Doodly Intermediate Tutorial

Choosing Color Combinations

Intermediate Tutorial #23

Choosing Color Combinations

Displays how to choose color combinations for video and graphic design using itten’s color and complementing colors.

The article explains how to choose the correct color combinations, provides some cheat sheets to making the correct decisions and provides some bad color combination choices.

Complementing Colors

This is not as easy as you may think. One of the biggest things to consider when going beyond Doodly is color combinations. A bad color combination can cause people’s eyes to hurt like Bright green on a black background. While the designer might think, "Well, I want to make sure this pops", it is probably not a good idea to pop the eyes out of the viewers head when they try and watch the doodle. Complementing colors are colors that are on the opposite side of the Itten color circle.

What is the Itten Color Circle?

Created by Johannes Itten, a teacher at the most prestige art school in Germany in 1919. This Swiss painter was known for the theories he created and taught in his classes. This color circle is designed to be a beginner level cheat sheet in complementing colors. The Color Wheel Company has an amazing chart that can be used to for beginners to start their learning process all about complementing colors. The Ultimate Color Combinations Cheat Sheet

Trending Color Palettes

The best way to know for which colors your viewers will approve is to look at others. Coolers.co has a trending color palettes that allows us to see which colors others believe work the best. Check it out. They even have a palette generator but it can be considered on the complex side of the spectrum for using it. Trending Color Palettes

Bad Color Combinations

These are combinations of colors that will hurt your eyes or drive you away if we were to use them in our video. If there are questions as to whether something is good, ask in the Doodly Users Group or ask your friends and see if they like them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions regarding this topic.

Created by a Swiss painter named Johannes Itten in 1919, this tool serves as a guide for beginners to find complementing colors. It shows which colors sit on opposite sides of the spectrum so you can easily match them for your projects.

Using the wrong colors together can actually cause physical discomfort for your viewers. For example, placing bright green text over a dark black background might seem like it stands out, but it can make the audience want to look away and stop watching your video.

You can visit the Coolers website to explore trending color schemes that are highly rated by other creators. They offer a palette generator tool to help you discover beautiful color matches, though it might take a little practice for beginners to master.

Complementary colors are found directly across from one another on a standard color wheel. By looking at a chart like the one provided by The Color Wheel Company, you can quickly identify these opposite pairings to create a visually pleasing design.

The most effective method is to seek feedback from other people. You can share your designs with friends or post them in a user group to get honest opinions on whether the colors are appealing or if they clash and hurt the eyes.

About the author

Wayne Leiser
Wayne Leiser
Editor & Contributor
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