The Quilter’s Studio Color Study Group August 18, 2012
Tetrad Color Harmony: Tetrad Colors combine every third color on the color wheel (equidistant on color wheel).
3 different palette choices of 4 colors each (2 complementary sets, but only 1 primary)
- Yellow/Violet and Blue-Green/Red Orange
- Red/Green and Blue-Violet/Yellow-Orange
- Blue/Orange and Yellow-Green/Red-Violet
The tetradic scheme
· The richest of all the schemes because it uses four colors arranged into two complementary color pairs.
· This scheme is harder to harmonize;
· if all four colors are used in equal amounts, the scheme may look unbalanced, so you should choose a color to be dominant or subdue the colors. Avoid using pure colors in equal amounts
· sometimes referred to as square tetrad (vs the rectangular tetrad which is really double split complement)
· Start with one color and build around it using the color wheel or start with a tetrad print and add the individual colors
Pros: The tetradic scheme offers more color variety than any other scheme. Bold!
Cons: This scheme is the hardest scheme to balance.
Tip: If the scheme looks unbalanced, try to subdue one or more colors.
 |
Jane James B/O/YG/RV |
 |
Lisa Walsh Y/V/RO/BG |
 |
Debra Plane-Dunkel R/G/BV/YO |
References:
Homework for next class –September 15th (last class)
Reading Read through Workshops 8-12 – we will cover concepts and have examples next class to finish the book.
Project Workshop 7 Tetrad Color Scheme pages 176-179
Bring Any of your pieces that you think might illustrate luminosity, transparency, or temperature