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However, there’s no need to go wild, because just
a subtle use of warm tones can create a bold sense
of depth in an illustration.
DON’T LET REALITY DEFINE YOU
The mind doesn’t need every detail to process
visual information. An illustration can end up
looking boring and bland if real-life colours are
stuck to too closely. A character’s skin tone can be
any colour whatsoever: as long as tone and form
are consistent, colour choice can be adventurous!
For the hesitant, just adding a colour tint over
the true-to-life colour can lift an illustration and
create a stronger visual.
EMOTIONS THROUGH COLOUR
Looking back at warm and cool tone colours, they
can also be effective in generating emotions in
the viewer. Colours are great signifiers of feelings.
Sadness is culturally blue, much like how anger
is red [in the West, at least]. A whole illustration
can hold an emotion or just a single section.
One effective way of using colour for emotions
would be to pick out a character in a crowd:
the expression could be neutral, but they could
represent a whole range of feelings based simply
on how they’ve been treated with colour.WHEN MORE IS MORE
Using lots of colours on a piece of work can be
amazingly effective. However, to prevent it from
becoming confusing to look at, it’s a good idea
to think of how much to use. If you apply the
same amount of each colour there’s a chance the
illustration will be visually intense and hard to
look at. One way to avoid this is to stick to, say,
three or so colours and use the rest in smaller
amounts to add details and engage the eye. The
result is colourful work that isn’t difficult to digest.SATURATION
Having an illustration’s colours ramped up to
maximum saturation isn’t always a sure-fire
technique for creating impact. Duskier and
softer colours can still have a strong and clear
appearance in an illustration if used in the correct
way. Keeping extra details and textures to a
minimum is the key to using it effectively, as the
artwork can become lost or muddied up if mixed
with too much visual information. Think limited
palettes and a screen print-style colour lay-down,
and it’ll pop just as much as brighter colours.NEGATIVE SPACE
Negative space in an illustration is just as
important as the positive. Not every image needs
a background; a clever use of a block of colour
can ground an illustration while creating striking
visuals at the same time. It’s not easy to get right
because a block colour background may change
how the colours in the worked-up areas look to
the eye, but just play about with it. Even a colour
that’s a few degrees warmer or cooler can create
the right contrast that takes an illustration from
bland to eye-catching.“ADDING A COLOUR
TINT OVER THE
TRUE-TO-LIFE
COLOUR CAN LIFT
AN ILLUSTRATION
AND CREATE A
STRONGER VISUAL”ABOVE
Considered colour use
introduces variety
and helps to avoid
visual confusion.BELOW
Good use of negative
space enables
positive space to pop.