THE ART OF
COLOUR THEORY
Colour theory • As a makeup artist it is important to understand the principles of colour theory • There are three basic colours – red, yellow and blue. All other colours are combinations of these three • Mixing all three primary colours together in equal quantities will create a neutral colour, resembling very dark grey • If you change the proportion of each primary colour in the mix, a variety of neutral tones can be achieved • Mixing equal amounts of two of the primary colours creates the secondary colours e.g. Yellow + blue = green • Tertiary colours are achieved by mixing a secondary colour and a primary colour in equal amounts e.g. Blueviolet, yellow-green WWW.THISISMINK.COM
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Colour theory • Quaternary colours, a series of three distinct tones of brown, are created by missing two secondary colours together o Orange + violet = russet brown o Orange + green = sallow brown o Green + violet = olive brown
• A secondary colour is always directly opposite a primary colour. These opposite colours are said to complement each other • When mixed in equal quantities complementary colours will neutralise each other creating a greyish, neutral tone WWW.THISISMINK.COM
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Colour theory A ruddy complexion with lots of red undertones can be neutralised by applying a thick layer of pale green colour correcting product A heavy beard shadow that appears bluish can be camouflaged with an orangetoned product A sallow complexion (lots of yellow tones) can be enhanced by a lilac colour-correcting base. However, too much coverage in all these cases would produce an unattractive grey-tones complexion. WWW.THISISMINK.COM
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Colour theory • Colours advance and recede. Bright colours advance and make the area covered appear larger. Dull and dark colours recede and make the area covered appear smaller • Colours reflect other colours – some colours tend to reflect back more colour than they take away e.g. A red scarf near a ruddy complexion will make the face appear redder, shadows tend to reflect the colour of the object causing the shadow • Colour will steal colour. Bright blue placed beside light or pale blue will make the pale colour appear less colourful e.g. A person with blue eyes can intensify the eye colour by wearing a lighter blue than the blue eye colour. A darker blue worn near the face would make the eye colour appear lighter in contrast WWW.THISISMINK.COM
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Colour theory • Colour has temperature. Colours are classified as warm or cool. Cold colours tend to make objects appear to be further away whereas hot colours bring objects forward • Colour reacts with other colour. Individual hues are also affected by the colours that surround them. For example, if you place a greyish colour against a violet background, the grey will have a slightly yellow tone; if you put grey against a green background, it will look slightly red • Colours are affected by light. Colour will also be affected by the light it is seen in. Daylight gives off a bluish tone, tungsten artificial lighting gives off a yellow tone and fluorescent gives off a green tinge.
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Colour theory: Lighting • Light is measured in degrees kelvin (K), which relates to the temperature of its colour. Light with higher kelvin ratings produces a bluish cast; light with lower ratings produces a red-orange cast • Daylight bulbs are fluorescent lighting, but should be chosen carefully as there are a number of varieties of fluorescent bulbs • Those with a CRI (colour rendering index) of 100, are the closest to daylight • Makeup not applied under the correct lighting conditions may look heavy and too warm or washed out and cool in colour temperature • It is important that the makeup room is adequately lit WWW.THISISMINK.COM
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About MINK • MINK London is the UKs leading makeup authority for women of colour! • The company runs a private makeup school, a makeup agency and a produces large scale makeup events • The private makeup school specialises in short, comprehensive makeup programmes broken down into: • Professional makeup courses • Non professional makeup courses • Our professional makeup courses are full accredited by BABTAC, so you can be assured that you will get the highest standard of training available. • Contact us: thisismink.com; info@thisismink.com 020 3589 0724