COLOUR COMBINATION AND

HOW TO USE THE COLOUR

WHEEL AS A GUIDE TO
CHOOSING THE RIGHT
COLOUR

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ASIDE FROM KNOWING FUNDAMENTAL
BEADWEAVING TECHNIQUES AND PROPERLY
ATTACHING EACH BEAD, YOU SHOULD ALSO
KNOW HOW TO COMBINE AND MIX PROPER
COLORS TO CREATE A SPECTACULAR
BEADWORK. YOU DON’T NECESSARILY NEED
TO BECOME AN EXPERT IN COLOR THEORY,
EVEN THE BASIC COLOR SCHEMES ARE
ENOUGH WITH THE HELP OF A COLOR WHEEL.
LEARN HOW TO USE THE COLOR WHEEL FOR
YOUR BEADWORK DESIGNS!

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 Colour theory is a body of practical
guidance to colour mixing and the
visual effects of a specific colour
combination

The colour wheel is an organized system

of colours, it helps to mix colours
Some colour values to note are

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HUE: refers to the dominant colour family
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of the specific colour we're looking as
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white, black and gray ae never referred to
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as hue.
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TINT: refers to any hue or mixture of pure
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colours with only white added or moving
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closer to white.
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TONE: refers to any hue or mixture of pure
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colours with only gray added or moving
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closer to gray, tone colours are more
pleasing to the eyes
SHADE: refers to any hue or mixture of
pure colours with only black or moving
closer to black

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Colour scheme is a systematic way of
using the colour wheel to put colours
together in our artwork, put together
different colours of beads and deciding
what colors to use

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 Primary colours
A primary color scheme consists of red, blue,
and yellow. Primary colors are the basis for
creating other color schemes. Combining non-
primary colors cannot create primary colors

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 Secondary colours
When two of the three primary colors are
mixed together a secondary color is produced.
The three possible combinations result in the
secondary colors of orange, green, and violet.

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 Tertiary colours
Part of the 12 color wheel system, tertiary colors are
created by mixing one secondary and one primary
color, e.g., mixing blue and violet to create blue-violet.
These mixtures result in the creation of the six
remaining colors of the color wheel. Tertiary colors all
have hyphenated names, each name being a
combination of a primary and secondary colors; yellow-
orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green,
and yellow-green.

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 Achromatic colour
An achromatic color scheme is one that is
colorless using only blacks, whites, and
grays. Achromatic colors have zero
saturation and only neutral hue.

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 Monochromatic colour
A monochromatic color scheme is solely based on one
color hue. A monochromatic color scheme can be one
color, or an applied range of values based on one color,
i.e., black and white can be used to darken and lighten
the value of the color to create tints and shades.
This is basically a color scheme in which you choose one
color and stick with it. You may wonder how one color
will make a great combination.
This is how it goes: the color you picked has multiple
tones which can be mixed to create a color theme. For
example, red can be mixed with crimson red,
vermillion red, and so many more.

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 Dichromatic colour
A color scheme possessing or exhibiting
two colors. The colors do not have to
conform to a structured relationship such
as a complimentary color scheme.

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 Diadic colour
A diadic or diad color scheme uses two
colors that are separated by one color on
the color wheel. Examples would be red
and orange, blue-violet and blue-green,
red-violet and red-orange, etc.

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 Complementary colours
A color scheme using two colors that
directly oppose one another on the color
wheel. Yellow and purple, red and green,
and blue and orange are all opposites and
therefore complementary colors.

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 Triadic colour
This color scheme is basically three
combinations of colors that are evenly
divided in the color wheel.
Example would be below which has the
Triadic color scheme of yellow-orange,
blue-green, and red-violet.

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 Split Complementary
The Split Complementary color is also a tri
color scheme. Two bordering colors
complement a central color.
The example below shows red-violet and
blue-violet complementing the primary
color which is yellow.

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 Analogous colour
A subset of a triadic color scheme, an analogous color
scheme is any three adjacent primary, secondary, or
tertiary colors on the color wheel. Because each color
in an analogous scheme shares a mix color with its
closest neighbor the scheme is also referred to as a
harmonious color scheme due to the aligning colours
complementing each other
Example is the yellow orange, orange and red orange

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 Split Analogous
A color scheme using three colors in a fixed
configuration where two colors are one space away
from a main color rather than being adjacent. Examples
would be yellow, orange and green; and red-violet; or
red-violet, blue-violet, and red-orange, etc.

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 Tetradic
The tetradic or tetrad color scheme is system with four
colors based on the use of two sets of complimentary
colors. It is also called the quadratic, and the double
complementary color scheme. The tetradic
configuration results in a number of possible color
combinations.

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