A makeup artist should understand colour theory. Colour is one of the principal foundations of everything that the makeup artist does. Successfully recognising and matching a client’s skin tone and underlying tones, good corrective and camouflage makeup, enhancing or complementing natural colouring, blending in prosthetic pieces and creating realistic casualty effects—it all relies on colour as much as technique.
Colour Theory
There are lots of colour models, from the super scientific ones we have no idea what the heck they are talking about to the two that we come across every day: the Red Green Blue (RGB) model, as used in electronic systems that transmit light such as computers and televisions, and the Red Yellow Blue (RYB) model, the colour system traditionally used in art, and it’s the RYB model and colour theory we are looking at here.
The Colour Wheel and Mixing Colours
The colour wheel showing primary, secondary and tertiary colours
Knowing how to achieve a particular colour and understanding what colours cancel each other out are essential in hair and makeup. The colour wheel is a simple way to look at the fundamental principal of mixing colours.
- Primary colours (red, yellow, blue) are the three colours from which any other colour can be mixed. When all three are mixed equally, they produce grey.
- Secondary colours (orange, green, violet) are made by mixing equal amounts of two primary colours.
- Tertiary colours (vermillion, amber, chartreuse, aquamarine, indigo, violet red) are made by mixing one primary colour with one adjacent secondary colour. Unlike primary and secondary colours whose names are established, the description for tertiary colours can vary, but we’ve used typical names in the colour diagram.
- Quaternary colours are made by mixing any two of the secondary colours together, resulting in a brown colour. We can see how these colours relate to our skin and the underlying tones: an olive brown (green + purple) has a blue bias; russet brown (purple + orange) has a red bias and is called ruddy or warm; citrine brown (orange + green) has a yellow bias and is refered to as sallow or golden.
Earthy or neutral tones, such as black, browns and greys, are made by either mixing all three primary colours, any two secondary colours (which makes a quaternary colour) or all the primary and secondary colours.
Complementary colour: Each colour has a complementary colour and is the opposite colour to it on the colour wheel (e.g. blue and orange). When placed next to each other they create a strong contrast. When mixed in equal proportions, they cancel each other out producing a grey tone. Useful for the makeup artist in colour correction, for example, red areas on the skin can be “calmed down” with a touch of green (though use too much and the result with be too dull and greying). In hairdressing, purple shampoo can be used to knock out the yellow from blonde hair making it more ashen.
Harmonising colours: Colours that share a pigment, such as blue and green, are called harmonising colours and blend easily into each other.
By mixing colours in differing proportions, we can create any colour we want. So by understanding how colours mix or work together we can match any foundation to any skin tone, conceal correctly and achieve the desired finished result. But wait! There’s more to colours than simply getting the mix right. How a makeup ends up looking on camera is affected by many other factors. To further understand, we look at some of the properties that every colour has and, in a bit, how colour is perceived:
Describing Colour
Colour can be described using various properties including hue, shade, tint, tone, brightness and saturation.
Describing Colour: starting with the same blue hue, the chart shows how tints (top), shades (middle) and tones (bottom) graduate and differ
- HUE is the basic colour group as we see it: red, blue, yellow, green, orange and so on.
- SHADE is the hue plus black and adding black makes the colour darker.
- TINT is the hue plus white and makes the colour lighter. Adding white to a colour creates pastels like lilac, apricots, opal and creams.
- TONE is the hue plus grey and tonality refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour. Think about black and white photography—you see tones rather than colour, so, for example, a light orange and a light blue could have the same tonality and look the same on black and white film.
- BRIGHTNESS basically refers to the amount of light that is reflected off the colour. Brightness is also referred to as “value” and is essentially describing how light or dark the colour is.
- SATURATION tells us how a colour looks under certain lighting conditions. For example, a makeup viewed in daylight will look different when viewed at night. The makeup is the same, the colours haven’t actually changed, but the saturation has, giving us a different perception of the colours. The greater a colour is saturated, the more vivid the hue.
How Colour is Perceived
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight or vision. When looking at an object, the colour we actually see depends on the colour of the light source, the colour of any filters used and the colour of the object that reflects the light. Colour is also susceptible to its surroundings and all of these things mean that our perception of a colour is not fixed, it is constantly changing.
For the media makeup artist, there are various things that can impact on how a makeup will look on film or stage. The colour of the costume and the material it is made of (as in how reflective it is), the amount and type of lighting used, the use of coloured gels, the colour and reflective value of sets etc. can all have an effect. It is always imperative to look at a makeup through the lens of the camera or on the stage to view the actor in the environment they will actually be in. What you did in the makeup room may not be what is seen on camera or how it is perceived on stage and adjustments to account for the environment may need to be made. Minor tweaks are part of the job, and camera tests and dress rehearsals are great for some tweak time to get things looking just so. Sometimes, however, you don’t get the luxury of tests so the more you understand colour and all the factors involved, along with general experience, the better.
The properties of a colour also determine how we perceive that colour. Some colours register more quickly with us, other colours make things seem closer or give depth.
Colours that advance to the eye:
- Warm colours: Colours that reach the eye first are considered warm colours. They advance towards the eye and appear to stand out more. Generally colours containing red or yellow are considered warm. That’s why red is used for warning signs—the red stands out and we notice it more quickly than a dark blue.
- Higher in value: Colours that are high in value (its brightness) advance towards the eye and are perceived more quickly than colours that are darker or low in value, as they seem to recede and are perceived by the eye less quickly. So a bright red would be perceived quicker by our eyes and stand out more than a darker red.
Colours that appear to recede:
- Cool colours: Colours such as blue, purple and green meet the eye more slowly and are said to be receding. These colours are considered cool colours.
- Low in value: When a colour is darker, they are considered low in value (less bright) and seem to recede from the eye.
We use this to create effects, in essence, we trick the eye. Contouring, for example, uses this basic principal of colour perception to create highlighting and shading: so to create depth under the cheekbones or in the eye socket, we use a darker or cooler colour; to create a highlight on the cheekbones, a brighter colour is used, creating the illusion that the cheekbones have been “pushed out”.
Rick Baker and his amazing makeup with depth, highlights and changed features, all done with regular pancake makeup in six colours
When altering dimensions and creating makeup effects, to highlight or draw attention to a feature, colours that are high in value and/or warm are used. And to create depth and shadow, darker colours are used. Rick Baker’s makeup here is done using just cake makeup. Look at the amazing contours, depth and altered facial dimensions achieved purely by using basic colour theory (oh, and amazing artist ability may have helped …).
The best way to put all this theory into practice is to experiment with your own makeup products. Mix eye shadows to create new shades or colours, try making a warm colour cooler or add warmth to a cool colour, tone down the green, zing up the red… the possibilities, dear reader, are endless. Go play!
Find out more:
Kehoe, Vincent J-R. (1995). The technique of the professional make-up artist. US: Focal Press.
Corey, Irene. (1991). The Face is a Canvas: Design and Technique of Theatrical Make-up. US: Anchorage P.
Colour theory on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory
