Tutorials

Color Selection in Graphic Design

Tutorial 1 with Matisse Template – Exercise 3

We will continue to use the template from the previous lesson in this tutorial.

Here, we will use the same approach, but we will apply the methods in an even simpler and more direct way to rapidly create a vibrant composition. This should help illustrate how easy and fast this process can be.

The goal is a more striking composition, with mostly stronger contrasts.

Before -- After

Step 1

Open the Matisse template. You may download the template here. Select the layer “Shapes” to get ready to fill in the forms with the Paint Bucket tool.

Step 2

Select the background and fill it with black. Creating a composition on a black background involves the exact same principles as were shown in previous tutorials. The visual results will of course be strikingly different, but no less effective. You can also darken the “Shapes” layer before beginning, to make them stand out less from the black, and easier to work with when applying new colors. Simply invert the layer colors (Ctrl + I).

Step 3

Create a palette with the target color set to black. Then save the palette. Again, they are organized by contrast groups. Weak, Medium, Strong, and Very Strong. But you may have noticed the color picker identifies these contrast groups not by these names, as we have been using for the sake of clarity thus far. It identifies contrast strength with numerical values. The same contrast groups have the values 5, 10, 20, and 40. We will be using numerical values when describing contrast now on, so you become familiarized with referring to contrast by precise numbers. This will become more critical in later tutorials, where more advanced methods are described.

Step 4

This time, before choosing colors from the palette, we will start with white, which has the strongest contrast against black. We will establish strong contrasts as anchor points in the composition.

Step 5

Now we will choose these colors from the 20 contrast group, and apply them to the composition.

Step 6

Now we will choose these colors from the 10 contrast group. In the next lesson, we will switch to a different Matisse template, and demonstrate how you can use these simple methods to get even more sophisticated with your color compositions.

Next - Tutorial 2 with Matisse Template