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Introduction to Color Theory

with Rhea Tibbey
4.7 (75)
Master key principles of color to create gorgeous, captivating illustrations of your own!
English, Spanish, 1 more French English, Spanish [Auto], 4 more French [Auto], German [Auto], Portuguese [Auto], Italian [Auto]
2+
hours
11
lessons
Beginner to Intermediate
level
Rhea Tibbey

Your Instructor

Rhea Tibbey is 21 Draw’s Production Manager, newsletter writer and Community Forum moderator. She is based in Australia and loves creating fantasy, whimsical artwork.

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2+
hours
11
lessons
Beginner to Intermediate
level
English, Spanish , 1 more
Languages
  • French
English, Spanish [Auto] , 4 more
Subtitles
  • French [Auto]
  • German [Auto]
  • Portuguese [Auto]
  • Italian [Auto]

What you’ll learn

  • How to use colors to make your artwork truly impressive
  • Discover how to choose the best colors for your art
  • Sidestep common beginner pitfalls with easy tips and tricks
  • Unlock the power of colors and create beautiful combinations
  • Improve your existing artwork with simple coloring tweaks
  • Discover the mysteries of color illusions and how they work
  • Harness the power of color psychology and visual hierarchy
  • Seamlessly blend colors with confidence to craft amazing illustrations
  • Identify and fix common color and value issues
  • Master the symphony of hue, value, and saturation for harmonious compositions
  • Draw the viewer in with captivating focal points and convincing depth
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Description

Ever wrestled with colors that don’t turn out as you expect, leaving your artwork looking flat and muddy? This course is your beacon of hope!

Embark on an exhilarating ride through a kaleidoscope of hues with Rhea, where she’ll guide you in turning your artistic visions into stunning illustrations that pop off the page. Say goodbye to bland and hello to brilliant!

This transformative course is designed to elevate your painting skills (traditional or digital), starting from the very basics and progressing methodically through color theory essentials.

You’ll learn to decode the language of color, conveying messages and emotions through your art, and master visual hierarchy, leading your viewer’s eye and creating convincing depth.

With Rhea’s clear explanations and fun demonstrations, these concepts will click like never before. Everything will finally make sense. You’ll discover how easy painting can be and have such a blast following along, it won’t seem like you’re taking a course!

After this, colors won’t seem daunting to you anymore. You’ll know exactly how to use them skillfully to create gorgeous, eye-catching paintings that resonate deeply with your audience.

Sign up today and dive into a realm of colors bursting with energy!

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Who is this course for

  • Those looking to improve their understanding of color
  • Artists wanting to learn how to choose pleasing colors for their art
  • Artists curious to discover different methods of coloring digitally
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This course includes

  • 2+ Hours of on-demand videos
  • 8 Assignments (PDF)
  • 5 Cheat sheets/guides
  • 8 Process images
  • Bonus material
  • Certificate of Completion
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Used in course

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What you'll need

  • Digital drawing software such as Procreate or similar (see examplesAffinity Photo, ArtRage, Artweaver, Astropad, Clip Studio Paint, Corel Painter, Krita, Inkscape, IbisPaint, GIMP, Rebelle 4, Photoshop, Paintstorm Studio, Procreate, MediBang Paint, SketchPad, SketchBook, TwistedBrush, Vectr...)
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with Rhea Tibbey

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00

Introduction

02:39

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Coloring an illustration is SO much more than just randomly adding hues, hoping they will somehow transform into a cohesive work of art.

Creating gorgeous, eye-catching artwork involves a structured coloring process that experienced artists follow. But guess what? The steps in this process are way easier than you may think!

In this course, you’ll learn key color concepts and techniques, going from absolute beginner to confident pro! Get ready to rumble!!!

01

The Color Wheel

08:26

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Color theory is important in any visually creative medium, whether it’s concept art, graphic design, traditional art, photography, etc.

This lesson carefully breaks down the foundational hues, deepens your understanding of color interactions, and teaches you successful ways to mix them.

You’ll also learn how hue, value and saturation work together, how to select colors and use the color wheel in digital software.

02

Warm and Cool Colors

09:41

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Did you know you can create visual illusions with warm and cool colors?

In this fascinating lesson, you’ll learn how to identify warm and cool hues, their differences and their strengths.

You’ll also explore the ways they interact together and masterfully employ them to create depth in an illustration. Magic!

03

Color Psychology

09:39

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Get ready to unravel the profound impact colors have on our emotions and the rich symbolism they carry in society.

You’ll gain valuable insights into how to harness this emotional language to create compelling illustrations.

Rhea will also share practical tips on finding references for poses, characteristics, hair, colors, costume, and accessories, to equip you with the skills to infuse depth and meaning into your artwork.

04

Visual Hierarchy

20:25

Visual hierarchy in artwork

Visual hierarchy is key to effectively communicating the message or story in your illustration.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how color choices can make certain areas pop and others recede in the distance.

You’ll learn tricks of the trade, like using saturation and contrast to guide the viewer’s eye and fixing any color or value hiccups in your art.

Plus, you’ll get some fun practice with your new skills by jazzing up an old illustration together. Get ready to level up your illustration game!

05

Color Schemes

19:48

Color schemes art course

Get ready for a colorful adventure, diving headfirst into the world of color schemes, the secret sauce of eye-catching illustrations.

Rhea breaks down the six main color schemes, showing you how famous artists rocked them, and the art of handpicking a perfect palette for your artwork.

You’ll get to flex your creative muscles by crafting your very own schemes and practice testing them on thumbnails before you go big on that final illustration.

06

Color Harmony

05:41

Learn about color harmony in art

Get ready to unlock some serious magic and discover how colors impact each other, with wizardry like simultaneous contrast.

Ever noticed how a color looks suddenly different next to another? Well, today you’ll find out why!

Rhea will share nifty tricks and techniques such as using contrasting values, to make your piece pop, and blending modes, to ensure all your colors are best buds on the canvas.

Think warm tones cozying up to the cool tones: Picture-perfect harmony!

07

The Greyscale Method

10:14

Paint digitally with the grayscale method

In this nifty painting method, you’ll master the technique of starting with only grayscale values and then seamlessly blending in your chosen color scheme for a beautiful result!

Additionally, you’ll pick up handy skills such as how to deftly add highlights and shadows, to create a three-dimensional feel and realistic depth.

Get ready to turn your vision into a vibrant reality!

08

The Greyscale Method: Values

13:30
09

The Greyscale Method: Coloring

14:06
10

The Soft Brush Method

19:22

Paint digitally with the soft brush method

You’ll go from blank canvas to stunning masterpiece with this painting method!

Rhea will guide you through the process of combining soft brushes and colored backgrounds to craft a harmonious color palette that’ll make your work sing.

And guess what? You get to be your own muse! Using references of yourself is as flexible as it is fun.

And finally, watch your artwork go from “wow” to “WOW!” as you learn subtle lighting and blending tricks to make it pop, glow, and grab your viewer’s attention.

Student Feedback

75 customer reviews & ratings

4.7

Course rating

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5 star
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4 star
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3 star
6 %
2 star
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Best Suited for
Beginner
The level is determined by a majority opinion of students who have reviewed this class. The teacher's recommendation is shown until at least 5 student responses are collected.

(Based on 75 reviews)

Most Liked
Helpful Examples 58
Clarity of Instruction 55
Great step-by-step process 53
Showing 10 reviews of
75
reviews & ratings
Lourdes M.

8 months ago

Verified Purchase
This course was so helpful. I learned a lot and can’t wait to use those techniques in my illustration. Thank you so much.
I recommend it for Beginner
2 people found this helpful
YB
Yasmin B.

8 months ago

Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this course. It has some excellent tips and exercises, very useful and easy to apply. Personally, it was a little bit challenging to apply this to a different art style, but it is VERY recommended to follow along and actually do the assignments, It is beneficial to the learning pr
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ocess. Thank you!!
I recommend it for Beginner
1 person found this helpful
MR
MR R.

8 months ago

Verified Purchase
I love this course, very useful for understanding the basics of color theory. I am looking forward to using these techniques and creating my illustrations.
I recommend it for Beginner
AS
Alina S.

8 months ago

Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed participating in this course. Most of the time I was able to follow along, sometimes I've been confused, since I work with clip studio - and haven't absolved the photoshop starter course yet (which probably has more in common with procreate). Meanwhile I coursed my soft brush try an
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d deleted it after eight hours of making it worse and worse, but that's been my fault, I wanted too much too fast. Buuut I learned a lot and can highly recommend to participate. There are many ressources to use, handy tips and a very kind and dedicated teacher :))
I recommend it for Intermediate
Response from 21 Draw

Hi Alina. Thanks for your review! You may find these two courses helpful (which are included in your membership): Digital Drawing in Procreate and Digital Drawing in Photoshop by Erika Wiseman. Both are designed for absolute beginners to these software. :)

1 person found this helpful
Jowan W.

8 months ago

Verified Purchase
She explains really well, i am specially impressed by the chapters,4,5 and 6. These include the helpful tips you do not hear everywhere. Thank you
I recommend it for Beginner
SB
Savina B.

8 months ago

Verified Purchase
thanks very good savina
I recommend it for Intermediate
RB
Roberto B.

7 months ago

Verified Purchase
Thank you
I recommend it for All levels
JK
Jeff K.

7 months ago

Verified Purchase
Great engaging course!
I recommend it for Beginner
Janet T.

7 months ago

Verified Purchase
Excellent course. I look forward to Rhea's next course. Very thorough and working time with the student. She doesn't leave you behind. Great tips.
I recommend it for Beginner
JO
Jennifer O.

7 months ago

Verified Purchase
The lessons are engaging, flow very well, are light and easy to understand. I really liked.
I recommend it for Beginner
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About the Instructor

Rhea Tibbey
Illustrator and Production Manager 1 course

Rhea Tibbey is an illustrator based in Australia, and production/community manager at 21 Draw. She loves creating fantasy drawings and designing whimsical characters!


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