For a tatooist to apply a really beautiful work of art, an unwavering knowledge of colour and shading are vital to the trade. How can one expect an exceptional tatoo from someone who doesn’t know the basic functions of a colour wheel? Improper use of pigments can transform what was a good outline, into something very unpleasing to the eye.
The first step in giving the outline life, is shading. Different artists use different techniques and needle combinations to achieve this.
The colour black is, in reality, the absence of all colour, and on the opposite end of the scale, we have white, which is the presence of all colour. Mixing black and white together forms gray, and is represented by a scale determining value.
Colours are separated into three categories, which together, form all the colours on a colour wheel. Primary colours are red, yellow, and blue, and cannot be mixed from any other colours. Secondary colours are created by mixing two primary colours together resulting in orange (red and yellow), green (blue and yellow), and violet (red and blue). Lastly, we have the tertiary (intermediate) colours, one primary and one secondary colour mixed together.
We can go even further in defining colour by placing the primary and secondary colours into categories known as aggressive and receding colours. Aggressive or warm colours are the reds, oranges, and yellows. Receding or cool colours are the greens, blues, and violets.
The proper use of colours are very important in creating depth and believability in a tatoo, and basic definitions make it easy to understand.
- Hue - another name for colour.
- Tint - any specific colour adding white.
- Tone - any specific colour adding gray.
- Shade - any specific colour adding black.
- Key colour - the dominant colour in a colour scheme or mixture.
- Mono chromatic - using any shade, tint, or tone of one colour.
- Analogous - using any shades, tints, or tones, of colours which are at ninety degree angles on a colour wheel.
- Achromatic - a colourless scheme with only blacks, grays, and whites.
- Complimentary harmony - combining shade, tint, or tone of one colour and crossing over to choose the opposite colour. example being red and green.
- Split compliments - choosing one colour and using the colour on each side of its compliment, such as blue, yellow-orange, and red-orange.
- Diad - using two colours that are two colours apart on the colour wheel (red and orange, yellow and green, blue-green and blue-violet, etc.).
- Triad - colour scheme that has three colours equally spaced from each other. a perfect example are the three primary colours.
- Tetrad - a contrast of four or more colours on a colour wheel.
Light plays an important role, as subdued evening or candlelight creates distortions of colour, and under these circumstances, light colours need more intensity, and dark colours, less. As well, distance causes cool colours to black out, and lighter values of colour should be employed for greater emphasis.
Related Post: Skin Art is Cool
