RSSClear and Soft Colours
June 24, 2009
The last 2 Makeup Model articles are ready to post but first this. I was asked a great question. Of course, the only question that is not great is the one left unasked.
The person said “What is a clear color?”
Excellent. As with most things about color, there is no understanding without seeing.
I think most of us get what cool and warm colours look like.
Any color can be make cooler (by adding blue) or warmer (by adding yellow). Even shades that are inherently cool, like blue, can be made warmer. So can yellow be made cooler.
Here’s a question : can you make a cool colour cooler? You can only add so much blue. And the more blue you add, the darker the color gets. So the answer is yes, to a point, and depending on what you start with.
Let’s get to the question at hand.
Take the color at the top. We can make it lighter and stay true to the clearness (just means distance from grey) as we did on the left. Or, we can get lighter but also make it dustier, more muted, softer, less saturated, more greyed, all the same thing, as we did on the right.
We can do the same as we darken a colour.
Beginning with the colour in the center, it was cooled (above) and warmed (below). It was also made less vivid, less bright, less clear, weaker, more muted or smudged (on the left) OR kept clear, pure, true to the original shade without toning down its brilliance or saturation (on the lower right).
Here’s how it applies to a 4 season scheme.
Comments
2 Responses to “Clear and Soft Colours”
Got something to say? I hope so.
Get daily makeup and colour updates. Join the 12 Blueprints Fan Club on Facebook! A Click on the box will take you there.
-
A Greener Tea
Web Maintenence by Rick Beckman
Very helpful, Christine! It’s amazing how “clear” things become when we see them and especially with the contrasts!!
Hey, Glenda,
It’s just the effect of adding fog, isn’t it? Whether it’s mountains greyed by distance or mist or thick fog, the colors get dulled down. On some people, that looks just fabulous.