Teaching Kids to Work with a Complementary Color Palette
Complementary colors are those that lie opposite each other on the color wheel, and they work very well together to create interesting contrasts in color schemes. In order to create complementary color schemes, you have to have an understanding of color theory—but you don’t have to be an expert-level artist to teach children how to do it! Here are some ways you can teach kids about working with complementary colors in art education settings.
Harmony in Art
Generally speaking, color combinations can either be harmonious (pleasing) or contrasting (poignant). It's quite fascinating when you think about it—the way two or more colors can affect human beings.
Harmony in art is the appealing and gratifying effect of combining similar or related visual elements. Color combinations, particularly complementary ones, can help create harmony by acting as balancing forces within an artwork. That contrast creates a sense of harmony, since it makes each color stand out without being overwhelming. The color wheel gives us a great way to illustrate harmony in art because it shows us visually which colors are opposites, or complementary.
It is super important to note here that the idea of opposites and complementary colors is a more traditional mode of understanding. This customary (RYB) color model identifies the complementary color pairs as: red–green, yellow–purple, and blue–orange.
Modern color theory uses either the additive color or subtractive color model, (RGB - light and CMY - pigment, respectively). Both of these identify the complementary pairs as: red–cyan, green–magenta, and blue–yellow.
For young students, the color wheel will be easily understood and is a great place to start with color theory. You may get some questions about why blue seems to complement both yellow and orange, etc. You can use the modern color models to explain the relationships between the colors. After all, orange and yellow are so closely related that it would make sense for blue to complement those (think: split complementary).
There's a lot of science to this, which is a great way to integrate subject matter; but some of it goes really deep. I am definitely skimming the surface here for practicality. As such, I will be writing the rest of this post with the traditional RGB color wheel model in mind.
What is a Complementary Color Palette?
One of several basic color schemes (the others being analogous, split-complementary, triadic, rectangular and monochromatic), complementary colors are those that are opposite each other on a color wheel. Because they're opposite one another, complementary colors always produce high contrast when paired together in any project. Think of contrast as being polar opposites and this will make sense.
A complementary color scheme is created by combining opposite colors. The combination of these complementary colors creates an optical tension that appeals strongly to human vision. Because they’re so visually appealing, complementary color schemes are great for creating patterns or accentuating certain aspects of an image or design.
This can be as simple as using red and green construction paper to create a notan. It can also be taken to a much more complex (and engaging) level by having students choose a pair of complementary colors to paint with. Challenge them to mix as many new colors with just those two initial complementary ones as possible using a palette knife. Then, have them complete a painting with only those new colors.
This may seem simple, but it is actually quite complex. Your students will be surprised by how many different colors they can make, but they wont be able to make every color ever. For instance, they wont be able to make bright blue if using a red and green palette. This is a great opportunity for problem solving skills to develop as they will have to make other choices beyond using bright blue to communicate their intent in the work.
Advantages for Students
Working with complementary colors has many benefits. For one, it helps children develop an eye for color, since they’re forced to juxtapose color groups that contrast each other and that wouldn’t necessarily go together in another context.
Complementary palettes are effective for creating rich color because colors appear most vibrant when placed next to their complements. Additionally, using complementary colors can help students learn one way to draw the viewer’s eye to their focal point.
Another reason complementary colors are great for kids is that they’re naturally appealing. It is so easy for kids to find success with this. That can be important when working with young children who might have a tendency to get bored easily or frustrated with art-making.
Children’s art education is often focused on using primary and secondary colors, which doesn’t account for all of the different hues that are out there. A complementary color palette consists of hues opposite each other on a color wheel. While it’s best for artists to understand how these two-color relationships work, complementary colors can also be used in complementary ways. In other words, complementary color palettes give students the opportunity to explore and work with all those other hues they miss when focusing on primary and secondary color combinations.
Other Considerations
I recommend teaching your students to mix colors using a palette knife. It makes it easier to move small bits of paint than when just dipping around with a brush. I know we use brushes for mixing paint a lot with our younger students because it saves time. However, for the specific purpose of creating with a complementary palette of color, the palette knife works best. (See what I bought for my classes below.)
The basic tempera paints and cheaper acrylics won't work as well for this. They will work to a degree. So, depending on your classroom budget, it is worth giving them a shot. You may have a lot of students and a very small budget for supplies. I get it! Test the paints out yourself to see if they will work before you ask the students to try to mix colors in a complementary palette. If you simply cannot purchase higher quality paints for every student to do the mixing themselves, you can always set up a mini-lesson/demo of you mixing the colors and painting with them for the students to watch. My students loved watching me paint, and it was a great way for me to just talk to them about what I was doing as a professional artist and let them ask questions. (See paint suggestion below.)
Finally, don't forget that mistakes are inevitable. When mixing new colors from two complementary colors, you won't always get what you intended. This is a great time to model how to handle mistakes while creating artwork for students. It is also a great way to help them understand that because the colors are harmonious, even mistakes in the mixing are salvageable .
Final Thoughts
While it’s possible to pair contrasting colors together, which is often done purposefully and effectively; this post is particularly about using color theory principles to create pleasing combinations. To quickly reiterate, a complementary color palette is achieved by choosing two colors that are opposite each other on a color wheel. When one of these complementing hues is placed next to another, they appear more vibrant and draw more attention.
There are many resources out there to help you learn about complementary colors, whether in digital or print form. A Google search of complementary color palettes will give you an idea of what’s available, but you can also check out some of these sources for inspiration:
