Graphic Design Tips
How to Find the Perfect Color
By John McWade
Before & After Magazine
Dateline: March 11, 2005
More Graphic Design tips
No single visual element has
more effect on a viewer than
color. Color gets attention,
sets a mood, sends a message.
But what colors are the right
ones? The key is that color is
relational. Colors don’t exist in
a vacuum but are always seen
with other colors. Because of
this, you can design a color-coordinated
document based
on the colors in any element
on the page. Here’s how.
Look Close, Closer, Closest
Every photo has a natural color palette. First step is to find it and organize it. Zoom
in on your photo, and you’ll be astonished by how many colors you see.
At normal viewing distance
(below left) we see a few dozen
colors: skin tones, red hair,
blue eyes, blue jacket, but
zoom closer, and we see millions!
First step is to reduce all
those colors to a manageable
few; you want 16, 32, 64 tops.
In Photoshop, first duplicate
the photo layer (so you don’t
lose the original), then select
Filter > Pixelate > Mosaic (right).
A large Cell Size gives you very
few colors; if you need more,
reduce the size.
Pull Out the Colors
Now extract colors with the eyedropper tool. Work from the biggest color (the one you see
most of ) to the smallest. For contrast, pick up dark, medium and light pixels of each.
Work first on the big colors. These are the
ones you see at a glance; her skin and hair
colors and blue jacket. Then do the small
colors—her eyes, lips, the highlights in
her hair and soft shadows. You can see in
this image a light side and a shadow side;
it’s subtle, but pay attention. Finish each
area before moving on. Sort your results
by color, then each color by value (light to
dark). Discard lookalikes. You’ll be thrilled
by what you find.
Try Each One On
Place the photo on a swatch of each color. The results are pretty, aren’t they? What’s fun
is that this will always look good, because the colors you’re using are already there.
|
