Color Schemes
Near Complementary

A Near Complementary Color Scheme is a two-color palette and is very similar to a Basic Complementary Color Scheme.

Instead of going straight across the Basic Color Wheel, this time you choose the color immediately to the right or left of it. This palette is sometimes also referred to as a Counterpoint Color Scheme.

Here in our example, I've gone across from RED and clockwise one space to YELLOW / GREEN.

This choice might also have gone counterclockwise from RED to BLUE / GREEN. Or starting from the opposite side, started with YELLOW / GREEN and gone to VIOLET

There are 12 difference combinations on the Color Wheel -
6 clockwise and 6 counterclockwise.

A Near Complementary Color Scheme is the most interesting choice when you're confined to using only two paint colors. The hues are far enough apart on the Basic Color Wheel that they enhance each other when sitting side by side. They also have the ability to create lovely toned-down mixtures without quickly getting dull like Complementary Hues

When you mix two Near Complements together the result becomes increasingly neutral. But unlike true Complementary Colors much of the vibrancy of the original color still remains.

That's because to totally neutralize the hues to gray, you require an equal portion of the third Primary Color which in this example would be Blue. Although you need Blue to create Green, this Yellow / Green has mostly Yellow in it. It's that teeny tiny amount of Blue within the Yellow / Green that tones everything down but there's so little of it that the result is still lively.

Notice how this range of Hues go so beautifully together. Remember that you can extend your range of colors even further by adding various amounts of White, Black or Grey to create Tints, Shades or Tones.

Color Scheme Tips

1. Make one of your colors dominant in your palette.

2. Use various intensities of that dominant color, by adding different proportions of its Near Complement. Then vary the values by adding white to lighten or black to darken.

3. For contrasting accents such as pillows and art, choose the non-dominant color. Make sure it has a little of the dominant hue mixed in to tone it down a touch. Otherwise these accents will jump out to the eye a bit too much.






Return to Color Schemes from Near Complementary Colors
Return to Home Page