B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Complementary Colours and Intensity

D1.3 D2.1 D2.2About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can name the three pairs of complementary colours.
I can use complementary colours side by side to make colours look brighter and catch the eye.
I can dull (neutralize) a colour's intensity by mixing in a small amount of its complement.
I can interpret the feelings and ideas that colour choices communicate in an art work.
I can explain how I used hue and intensity to communicate a message.

Words to know

hue
The name of a colour, like red, orange or blue.

colour wheel
A circle that arranges colours in order, so you can see how they relate.

complementary colours
Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel: red and green, blue and orange, yellow and violet (purple).

complement
A colour's opposite on the colour wheel. Green is the complement of red.

intensity
How bright (intense) or dull a colour is.

neutralize
To make a colour duller and closer to a brown or grey, often by mixing in a little of its complement.

neutral colours
Browns, greys, black and white: colours that don't stand out strongly.

Remember from Grade 4

You made a monochromatic painting with one hue and its tints and shades, and learned about intensity: intense (bright) colours versus subdued (dull) colours. You found out that a bright colour pops when it is next to dull colours.

In Grade 5, you will meet complementary colours, the colour wheel's opposites. They can make each other look brighter side by side, and duller when you mix them.

The fall garden mystery

In late summer and fall in Ontario, you can often find bright yellow goldenrod growing next to purple asters in fields and along roadsides. And monarch butterflies, bright orange, flutter against a clear blue sky.

Why do these colour pairs look so striking? Because yellow and purple are opposites on the colour wheel, and so are orange and blue. Opposites make each other look more intense!

Bright yellow goldenrod growing beside purple asters in a meadow under a blue sky. — Yellow and purple are complementary colours, opposites on the colour wheel. Notice how each one makes the other look brighter. AI-generated image

A colour wheel with six hues in order: red at the top, then orange, yellow, green at the bottom, blue and violet. Beside it are the three pairs of complementary colours, which sit opposite each other on the wheel: red and green, blue and orange, yellow and violet.

Complementary colours

Colours that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel are complementary colours. There are three main pairs:

red and green
blue and orange
yellow and violet (purple)

Notice that each pair has one primary colour (red, blue or yellow) and the secondary colour made by mixing the other two primaries. Green is made from blue and yellow, so it's the complement of red!

Side by side: POW!

When complementary colours are placed next to each other, each one makes the other look brighter and more intense. That's why many sports team jerseys, signs and holiday decorations use these pairs. Artists use complementary contrast to make a focal point that grabs your eye.

Mixed together: shhh...

Here's the surprise. When you mix complementary colours, they dull each other.

Mix a tiny bit of blue into orange: the orange becomes less intense, a softer, earthy orange.
Add a bit more: it becomes a brownish orange.
Mix about equal amounts: you get a neutral brown or grey.

This is called neutralizing a colour. It's very useful! Real things in nature (tree bark, rocks, shadows, a cloudy sky) are often dull colours, not bright tube colours. Neutralizing helps your paintings look more natural, and it makes the bright colours you don't neutralize stand out even more.

An intensity scale for orange. The first square is bright, intense orange. In each square to the right, a little more blue is mixed in, so the orange gets duller until the last square is a dull, neutral brownish grey.

Colours carry feelings and ideas

Artists choose hues and intensity to send feelings and messages:

Bright, intense complementary pairs can feel energetic, exciting, loud or even uncomfortable.
Dull, neutral colours can feel calm, quiet, old, serious or sad.
A single intense colour in a dull picture can show what is important, or what is wrong.

The Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh painted The Night Café in 1888. He filled it with clashing reds and greens, and wrote in a letter that he used red and green to express strong, troubled human feelings. Many viewers say the room feels uneasy and tense, even though it's just a café at night.

Worked example

Example: Neutralizing a colour step by step

Let's make an intensity scale for red, using its complement, green.

Draw five boxes in a row. Paint box 1 with pure red.
Box 2: red plus a tiny dot of green. Mix well. It's a little less bright.
Box 3: add a bit more green. It's a duller, brick red.
Box 4: more green again. Now it's a reddish brown.
Box 5: about equal red and green. A dull, neutral brown or grey.
Check: do the boxes change smoothly? If one jumps too far, mix a step in between.

Adding small amounts of a complement lowers a colour's intensity step by step, all the way to a neutral.

Worked example

Example: Using complements to make a focal point

You're painting a lone red canoe on a lake surrounded by green forest. You want everyone to look at the canoe first.

Make the canoe intense red, straight from the tube.
Surround it with green trees and reflections: green is red's complement, so the red looks even brighter.
Neutralize the far-away greens with a little red so they become dull grey-green (remember atmospheric perspective!).
Keep everything else dull, so only the canoe has full intensity.
Explain it: "I placed intense red next to its complement, green, so the canoe is the focal point. I neutralized the background greens so they don't compete."

Complementary contrast and neutralized surroundings make the focal point stand out.

Just for fun

Why did the orange paint stop hanging out with the blue paint?

Every time they got mixed up together, things got a little dull! 🎨

Hands-on activity

Complementary colour lab

You need: washable paint in at least one complementary pair (red and green, blue and orange, or yellow and purple), a brush, water, paper towel, a plate or lid for mixing, white paper, and a sheet of red or bright-coloured construction paper (or a square coloured with marker).

Part 1: Afterimage magic. Stare at a bright red square for about 30 seconds without moving your eyes. Then look at plain white paper. You should see a faint greenish square! Your eyes "see" the complement. Try it with other colours. (If it doesn't work right away, try again in a well-lit room.)

Part 2: Intensity scale. Choose one pair. Paint a five-step scale from pure colour to neutral by adding its complement a little at a time.

Part 3: Complementary painting. Paint a small picture inspired by nature or your community, using one complementary pair plus the neutral colours you mixed. Use the pure, intense colours next to each other only at your focal point. Use the neutralized colours everywhere else.

Part 4: Interpret. Show your painting to a family member. Ask, "How does it make you feel? What do you look at first?" Then explain your colour choices.

Your turn

Name the three pairs of complementary colours.

What is the complement of orange?

What happens when you put complementary colours side by side?

What happens when you mix complementary colours?

How can you make a bright yellow less intense?

What is hue?

Why might an artist neutralize the colours in a background?

More practice: warm-up

Where are complementary colours on the colour wheel?

What is the complement of red?

True or false: Brown and grey are neutral colours.

Which is more intense: lemon yellow or mustard yellow?

Name a complementary pair you might see in nature.

More practice: on your own

Explain why green is the complement of red, using primary and secondary colours.

Your painting of an orange sunset over a lake looks dull and flat. How could a complementary colour help?

A poster for a school safety campaign uses bright red letters on a green background. What feeling might this give, and is it easy to read?

Describe your five-step intensity scale for blue.

How did Van Gogh use colour to communicate feeling in The Night Café?

Challenge

Plan a painting about a social concern, like litter on a beach, using complementary colours and intensity. Explain your choices.

Explain the difference between value and intensity, with an example of each.

Why does mixing a colour with its complement make it duller, instead of just making a new bright colour?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which pair is complementary?

The complement of violet (purple) is ___.

Placing complementary colours side by side makes them look ___.

To make bright green less intense, mix in a little ___.

Intensity means ___.

Mixing about equal amounts of red and green gives ___.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: For Grade 5, the curriculum's focus for colour is complementary colours, hue and intensity, including dulling (neutralizing) a colour's intensity by mixing it with a small amount of its complementary hue. Students use these to communicate ideas (D1.3), interpret the feelings, issues, themes and social concerns art works convey (D2.1) and explain how elements create meaning (D2.2).

How to help:

Spot complementary pairs together: sports jerseys, store signs, fall flowers, holiday decorations.
Try the afterimage experiment yourself; children love it.
Look at Van Gogh's The Night Café online with your child and ask, "How does this room make you feel? Which colours make you feel that way?"

Safety: use washable, non-toxic paint and cover the table.

Common difficulties:

Adding too much complement at once. The colour turns to mud quickly. Use a toothpick or brush tip and add tiny amounts.
Confusing intensity with value. Intensity is bright vs. dull; value is light vs. dark.
Mixing up pairs. Remember: each pair has one primary (red, yellow, blue) and the secondary made from the other two.