COLOUR THEORY

THE PROMINENCE OF COLOURS IS PRESENT IN EVERY ART FORM. IT’S NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF EACH COLOUR WE USE IN OUR ARTWORK. EVERY COLOUR SPEAKS ITS OWN LANGUAGE IN A DIVERSE MEDIUM. IN PHOTOGRAPHY AS WELL, WE CAN DEPICT THE UNIQUE FEELINGS OF AN ARTIST THROUGH THE PROPER USE OF LIGHTING AND COLOURS. GOOD COLOUR CONTRAST CAN MAKE YOUR SUBJECT STAND OUT IN YOUR PICTURES. TO CREATE DRAMA IN YOUR WORK, YOU WILL NEED THE SUPPORT OF COLOUR THEORY. LET’S REVEAL THESE SECRETS OF COLOURS TO PORTRAY STORIES THROUGH YOUR PICTURES.

- KASTURI PAWAR

A colour wheel can help!

We already have the basic knowledge of colours from our childhood. For instance which are primary, secondary and tertiary colours. We also know how these colours are formed. In photography and printing world these colours are defined in different terms. Technological advancements brought so many changes in this digital world. Editing software, cameras, printers, screens and all digital equipment have a particular code defined for each colour. If we understand the relationship between colours in every other platform then it will get easy to achieve the required results.

Technical aspects

In all digital platforms, colours have different channels and models known as RGB and CMYK models. RGB stands for red, green and blue colour, whereas CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The key purpose of the RGB colour model is aimed at detecting, representation and display of images in electronic systems, such as televisions and computers, though it has also been used in digital photography. In colour printing usually CMYK colours are used while RGB is used for creating images on your computer screen. The combination of RGB light creates white, whereas the combination of CMYK ink creates black.

If you zoom in a picture, you will observe some colour pixels. The image is formed with the combination of these colour pixels. Every colour pixel has its own value or code defined in all digital platforms. If you pick a colour with the help of the eyedropper tool in the editing software, you will get the exact code of that colour.