Tutorial 83 - Complementary Color Schemes (Patreon)

Complementary color schemes are one of many harmonious color schemes available to us. Here's a link to a previous tip on color harmony: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tutorial-36-4345676

To find out what color is complementary to a selected color we can do a few things: 

Draw a straight line across the color wheel, starting from your selected color, passing through the center until you reach the other side. That's the complement. 

If using software, the quickest way is to pick a color, paint a blob and then invert. The inverted color is the complement. 

If using traditional paint, the only way to know for sure is to mix equal amounts of two colors that you think are complementary. If the mix becomes grey then you've guessed correctly. 

Complementary colors cancel each other out. Perhaps that's why we should try to have one dominate the other, in general. 

Technically, my squid example here is a rectangle color scheme. That's when four colors are arranged into two complementary pairs. It's best when one color is dominant if using a rectangle color scheme.