Lecture 5. Types of color harmonies. Color color
Target:
theoretical acquaintance with the variety of color harmonies and features of color scheme for subsequent practical work
4.1. Color harmony. Types of color harmony
The problem of color harmony belongs to the most complex problems of aesthetics, because... A person’s attitude towards color is formed under the influence of many different factors. There is also a scientific theory of color harmony. The term “harmony” as an aesthetic category originated in Ancient Greece. This category is associated with such concepts as coherence, unity of opposites, measure and proportionality, human scale.
Harmony of colors presupposes a combination of common and different, taken in certain relationships. Over the course of a large amount of time, due to changes in directions, styles, and the influence of individuals in art, the system of aesthetic categories has been radically rethought; this understanding is still ongoing. The concept of color harmony is also undergoing qualitative changes.
For artists and designers whose professional activities are directly related to color, with the need to think through harmonious color combinations, knowledge of the basic principles of creating color harmonies helps to solve issues of designing a color environment, coloring any thing intended for a person, and his color preferences.
Color harmony in design is the consistency of colors among themselves as a result of the found proportionality of the areas of colors, their balance and consonance, based on finding a unique shade of each color. It should evoke certain positive feelings and sensations in a person.
There is a close relationship between the individual color spots of the work: each individual color balances or highlights the other, and two colors taken together influence the third. Changing any one color leads to disruption of this connection and destruction of harmony . Regularity is the main sign of harmony. It is assumed that thanks to harmony, we perceive an orderly combination of colors as an aesthetically positive whole. From this premise flow all attempts to formulate the laws of color harmony based on the alternation of balance, similarity, position in the color wheel, etc. But, nevertheless, it happens that color combinations, built according to all the rules, are assessed by the viewer as inharmonious. The combination of colors in itself, considered separately, can be both harmonious and inharmonious, but in the overall structure of the work of art this may not be noticeable.
The theory of color harmony, ultimately, cannot be reduced only to solving the question of which color harmonizes with which. General principles of color harmony cannot be determined without taking into account content, composition, space, form and texture.
Color harmony is a combination of colors that is pleasing to the eye, suggesting a certain consistency between them; proportionality and proportionality.
F. Hodler writes about color: “The effectiveness and meaning of colors depend on their intensity, the place they occupy on the canvas, and on their position among others, which strengthen or weaken them, depending on their greater or lesser proximity to white and black. The color of objects depends on the color of the lighting. It is known that it is color that often quarrels between the artist and the public. For a long time she could not understand that a pink face in the air under a blue sky could turn purple; if it is illuminated by the rays of the setting sun, then even orange and bright red. Due to a lack of observation, mainly due to a lack of experience, these nuances of the artist are incomprehensible to the eye; they seem to be terrible exaggerations. The beauty of colors lies, first of all, in their chords, in the repetition of nuances of the same color.”
The first theories of harmonious color combinations.
1. The theory of Rudolph Adams. In 1865, R. Adams invented the chromatic spectrum, consisting of a circle with 24 sectors, and its 6 degrees of lightness.
2. Albert Munsell's theory. Munsell saw the basic law of harmonization in the related proximity of colors: “A simple and practically unmistakable series of color harmonies can be obtained within the same color tone. Thus, we can associate low lightness of a color tone with increased lightness, or weak saturation with stronger saturation.” He identified 3 types harmonic combinations: monochromatic harmonies based on one color tone of different lightness; harmonies of related colors of the color wheel (red and orange); harmony of complementary colors (yellow and purple, orange and blue).
3. Classification of color harmonies by the German physiologist Brücke:
A) isochromy– a composition made in one color spot, tone (for example, based on red);
b) homeochromia– composition within a small color range (for example, yellow, orange and yellow-orange);
V) merochromia– a composition where colors are subordinated to one main color (for example, orange, purple and violet are subordinate to red);
G) poikilochromia- a method of complete crushing of color masses, a wide variety of colors, where there is no main thing and all colors are equally significant. To use such harmony requires experience.
4. Betzold's theory. Betzold built theories of color harmonies within intervals color wheel. In the 12-step color wheel, colors are spaced four tones apart, i.e. There should be an interval of 3 tones between them.
5. B.F. Ostwald's theory. Ostwald believed that all colors containing an equal mixture of white and black are harmonious. And among the saturated ones, those that are spaced from each other at an equal number of intervals are harmonious.
6. Classification of color harmonies according to B. M. Teplov:
a) monochromatic, built on one main color or a group of closely related colors (yellow, orange-yellow, orange - yellow is present in them in different quantities);
b) polar, built on complementary colors (red with green, orange with blue);
c) tricolor, built on the opposition of three primary colors (yellow, red, blue);
d) multicolor, in which, with a large variety of colors, it is impossible to identify the main one (difficult to use).
7. Theory of V. M. Shugaev based on research by Munsell and Betzold. It is based on the color wheel, which is based on 4 primary colors - yellow, red, blue, green. The author offers 4 types of color combinations:
a) a combination of related colors (yellow, orange-yellow, orange);
b) a combination of related and contrasting colors (from yellow to violet in the spectrum);
c) a combination of contrasting (mutually complementary) colors (blue - orange, red - green);
a combination of colors that are neutral in relation to kinship and contrast: yellow, blue, red (meaning pure colors without whitewash or darkening).
Types of color harmony. The three main characteristics of color - hue, lightness and saturation - can act in various relationships with each other, forming various harmonious combinations:
1) similarity in color tone, but difference in lightness and saturation (what Munsell wrote about);
2) similarity in lightness, but difference in hue and saturation;
3) similarity in saturation, but difference in color tone and lightness;
4) similarity in color tone and lightness, but difference in saturation;
5) similarity in lightness and saturation, but difference in color tone;
6) a combination in which the colors differ in all three parameters (this is the most difficult case).
From the listing of these combinations, often used in design practice, it is clear how arbitrary the standards in the field of color harmony are, taking into account only color tone.
When talking about color harmony, they evaluate the impressions of the interaction of two or more colors. Despite the apparent subjectivity of such an assessment, the harmony of colors also has its own objective patterns.
Based on experiments, it has been established that the primary colors of subtractive mixing: yellow, red and blue represent a common color sum. However, each of these colors cannot be obtained by mixing other colors. Therefore, the color wheel is built precisely on these colors (main triad) (Fig. 8).
By mixing primary colors, a secondary triad is obtained (Fig. 9). The circle (Fig. 10) is an image obtained by superimposing the image of the primary and secondary triad. If you fill in the spaces intermediate colors, we get a 12-part color wheel (Fig. 7) which, in turn, can be increased to 24-part (Fig. 11).
1. "Monochromatic" or monochromatic color harmony built on the basis of one color tone; created by combining one color tone with its dark and light shades. As a result, it is possible to achieve, on the one hand, a strong tonal contrast, and on the other, subtle color relationships (Fig. 12).
2. “Opposite” (complementary) color harmony, built on the basis of two color tones; created by using any two color tones that are exactly opposite each other on the color wheel (Fig. 13). This technique is usually used to create accents, because... Opposite colors are very contrasting to each other. This allows one color to complement another in such a way that one is the focal point while the other is the background.
In case of introduction in various harmonious color combinations achromatic colors, the contrast obtained by combining them is enhanced. Especially when introducing white or black. The combination of red and white, for example, is so intense that it is not surprising how often these colors are used without the use of pastel colors to tie them together for special occasions. To be absolutely precise, the harmonious three-color combination looks like this because of the contrasting red and green colors with achromatic black or white.
The combination of a “double” color (for example, red-orange) and achromatic is a harmonious three-color combination, where black or White color will play the role of a lighting factor. In this case, black or dark grey colour They make the colors glow, and the white color seems to illuminate the composition. This combination occurs quite often. The play of colors becomes richer, and, consciously executed color composition more pronounced. Of course, this is not so easy practical application, since when creating a harmonious combination it is necessary to find suitable color nuances.
Three-color harmony - “triad” created by using three colors that lie equidistant from each other in a circle. It also exhibits distinct and strong color combinations, but is the most difficult to create correctly.
3. "Similar" color harmony built on the basis of three colors - achieved through the use of any three colors located nearby (in one of the four sectors of the circle). Due to their proximity, these colors are easy to combine. This harmony has depth, it is distinguished by its rich originality and elegant appearance (Fig. 14).
Creating color harmonies using patterns of geometric shapes. « Harmony of an isosceles triangle" is achieved by using a color and colors adjacent to its complementary color (the top is one of the primary colors, and the base connects adjacent colors to its complementary color) (Fig. 15). The combination of these colors looks softer than the combination of just two complementary colors.
"Harmony right triangle» is achieved by using any color located at the top of a right triangle and the colors located in the corners at its base (Fig. 16). The combination of these colors is quite expressive, and at the same time, well balanced.
You can inscribe a quadrilateral around a circle, the sides of which are parallel to the diameters of the circle. It can be a square or a rectangle. In this case, the sides of the rectangles are connected by two related and contrasting colors, and they are placed mutually along the diagonal. additional colors.
In the process of searching for color harmonies, you need to remember:
bright colors go well with muted colors;
warm colors with cold ones;
dark colors with light colors;
the introduction of achromatic colors enhances contrast (warm colors go best with black, cold colors with white or gray);
highlighting the main (dominant) color helps to emphasize, strengthen the overall ideological content of the composition, and organize it;
the use of variable shades of pure colors helps to remove harshness and find softer color combinations.
Based on a summary of data from various studies, the following types of color harmonies can be named:
1. monochromatic or single color, maintained in one color tone with differences in lightness and saturation: used for strong tonal contrast, for subtle color relationships.
2. bicolor(opposite or complementary) contrasting (contrast of two primary colors or two groups of colors): used to create accents, to complement one color with another;
3. tricolor(triad): used to create depth and elegance and for distinct color combinations;
4. four-color;
5. six-color;
6. gamut limited by a small interval in the color wheel;
7. gamut, colors in which are subordinated to one main color;
8. achromatic harmony
9. combination of achromatic and chromatic scales
To quantitatively and qualitatively balance colors that harmonize with each other and create an artistic image using selected color combinations, it is necessary to develop color sense and intuition.
Color harmony is the consonance of colors, their compatibility, a beautiful relationship. Artists often achieve harmony in their works by relying on intuition and an inner sense of color. This feeling is developed in the process of constant work. However, harmony in color is based on certain laws. In order to understand these patterns, you need to use the spectral circle or color wheel.
Three primary colors.
The color wheel is a scale of shades of color located along a circle. These colors are arranged in a certain sequence - just like in a rainbow. Therefore, the color wheel for an artist is almost the same as the periodic table for a chemist. Among all the colors of this circle, there are three that are called primary: yellow, red and blue. All the huge variety of other colors are formed by mixing these three (this is applicable for the CMYK color model of light reflected from objects; if the light is emitted as on a monitor, then this is the RGB color model and here the mixing occurs according to other laws, between green, red and blue) . But in practice, it is not always possible to achieve the desired color sound because paint pigments have certain limitations. For example, if you mix red (scarlet) and blue (azure), you get a dirty purple color. If red (kraplak) and blue (ultramarine), then a pure violet color is formed. But this is not always enough, so they also produce cobalt violet or kraplak violet. Its color is very intense and pure. Thus, despite the fact that in theory it is possible to obtain all colors from just three primary colors, in practice artists use a large number of colors. However, the main ones are blue, red and yellow. On the color wheel, their positions form an equilateral triangle. These colors cannot be obtained by mixing others.
Color saturation and brightness.
Any color has a number of characteristics. The main things for an artist are saturation and brightness. This different concepts. Brightness refers to how illuminated the selected color is. That is, any color can be lighter or darker with the same saturation (closer to white or black). By saturation we mean the strength of the color, its “richness,” so to speak. It can be different with the same color brightness (or illumination). The lower the color saturation, the more it approaches gray shades. This can be clearly seen in the color chart below.
Harmony of contrasting colors.
In the color wheel there are colors that are located opposite each other. These are contrasting colors. They form the most contrasting combinations. For example, if red is placed next to orange, it will not stand out much. But if the same red color is adjacent to green, then it will seem to “burn.” That is, green and red reinforce each other and create contrast. If you look closely, red and green are located opposite each other on the color wheel. There are three pairs of contrasting colors: red-green, yellow-violet, orange-blue. These are opposite colors that form the most contrasting combinations.
Harmony of related colors.
Colors located within one quarter of the color wheel and having one common shade are called related. They seem to be “related” by the common color contained in them. There are many related flowers. For example, red, red-orange, orange-yellow. They all contain red. This unites them. That's why they are called related. There are the following four groups of related colors: yellow-red, red-blue, blue-green, green-yellow.
Harmony of related and contrasting colors.
Related-contrasting are contrasting colors that contain one common color that unites them. Relatedly contrasting colors are located in two adjacent quarters of the color wheel. There are four groups of related-contrasting colors: yellow-red and red-blue, red-blue and blue-green, blue-green and green-yellow, green-yellow and yellow-red.
Chromatic and achromatic colors.
All colors except black, white and gray are called chromatic. Accordingly, achromatic colors are gray shades, white and black.
Warm and cool colors.
Warm colors are yellow, orange, red, brown, beige and many similar shades. These colors are associated with the warmth of fire. Cool colors: blue, cyan, violet, green, as well as a large number of colors derived from them. Cool colors are associated with coldness, freshness, spaciousness...
As you know, all the colors that we see can be divided into achromatic (white, black, shades of gray - there are no color waves, there is only lighting.) and chromatic (colors of the spectrum, color waves that our eyes perceive). Color waves smoothly transition into each other, creating color continuum- continuous smooth color change.
These two directions do not exist separately, chromatic colors (the entire continuum) are mixed with achromatic ones, which gives the whole range of shades
that our eyes see. The entire range is most successfully represented in Munsell's three-dimensional "Tree". 
Admixtures of different achromatic colors form different tonal directions.
If you mix pure color with white, you get light colors, with black - dark.
If we talk about color as color waves, then gray color is a mixture of color with its opposite (i.e., for example, orange and blue), the two waves “quench” each other and the color saturation is lost. Therefore, soft colors (mixed with gray pigment, with the opposite wave, in fact) look “complex, nuanced.” So, a mixture with gray gives " soft
colors". 
If we talk about artistic color harmony, then not all chromatic colors of the continuum look good with each other, they are combined with a certain rhythm. Colors with golden undertones are considered warm , colors with blue - cold . There are also colors that are neutral in temperature characteristics, located in a continuum between two shades.
In total, we have 6 color characteristics, 3 pairs of dichotomies
.
Dichotomy is a scale. It's not so much an either/or choice as it is being on that scale. For example, both colors can be warm, but one is distinctly warm and the other is closer to neutral.
The generally accepted color characteristics are:
Lightness: light
(with white admixture) or dark
(with black admixture).
Brightness (saturation): bright
(almost free of impurities, rich pigment) or soft
(low pigment, close to gray, gray admixture)
Hue (color's place on the continuum). This includes the division of colors into warm
(with golden undertones) or cold
(with blue undertone)
Any color is described by all three characteristics, however, they are expressed with different intensity
. This provides a variety of shades. The characteristic that is most pronounced has the greatest effect on the perception of color, while other characteristics make adjustments. If you combine all the color characteristics, you get 48 options - 48 colors that transform into each other
. I have already told you how they transform into each other. This is an absolutely unique author’s development, so I think there will be no questions about what system I work with - I work with MY “Color Harmony” system, built entirely on color theory, due to which it is more accurate than most other color theories, if not everyone. 
All the colors of the continuum can be divided into these cells with blurred boundaries. However, in practical use 48 palettes is a lot, too many colors will be repeated. Therefore, it is best to reduce the number of palettes to 12. Why 12? I'll explain now. As I said, the perception of color and its compatibility with others is most influenced by the leading characteristic, the most pronounced one. This means that we have 6 directions - bright colors, soft, light, dark, warm, cold. U bright colors First of all, the purity of color is visible, in soft ones - a gray admixture or “complexity” of color, in dark ones - depth, darkness, in light ones - whiteness, airiness, in warm ones - gold, warmth, in cold ones - iciness, blueness.
Compare cold soft coloring and soft cold. In the first case, the blueness and coldness catches the eye. in the second there is complexity, a gray admixture.
The temperature characteristic is also important to us - since it is precisely when the temperature undertone does not match that the skin optically reacts with unpleasant effects (yellowing, pallor, redness, colored shadows) - this is optics. The waves overlap each other and give an unnatural color.
Therefore, those directions where the temperature characteristic is not the first should be divided into two more subgroups.
The results are bright warm, bright cold, soft warm, soft cold, light warm, light cold, dark warm, dark cold.
In the case of colors, where temperature is the leading characteristic, brightness is important - pure colors or complex ones. Therefore, they are divided in this way: warm bright and warm soft, cold bright and cold soft.
It turns out 12 colors, and a simplified color globe will look like this:
Some color systems use the old "seasonal" color names, which does not affect anything other than terminology. 
Each person falls into one color out of 12, but with certain amendments and individual transitions. All colors of a person's appearance have the same set of characteristics , it doesn’t happen that your skin is cold and your eyes are warm, everything is painted from the same palette, otherwise the colors of your appearance would not be harmonious. This is the law of nature =)
All colors within the main color scheme are suitable for a person, and in addition to them, some colors of neighboring colors are suitable, which are simply added to the individual palette. U different people These "supplements" are different.
And I present myself 12 colors that, in principle, are already familiar to you.
I will call them by their characteristics, although seasonal names will remain for now to correlate terminology =)
And a small bonus - the palettes now have Pantone coordinates (Pictures in large resolution can be downloaded from Google drive https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2SlBFbzV-EYOHZYSFlRa19YY1E/edit?usp=sharing, reposting pictures in other places is welcome , but only if there is a link to us =)), in addition, I have slightly supplemented some palettes. Pantone colors are often requested from me. Although in household use It’s easier for customers to use classic 12 tone types like these.
And.. I present 12 colors. Each of them evokes some associations, I will give them too, but the color is not limited to these associations only - they will only let you feel the “spirit” of flowers, components of the palette. But in any particular case, colors can carry different associations(!) depending on their use. But I hope I will be able to show all the colors from their the best side=) After the name of each palette there will be links to my pinterest, where I will gradually collect colors and associations, this will help you imagine the colors “in action”.
Bright cold color. ("Bright Winter") "Impressive" palette - "impressive" .
The leading characteristic is brightness, the additional one is neutral-cold. It can be either relatively light or relatively dark. Often contrasting in lightness. The colors are pure, either without obvious impurities or with a bluish admixture.
The general impression of the palette is brightness and catchiness, although there is also some restraint due to the blue undertone.
The palette is reminiscent of a winter landscape on a bright day with its color contrasts of pure colors, white, black, red and cool green, or tropical islands with bright birds, flowers, turquoise water, blue skies and emerald greenery.
Bright warm color. ("Bright Spring"). Creative Palette - "Creative" palette.
www.pinterest.com/shahrazade/ch-bright-a nd-warm/
The leading characteristic is brightness. Additional - neutral - warm. It can be either relatively light or relatively dark in color. The colors are pure, either without obvious impurities or with a bright golden admixture.
The palette is associated with the world of South Asia, with the bright clothes of the inhabitants of this region, splashes of color in their manner of combining colors, with the cheerful colors of tropical nature.
Soft cold color (" Soft summer") - Mysterious Palette - Mysterious palette
The leading characteristic is softness, the additional one is neutral - cold. It can be either relatively light or relatively dark. The colors are softened, with a hint of gray or grayish blue.
The palette is associated with twilight, fog, forest before rain, creating the impression of mystery, understatement, and riddle. The colors are very complex and nuanced.
Soft warm color ("Soft Autumn") - "Sensual Palette" - "Sensual" palette
The leading characteristic is softness, the additional one is neutral - warm. It can be either relatively light or rather dark in color. The colors are softened, with a grayish admixture or softened ocher.
The palette is associated with earthly sensual femininity, with the time before sunset, when the sun paints everything in soft golden tones, with the gifts of Mediterranean nature - the greens and gold of the fields, with grapes, cinnamon, olives, figs.
Dark cold color ("Dark Winter") "Luxorious Palette" - "Chic" palette
The leading characteristic is dark, the additional one is neutral - cold. It can be either quite bright or slightly softened. The colors are deep with a touch of black or dark blue.
Associated with the luxury of royal courts, with the velvet of deep burgundy, purple, lilac, blue shades, with rubies, emeralds, jade and malachite, as well as with the dark night and the depth of the dark blue sky.
Dark warm color (“Dark Autumn”) - “Exotic Palette” - “Exotic” Palette
The leading characteristic is dark, the additional one is neutral - warm. It can be either quite soft or quite bright. The colors are deep, with black or dark ocher admixture.
Associated with the colors of the Middle East - with the rich furnishings of Moroccan interiors, the gold of natural fires, the warmth of spices, the sensual complexity of colors, the rich colors of southern nature.
Light cold color (“Bright Summer”) - “Innocent Palette” (“Innocent” palette)
The leading characteristic is light, the additional one is neutral - cold. It can be either quite bright or quite soft. The colors are light, pastel, with white or light blue admixture.
The palette is associated with tenderness, freshness, childhood, as well as a holiday at sea, with light turquoise water, light greenery, yellowish-white sand, delicate flowers and carefreeness.
Light warm color (“Light Spring”) - “Tender Palette” - “Gentle” palette.
The leading characteristic is light, the additional one is neutral-warm. It can be either quite bright or quite soft. The colors are light, cheerful, with white or light golden admixture.
The palette is associated with youth, joy, blossoming fruit trees, all colors are permeated with delicate gold and are reminiscent of the rebirth of nature.
Warm bright color (“Warm Spring”) - “Lively Palette” - “Cheerful” palette
The leading characteristic is warm, the additional one is bright. It can be either quite light or quite dark. Colors with a clear bright golden undertone.
The palette is associated with a meadow at the height of spring with a variety of bright colors flowers - lilac, yellow, red, violet, with the golden color of the sun and the blue of the spring sky.
Warm soft color (“Warm Autumn”) - “Spicy palette” - “Spice Palette”
http://www.pinterest.com/shahrazade/ch-warm-and-soft/
The leading characteristic is warm, the additional one is soft. It can be either quite light or quite dark. Colors with a clear ocher undertone.
The palette is associated with spices - pepper, turmeric, cloves, saffron, mustard and with autumn nature, deep blue water and warm colors of foliage.
Cold bright color ("Cold Winter") - "Noble Palette", "Noble" palette
The leading characteristic is cold, the additional one is bright. It can be either quite dark or quite light. Colors with a bright blue undertone.
The palette is associated with the world of the Snow Queen - with icy luxury, detachment and some drama, this is a palette of precious stones.
Cold soft color - ("cold summer") - "Elegant Palette" - "Elegant" palette.
The leading characteristic is cold, the additional one is soft, it can be either quite light or quite dark. Colors with soft blue undertones.
The palette is associated with elegance, with the subdued colors of northern summer with the blue of cool water, bluish-green summer foliage and hints of berries.
All information in this article is the intellectual property of the author, so reposting is only with an indication of the source. =)
Path to Your Charm Project 2014, Color Harmony 2014
For an artist, color harmony is a special pleasure. It can give birth to a whole range of feelings, emotions and images in his imagination. This is why many artists collect beautifully colored photographs.
There are many sites on the Internet that allow you to create similar photo color palettes. Here are some of them.
The owner of this wonderful site, Jessica, collects harmonious color combinations, illustrated with photographs of these flowers.
And these shades are so subtle and “tasty”, so different, that the imagination is immediately spurred on by the emotions generated by the color. I would like to create my own paintings using this color hint.
The Design Seeds website has a convenient search by color shades and by plot.
Winter, spring, minerals, succulents, flora and fauna..
This is what the search page looks like, everything is intuitive. 
2.DeGraeve
A good Generator that allows you to create a color palette for any photo from the Internet. For this Just insert the URL of the photo and click the “Color-Palette-ify!” button.
The generator creates two color scales - the basic natural colors of the photo and their more saturated analogues.
The downside of this generator is that not every user knows how to find the URL...
More useful materials:
On this site you can upload your photo and also get its main colors in two scales:
The downside here is that the original photo is not visible.
Click on the button “Select Image” and select a photo on your computer. We download and get this diagram, where you can select the number of shades. Their maximum number is 8. 
It’s more convenient now, right? And the colors are more natural and harmonious.
Select the file on your computer and click “Create palette”.
We get this scheme with fifteen shades:
It's a good toy, isn't it?
If you still don’t understand color well, then it can be used to select a shade for a painting. Separated from the landscape, it is more understandable.
But are these colors harmonious?
How to choose harmonious color combinations?
Other color generators will answer these questions.
They select colors based on color schemes.
Use your mouse to select a color on the color wheel. On the right you will see a diagram of monochrome harmony.
Above the wheel there are buttons for selecting other color schemes.
To get the result in the form of a scale, click on the color tables button at the bottom right.
7.SessionsCollege
Another similar generator, but with fewer colors in the results .
Choose a color on the color wheel.
We choose the number of colors to combine and the scheme. 
These generators are made for website and blog creators.
They allow you to quickly find shades that are harmonious in color and, by copying their digital name, use it.
For an artist, such sites can become a “toy” for developing a sense of color harmonies and for inspiration.
If you want more fundamental knowledge in understanding color harmony for painting:
- how to choose harmonious
- how to mix the right ones, how to express the desired image with color
then you can learn all this in the course
This is how we study color harmonies there in practice: 
After all, in painting everything is somewhat more complex and multifaceted than in design...
I would be grateful for your comments on the article. And if you took my color science course, share your impressions and successes!
Color harmony is the most important means of artistic expression in painting, along with composition, drawing, perspective, chiaroscuro, texture, etc. The term “harmony” comes from the Greek word hamonia, which means consonance, agreement, the opposite of chaos and is a philosophical and aesthetic category meaning “ high level ordered diversity, optimal mutual correspondence of the various in the composition of the whole, meeting the aesthetic criteria of perfection and beauty.” Color harmony in painting is the consistency of colors among themselves as a result of the found proportionality of the areas of colors, their balance and consonance, based on finding the unique shade of each color. There is an obvious relationship between the different colors of the painting, each color balancing or highlighting the other and two colors together influencing the third. Changing one color leads to the destruction of coloristic, color harmony work of art and causes the need to change all other colors.
Color harmony in the structure of a painting also has a meaningful validity and reveals the author’s creative intent. For example, Van Gogh wrote: “In my painting “Night Cafe” I tried to show that a cafe is a place where you can die, go crazy or commit a crime. In a word, I tried, by juxtaposing the contrasts of soft pink with blood red and wine red, soft green and veronese with yellow-green and hard blue-green, to reproduce the atmosphere of hellish inferno, the color of pale sulfur, to convey the demonic power of a tavern - a trap.” . Various researchers dealt with the problems of color harmony - Newton, Adams, Mansell, Brückx, Betzold, Ostwald, V. Shugaev and others. Normative theories of color harmony are not directly used in painting, but by artists working in painting, design, decorative and applied arts , you need to know the circle scientific problems theory of color harmonies, which can contribute to a more thoughtful and rational approach to decisions practical problems color harmony. Physicists and artists have always sought to bring all the diversity of colors of the visible world into a system and, through systematization, determine the patterns of harmonious combinations of color tones. The first attempt to bring colors into the system was made by Isaac Newton.
Newton's color system is a color wheel made up of seven colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Later, purple colors, which are not in the spectrum, were added to the spectral colors, obtained by mixing the two extreme colors of the spectrum - red and violet. The colors of the red-yellow part of the circle were called warm, and the colors of the bluish-blue part of the circle were called cold. This was the first attempt at “color harmonization.” In 1865, artist Rudolph Adams invented an “apparatus for determining harmonious color combinations” - the “chromatic accordion.” Adams's color accordion consisted of a color wheel divided into 24 sectors, and each sector was divided into 6 degrees of lightness. Five templates were made for the color wheel, in which 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 holes were symmetrically cut according to the size of the sectors. By moving the hole patterns around, different color combinations could be created, which Adams called "symmetrical chords." At the same time, Adams believed that these “chords” may not necessarily turn out to be harmonious, but they are the basis for choosing various harmonious combinations of color tones (ill. 1).
Adams formulated the basic principles of color harmony as follows:
- 1. In harmony, at least the initial elements of the variety of color areas should be noticeable; red, yellow and blue. If they were indistinguishable, as it would be in black, gray or white, then there would be unity without diversity, that is, a quantitative relationship of colors.
- 2. A variety of tones should also be achieved through a variety of light and dark and through changes in color.
- 3. The tones should be in balance so that none of them stands out. This moment embraces qualitative relationships and constitutes color rhythm.
- 4. In large combinations, the colors should follow each other in order so that a natural connection in the degree of their relationship takes place, as in a spectrum or rainbow. The progression of tones expresses the movement of the melody of color unity.
- 5. Pure colors should be used sparingly because of their brightness and only in those parts to which the eye should be primarily directed."
Adams's theory of harmonious color combinations was valuable for the practice of painting. Albert Henry Mansell's theory of color harmony was also directly related to the practice of painting. Mansell identified three types of harmonious combinations of color tones: monochromatic harmonies - built on one color tone of varying lightness, or saturation; the harmony of two neighboring colors of the color wheel, built on the proximity and kinship of colors; harmonies built on the principle of contrast between colors lying opposite each other in the color wheel. Mansell believed that color harmony would be more perfect if the artist took into account the relationships of colors in saturation and the ratio of areas of color planes. The German physiologist Brücke also considered colors lying within small intervals of the color wheel to be harmonious due to their similarity in color tone. In the theory of harmonic combinations of color tones, Brücke was the first to identify triads of colors, which he considered harmonious, along with paired combinations of various colors. Brucke considered red, blue and yellow, as well as red, green and yellow colors. In his opinion, colors of small intervals can be added to these three colors. Betzold, like Brücke, built a theory of color harmonies on the differences in colors within small and large intervals of the color wheel. He believed that a harmonious combination of color tones is obtained only when, for example, in a twelve-member circle, the colors are four tones behind each other, i.e. there should be an interval of three tones between them. Inharmonious color combinations, according to Brücke, are obtained when the interval between colors is only one color tone. Betzold was the first to point out the need to see the difference in the use of color and harmonious combinations of colors in painting and decorative arts. Popular in the 19th century. There was a theory of color harmony by W. Ostwald, who tried to find mathematical patterns of color harmony from the geometric relationships of the arrangement of colors within the color wheel. Ostwald believed that all colors that contain an equal mixture of white or black are harmonious, and of those that do not contain such a mixture, the most harmonious are those that stand apart from each other in the color wheel at an equal number of intervals. Of interest is his doctrine of achromatic harmony, in which the author found a mathematical relationship between the change in the lightness of the achromatic color and the threshold sensitivity of the eye. Ostwald proved that when lightness changes, the threshold sensitivity of the eye changes according to the law of the geometric mean value. Of great interest to artists working in the field of decorative and applied arts and design is the theory of harmonic combinations of color tones, developed by V. M. Shugaev. The theory of harmonic combinations of color tones by V. M. Shugaev is based on the theories of Mansell and Bezold and is based on combinations of colors on the color wheel. According to the author, the basis of the circle is made up of four colors: yellow, red, blue and green on the principle of kinship and contrast. V. M. Shugaev systematized different kinds harmonious combinations of color tones and brought them to the main four types:
- 1. combinations of related colors;
- 2. combinations of related and contrasting colors;
- 3. combinations of contrasting colors;
- 4. combinations of colors that are neutral in relation to kinship and contrast.
The author calculated 120 possible harmonious color combinations for a 16-member circle with three intermediate colors and three intervals between the main colors. V. M. Shugaev believed that harmonious color combinations can be obtained in three cases: 1) if the harmonized colors contain an equal number of main colors; 2) if the colors have the same lightness; 3) if the colors have the same saturation. The last two factors play a significant role in the harmonization of colors, but are not the main ones, but only enhance the mutual influence of colors, providing a closer harmonious connection between them. And vice versa, the more various colors differ from one another in lightness, saturation and color tone, the more difficult they are to harmonize. The exception is additional colors. The harmony of complementary colors is confirmed by numerous examples in painting and decorative arts. V. M. Shugaev defined color harmony as follows: “Color harmony is color balance, color balance. Here, color balance (primarily two colors) is understood as such a ratio and such qualities of them in which they do not seem alien to one another and none of them predominates unduly.” “Harmonic combinations include those that give the impression of coloristic integrity, the relationship between colors, color balance, color unity.”
“Colors, mutually influencing each other, conditioning each other, turn into a kind of unity called color and expressed by harmony,” wrote I. Itten.
Contrast - when comparing two or more colors with each other, clearly defined differences are found. When these differences reach their limit, we speak of diametrical or polar contrast. So, for example, the oppositions big-small, white-black, cold-warm in their extreme manifestations represent polar contrasts10.
