Color Schemes
Multi Color

Choosing a Multi Color Scheme on your Color Wheel might sound really complicated with so many different colors to juggle.

It's easy if you tone them down a little and balance how much of each you use. The key is to make one of the colors dominant by using it for the largest areas.

This palette is defined by working with five to twelve different colors and all their variations. In our example I've selected every second Hue on the Color Wheel.

This choice results in using all the Primary and Secondary Colors. But you can make any choice of multiple colors.

Here I've decided to make Red my dominant Mother Color. In addition to the Red in the middle, the top row shows the original Hues from the Color Wheel. If you used them just as they are, the resulting color scheme would be very bright and maybe even overwhelming. This might be an exciting choice for a party or a circus, but not for much else.

By adding a drop of the Red Mother Color to each original paint color, the intensity is reduced a little. Notice how the color is still vibrant. As a group they no longer fight each other for attention and it's much easier on the eyes. That's because they all now have a little of the Mother Color in common.

They've become a family.

Even though the mixtures on the bottom row no longer clash, they're still a bit challenging to balance. That intense orange and yellow will need to be used in small doses to keep from overpowering the other slightly subdued mixtures.

To subdue each color even more you can either add more of the Mother Color. You can also add a little White, Black or both to create a Tint, Tone or Shade.

Tips for Using a Multiple Color Scheme

1. Make one of the colors dominant by using it for the largest areas.

2. Use the same intensity for each color. In other words make them all similarly bright or all similarly subdued.

3. Use either the darkest color such as Blue, or the lightest color such as Yellow, for the smallest accent areas. Either of the two extremes will have a better chance of standing out from the crowd.





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