The first semester I taught Colour Theory, I was well into a long talk about colour and specifically the many undertones of colour. All was going well (or so I thought) until one brave soul at the back of the class tentatively raised her hand. "What's an undertone?" she asked. I was dumbstruck. In that moment, I couldn't even explain it (or not very well) because it's so obvious to me but only because I've been doing this for so long.
So the next semester I was prepared with a definition and an explanation. And here it is:
Undertone: A colour applied under or seen through another colour.
Clients are always asking me "What's the difference between this colour and that one, which one is warmer which one is cooler, etc?." As soon as I say, "This one's more orange, or that one is more blue", they mostly see it immediately but it takes a trained eye to be able to wade through all the possibilities and especially the undertones of beige, (which are the most confusing) to pick the one that's right for you.
It's much easier to see it with stronger colours like these:
So the next semester I was prepared with a definition and an explanation. And here it is:
Undertone: A colour applied under or seen through another colour.
Clients are always asking me "What's the difference between this colour and that one, which one is warmer which one is cooler, etc?." As soon as I say, "This one's more orange, or that one is more blue", they mostly see it immediately but it takes a trained eye to be able to wade through all the possibilities and especially the undertones of beige, (which are the most confusing) to pick the one that's right for you.
It's much easier to see it with stronger colours like these:
Living room by Maria Killam Colour & Design
Southern Living
In the living room above, the red sofas have an orange undertone and the green cushions, a yellow undertone.
The bedroom wall colour is a blue-gray, while the chairs are a soft green-gray. The accent yellow in the room has an orange undertone.
While this might seem obvious to you now that I've described them, the undertones of these colours will change again as soon as a warmer or cooler colour is placed next to them. If I walk into the bedroom with some yellow fabric with more orange in it that the drapes, suddenly the drapes will appear more green/cooler while the new fabric will be more orange/warmer.
Basically what it comes down to is that 'technically' you can't actually call a colour 'cool or warm' unless you are comparing it to another colour. You might have a personal reaction and opinion on whether the blue in the bedroom above is cold, but until its compared to a periwinkle blue (warmer) or a greener blue (cooler) it's not cold or warm.
Related posts:
4 comments:
I truly believe one must understand the concept of an undertone in order to better incorporate multiple colours in a room. I couldn't have explained “undertones” better myself. Great article!
Marc Atiyolil
Style & Design Editor
Canadian Home Trends Magazine
www.canadianhometrends.ca
Can you please tell me what color you used on the living room walls? Love this look!
Dear Karenerika,
That colour is HC-28 Shelbourne Buff. It's a wonderful goldy beige tone!
Happy Painting!
Maria
Great explanation! One place that many women will have common experience with this is make-up, especially red lipsticks and blushes...the orangy vs. the bluey, and how it works with their skin. I've used that analogy when teaching color.
Post a Comment