Beads in the right combination add radiance to jewelry.
The color wheel is an invaluable tool for making decisions on mixing colors, whether it be in painting or in creating beaded jewelry. There are usually two sides to a color wheel you buy in most art supply stores. For beading you only need to understand the back side, which has triangles and rectangles in the center and is usually titled "Illustration of Color Relationships."
Instructions
Complementary Colors
1. Turn the dial on the color wheel until the arrow points to red. Look at the equilateral triangle labeled "Triad" and see that the two other corners point to blue and yellow. These are the primary colors. All the colors in between are produced by mixing the primaries in vary amounts to get the other colors.
2. Look at the color directly opposite the red. It is green. The arrow connecting these two says "Complementary." Any two colors directly across from each other on the wheel are complementary. When these two colors are put next to each other, they enhance each other and make each other appear richer.
3. Identify other complementary colors by looking at each color around the wheel. As you turn the wheel, notice the word "complementary" on the outside border is always on the color across from the arrow pointing to the pure color.
4. Look at the colors on either side of the complementary color. They are labeled as "split-complementary" colors. The colors on either side of those are labeled "Triadic."
5. Turn the color wheel until the arrow points to a color, for example, yellow-green. Look across and see the five colors labeled as complementary, split complementary and triadic.
6. Take a yellow-green bead and place it in the center of beads that are as close to the five other colors as possible. In making a piece of jewelry, a combination of the these six colors will give you a piece of jewelry that complements itself throughout.
7. Turn the color wheel so the red-violet, the complement of yellow-green, is the main color. Now you see that the five other colors are from red-orange to blue-green. Lay beads out to match these colors.
8. Choose the complement and/or split complements combined with the pure color if you don't want to use all five.
Analogous Colors
9. Look at the color wheel and pick three colors that are directly in contact with each other. These are analogous colors. A fourth color on either side of the three could be added and still be analogous.
10. Use this combination of bead colors for a more harmonious effect. It tends not to be as vibrant as a combination that includes the complement of the main color. This combination does work very well together and is frequently seen in jewelry because it is simpler to match colors to a person's wardrobe.
11. Maintain the harmony of the analogous colors by not mixing warm and cool colors or adding more than four colors to the mix.
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