Colour Matters!

Working with colour doesn't have to stress you out, you don't even have to spend an extra hour to create your master piece, and sometimes the most unexpected combinations are the best.  I am on a mission to show every nail tech that bringing a little colour into their business is not only profitable and enjoyable but also very easy.  I have heard all the excuses, but the main one is "my clients don't want it". 

My reply is  “I can't believe that clients are fully informed about their choices, if nail technicians are not prepared to wear colour and show off their skills”. 

You don't have to use the brightest powders in the box, and adorn your colour pops with crude combinations, but some simple adjustments will not only amaze your clients and build your reputation, but you might ignite a new passion for colour within. Using a basic primary and secondary colour pallet your possibilities are endless. 

It’s not rocket science! 

1.You want to feel confident when you use colour, and blending is a simple and very effective way to sell it.  Use on the free edges as a fun french or a section of the nail.

2.Use a complimentary colour to apply some pattern, don't worry about having to produce near perfect flowers in one appointment, you will just as easily wow your client with simple scrolls, lines and swirls which can be added to the acrylic with polish.  You can cap in clear when it is dry.

3. Embellish your work, everyone loves glitter and gems, when you next visit the shows check out the wide range sitting on the shelves waiting to be bought, and please don't stick with the same old rhinestones there are some amazing studs and shapes, crushed shells and pressed flowers available.

What colours work together?

 I admit, I am an instinctive when it comes to applying colour, I just allow my creativity to flow and let it come from within, but that doesn’t work for everyone I know. Colour theory is actually a simple formulation of combining colours that work well together  ‘in harmony’.  It is a set of principles using a colour wheel to give you a visual reference. 

According to this theory, these combinations use any two colours opposite each other on the colour wheel, any three colours equally spaced around the wheel  to form a triangle, or any four colours to form a rectangle. Any of these colour combinations are called colour schemes and will remain harmonious regardless of the rotation angle.

Colour theory only looks at the relationships of pure colours; it does not take colour lightness and saturation into account. While the shades may vary in your chosen colour scheme, you can use any tints, shades, and tones of the colour you have, colour theory pays attention only to the hue component.

My advice is if your going for 3 colours, keep the shades the same, all bright, all pastel for example, to make the nail less busy. 

So we have cover the science bit, lets get busy and start using this theory to our advantage. 

We know from school that our Primary colours are; Blue, Yellow and red, from these three colour we are told we can mix any other colour, called secondary colours, from there we can mix tertiary colours. 

for example -

yellow and blue primary = green secondary

yellow and green = lime green tertiary

The exact shade or hue of the secondary colour will depend on which red, blue or yellow you have mixed, and what quantities you have used. giving you in essence very extensive palette.

But What About Black and White?

Black and white are not classed as a primary, although like red, blue and yellow  can not be made by mixing together other colours.  But Black and white aren't used to create any colour and therefore excluded from the colour mixing theory. They they only lighten and darken your colour palette. If you add white to a colour you lighten it and if you add black you darken it. 

Creating Harmony 'does your nail sing' ?

The colour theory is taught at school, and something which as a'creative' is ingrained in us, but how do we pick the colours we need to make a harmonious nail design. 

First lets look at what that means, what is a harmonious design? It is a nail design which is  balanced and pleasing to the eye, I always say ‘does the nail sing’? Does your nail designs engage the viewer and create an inner sense of order and balance. 

When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. Is your design so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. or are your nails so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it can not organise, what it can not understand. Although staying in the realms of creativity humans still require a logical structure to anything we see.

Choosing a Colour scheme!

so here comes the over riding question....'what colours go with what'?

Check out this colour wheel and choose a colour. 

The two colours on either side of this colour will reinforce your colour and give you more scope, creating 'haromony'. 

The colour directly opposite your chosen colour will compliment it. These opposing colours create maximum contrast and maximum stability to your design.

Contrasting colours which work together, choose your colour and take three steps to right or left, this colour will contrast beautifully. 

 

Above is some examples of using the colour theory, creating a triangle of complimentary and contrasting colours. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog, I would love to hear from you, either about this blog or ideas on other things you would like me to write about. let me know. Samx