To be effective, color needs to follow a plan. Thankfully, there are only a few plans that really work, and they can be formularized. Very little in art is as easily understood as color. That's amazing, because color is the most subjective of the compositional elements. Beyond the basics of color alone (hue) is the concept of darkening the color (shades), and lightening the color (tints). This is referred to as neutrals and semi-neutrals. Semi-neutrals (potentiate) the colors and make them sing. The color schemes covered are:

MONOCHROMATIC. A single hue which can be darkened or lightened but exists alone in a painting.

ANALOGOUS. A group of colors that constitute a wedge of the color wheel. There is no exact definition of the width if the pie slice, but the narrower the safer. We can safely widen the wedge using semi-neutral colors. Analogous paintings are always serene, because there is harmony between the colors/

COMPLEMENTARY. Colors exactly across the wheel from each other are said to be complementary. Complementary paintings setup a contrast and potential conflict because the colors are opposites.

SPLIT COMPLEMENTARY. A group of analogous colors with the addition of the exact complement of the center color in the analogous group. This color scheme is the most complicated, colorful and potentially interesting.

It sounds very difficult but in this 10 minute lesson, you will find it quite understandable.. The knowledge gained is not only useful in creating paintings, but also applies to such everyday issues such as getting dressed or furnishing your surroundings.