violet

Yellow + Green = Yellow/Green

Blue + Green = Blue/Green

Yellow + Orange = Yellow/Orange

Red + Orange = Red/Orange

Each of the 12 colour families are made up of tones typically known as Light Values, Mid Values and Dark/Jewel Values.

Black will darken a colour when mixed which creates a shade

eg. Black + Blue = Navy

White will lighten a colour when mixed which creates a tint

eg. White + Blue = Sky

Warm Colours - Yellow, Red and Orange. These colours create a feeling of warmth, vibrancy and excitement

Cool Colours - Blue, Green and Violet. These colours create a feeling of calm, clean and relaxing.

Neutral Colours - White, Cream, Beige, Brown, Grey and Black. These colours can be classified as warm or cool colours, depending on the colour they were created from. Neutral colours are great for black and white or sepia photographs.

Combining colours using a colour wheel;

Monochromatic - Working with a single colour from one of the 12 colour families by using the many shades and tints of this colour

Complementary - Opposite colours on the colour wheel. Primary colours are opposite secondary colours and tertiary are opposite other tertiary colours. When combined these colours create the most amount of energy. You dont have to use only bright colours for this; light colours can still have this same effect, as it is placing the two opposite colours together that creates the interest.

Triadic - Every fourth colour on the colour wheel to come up with three evenly spaced colours. When using equal amounts of any colours on a project, this can seem tiring for the eye to process. However you must be particularly aware if this with triad colours.

Tetrad - Using a square to point out four colours, equally spaced. Square Tetrads will create a selection of two primary/secondary colours with two tertiary colours. You can also use a retangle to create an alternate combination.

Analogous - These are neighbouring colours on the wheel. Select one colour then use each colour on either side to create a three colour analogous combination or use each colour on either side of those three colours to create a five colour analogous combination. Another way to use analogous colours is to select your three or five colour combination, then add a little of the colour adjacent to your first, main colour.

When selecting colour combinations, be sure to think of the proportions that you will be using and how they will be placed on the page together as this can affect the over all appearance.

acknowledgments: EK Success Rainbow Color Selector