christwriter wrote:In my experiance, complementary colors are the two colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. Most of the time they do not look good together. I have no idea why they use "Complementary".
Yes, yes, I have book knowledge of what they are, as well as things like triads and tints and so on. I just don't understand why they're called 'complementary', why you're supposed to use them together, or how you're supposed to use them in general.
And let's face it, I probably never will. Which is okay. We all have our limits.
RemusShepherd wrote:Yes, yes, I have book knowledge of what they are, as well as things like triads and tints and so on. I just don't understand why they're called 'complementary', why you're supposed to use them together, or how you're supposed to use them in general.
They're called "complimentry" because they, well, compliment each other. As in: go well together.
You're not really 'suppose' to use them together unless you want lots of contrast, at least using colours. If you took two colours [I'm not counting pastels. They are pastelly and full of whitey goodness!] of the same value [like the brightest red and brightest green] you'd get some intense craziness.
Also, red, orange and yellow are "warm" colours. They usually go in the foreground to make it stand out.
The other three are "cool" colours, and are used for...the background. Genius! Of course, these rules are always broken.
I don't think I'm helping.
Really, they are used to make neutral colours. Unless you want to use black to make something darker, it's usually better to use the Complementray colours so your grays have some colour still in them. Black [if we are talking about painting] 'kills' the colour. I'm blabbling.
I'd suggest taking an art class on painting or something to get a better understanding of colour. It's really quite hard to explain unless you sit around and mix up colours and figure out what works for you. I know colour on computers is a little different, but usually if I'm looking for a colour scheme I look around where I am and see what works in the natural world. I then take pictures of it *hugs digital camera* and work from there.
Usually, without much or any practice, you know what looks good. I think it just takes someone with a good knowledge base to explain everything to you and tell you why it looks good this way, and not another way.
Although I'll never know what it's like to be colour blind, I'd suggest making up schemes and what not and showing them to people. They don't have to be anything complex, just use three colours. I learned keep it simple first. Either way, unless you're making some crazy forest or city scene or something, it will look fine. ^_^
Gah. Sorry for all the typing and the not much of helping. It would be easier to do if I could show you what I meant. X_x
