Practical

guide for
using color in
your videos
As you might know, color plays an important role H o to c oose a color
w h ic colors are compati le
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in design, it attracts attention by evoking a w it eac ot er and ic are not

h h h , wh h ?

certain mood or emotion and without words can

communicate something important. That’s why
The answer lies in color t eory nowing its principles
we created this guide.
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creates some foundation and gives confidence when

choosing a color palette.

8 Associations That
Influence Our Perception
Each color in a particular culture can affect a person in different ways.
You can use this knowledge when choosing colors for a particular
project. Our landmark is Western color, so we are going to work with an
associative range of colors for it.

Red G reen
Red is usually associated with passionate, strong, and G reen is the color of nature. It brings calming emotions.
aggressive feelings. It symbolizes both good and bad D ark shades can be associated with dirt and repulsion.
feelings, including love, confidence, passion, and anger. It N uclear shades may be associated with toxicity or magic.
may be associated with blood, be careful with this. G reen color, in the environment of human interaction with
Anything that may resemble blood may not please the interface, signals any successfully completed process.
YouTube. Signs, lights, and elements in the environment of
user interfaces signal danger, error, and disapproval to us.

Yellow Orange
Yellow - of course, is associated with sunlight, warmth and O range is a viscous warm color that evokes both cozy
energy, but is already more mobile. And just like orange, it feelings and alarming ones, calling for attention. It is more
is used in the context of caution. associated with something warm - sunlight, fire and food.

Blue Purple
Blue - usually evokes calm feelings, but as a cold color, it is P urple has long been associated with royalty and wealth. It
also associated with detachment and sadness. Science is also the color of mystery and magic. Also, this color is
themes often use shades of blue. associated with club events, neon signs, and spotlights.

Black White
Black has many meanings. It is associated with tragedy In estern cultures, the color white is often associated with
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and also means a riddle. It can be traditional or modern. It weddings, hospitals, and angels and is often used to
all depends on how you use it and what colors go with it. convey a sense of purity, cleanliness, and peacefulness. In
Black and shades of gray seem to be giving way to form many astern cultures, however, white is symbolically
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and content, on which the impression now primarily linked to death and sadness. It s often a color used in
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depends. funerals and other mourning rituals.

As you have already noticed, colors have a huge number of variations in shades.

Color theory explained:

6 sche es to create m

fantastic videos
Proven combination schemes based on Itten's theory will come to the rescue.

I tten s color' wh eel

The most popular and frequently used color theory
is Johannes Itten s. It will help to understand the
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mechanism of color matching, let s go through the '

main points:

In the center are primary colors - O n the sides, in triangular shapes, Further tertiary colors - these
blue, yellow and red.
the secondary colors are green, colors are obtained by mixing
W hen mixing these colors, all other orange and purple. These colors primary and secondary colors
colors are obtained, in connection are obtained by mixing primary
2

with this, the central colors are colors.

considered primary.

C olor wh eel sc emes h

There are several basic schemes for working

with a circle:

Example:
Monochrome
The simplest color combination is
a combination of shades of the
same color. The advantage of a
monochrome scheme is that all
colors match exactly.

Example:
Analogous
A combination of colors is
located in adjacent segments
of the color wheel. or example,
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reds and oranges or cool blues

and greens.

Example:
Co mplementary
These are any colors that are
located opposite each other in
a circle. ue to this selection,
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intense contrast is created.

Example:
Split-
complementary

A combination of or colors
2 3

where the main color is

combined with the colors next
to the complementary color.

Example:

A tria d

of three equidistant colors from

each other - an equilateral
triangle is obtained.

tetra d

two pairs of complementary

combinations equidistant from
each other. The combination
looks best if one of the colors
dominates, and the rest give
accents.

The starting point and your task here, as an artist, is to collect

everything in such a way that the overall picture has a stylistically
coherent impression. aturally, everything needs a balance
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Such programs as Ado e olor or olor Space can help you with that.
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3
m ost co on color istakes
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when working with colors :

A large number of Overuse of saturation ack of contrast

different colors. and brightness
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L et's move from theory to e amples x

4 video color hacks

fro professionals
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Case - Bright palette

You are faced with the task of designing a sports theme, riddles or the
top amazing things on the planet. We select a bright palette and try it
on in various proportions in the process of creating graphics. For
clarity, we will take 2 palettes here and add achromatic colors (black
and white) to them.

option 1

Analogous scheme

option 2

Analogous scheme

option 1

S plit complementary scheme

option 2

S plit complementary scheme

Any of the presented options can be used in the work,

it remains only to choose the one you like.

Gain the skills and confidence you

need to create your own videos and
ani ations with After ffects
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