This is a an extensive beginner guide to colors with a focus on anime and manga. If you don't know much (or maybe zippo at all) nearly the color wheel or different colour combinations so this is a must read. These are the same principals used past professional artists, designers and animators.

Anime girl different color combinations examples
Colour combinations

The colors of anime and manga characters or fifty-fifty unabridged scenes are not chosen at random. Certain colors go ameliorate together and so others.

Color Wheel

Color wheel
Colour wheel

A colour bike shows colors based on their relation to one another.

Please note that while the color wheel used in this tutorial is probably the most common example, color wheels can have far more than divisions then this or even a smooth slope transition from ane colour to another.

Primary Colors

Primary colors color wheel
Chief colors

There are 3 primary colors, red, blue and yellowish. The master defining characteristic of master colors is that they cannot be created by mixing other colors.

Secondary Colors

Secondary colors color wheel
Secondary colors

Secondary colors are created by mixing two of the principal colors. For case you can mix crimson and yellow to get orange or blue and yellow to become green.

Tertiary Colors

Tertiary colors color wheel
Third colors

Tertiary colors are a combination of a primary color and a secondary color. So if for case yous mix yellow and green you will become a yellow-green color.

Applying Colors to Anime Characters

In the below examples you can see how colors and colour combinations tin be practical to an anime fashion character in unlike means.

Please note that for these examples the colors will just exist changed on the hair, optics and dress. The shaded half of the color circles stand for the color used on the shaded areas of the graphic symbol.

Color Intensity

Anime girl drawing color intensity example
Color intensity example

The color intensity is the brightness of a color. It is effected past tints, shades and tones.

  • Tint – calculation white to a color
  • Shade – adding black to a color
  • Tone – adding grey to a colour (a mix of blackness and white)

In the higher up example you lot tin see the difference between colors with and without tone.

Having the right colour intensity tin can be very important when coloring a graphic symbol.

More intense colors may be more appropriate for a more cheerful character while less intense colors may be more appropriate for a more serious one.

Generally y'all practise non want to use colors with no tone at all color an unabridged character. Just you may want to use more intense colors if for example you desire parts of their outfit to expect like they are glowing.

Achromatic

Anime girl achromatic drawing
Achromatic colors cartoon

Pure achromatic "colors" are black, white and grayness merely achromatic can also include browns, tans (light brows), besides as very dark or very stake colors.

Achromatic outfits are fairly common in anime characters (black arrange with white shirt for case).

Monochromatic

Anime girl monochromatic drawing
Monochromatic drawing

Monochromatic merely means 1 colour. In this case the colour is a mix of scarlet and bluish along with some white and blackness (tone) to brand different color intensity variations of pink.

A monochromatic character may be proficient if you want to create a character that stands out. For example if you saw someone walking down the street dressed in pretty much all bright red or yellow that person would probably catch your attention more than then others.

Complimentary Colors

Anime girl complimentary colors drawing
Complimentary colors drawing

Complimentary colors are located across from 1 another on the color wheel.

Once once again this is a proficient color combination to use for a character that you want to stand out.

Dissever Complimentary Colors

Anime girl split complimentary colors drawing
Split gratuitous colors drawing

Split gratuitous colors are a milder version (less contrast) of gratuitous colors. These basically create a "Y" shape on the colour wheel.

Split up complementary color schemes are very common for anime characters.

Coordinating Colors

Anime girl analog colors drawing
Analog colors drawing

Analogous colors are another common color combination for anime characters. These are colors that are side by side to each other on the colour cycle.

Coordinating colors create a adequately mild, low contrast look.

Triadic Colors

Anime girl triadic colors drawing
Triadic colors drawing

Triadic colors are a combination of three or more colors. These colors will form a sort of triangle on the color bicycle. You can pick any 3 colors you lot desire every bit long as you lot proceed the same distance between them (in this instance 3 divisions apart).

Square Colors

Anime girl square colors drawing
Foursquare colors drawing

Square colors are a combination of 4 colors. These colors will basically form a foursquare on the color bicycle.

Tetradic Colors Combination

Anime girl tetradic colors drawing 2
Tetradic colors drawing 2

Only like a square a tetradic is a combination of four colors. These colors will grade a rectangle shape on the colour wheel.

Warm Colors

Anime girl warm colors drawing
Warm colors drawing

Warm colors are ones like yellow, red and orange. Basically colors that you would associated with warm things like the sun or fire.

This blazon of a color scheme may especially be useful for fantasy or sci-fi characters (a character with fire magic for example).

Cool Colors

Anime girl cool colors drawing
Absurd colors drawing

Absurd colors are bluish, imperial and some greens. They are colors that you would normally associate with cold things like ice and snow.

Same as the warm color combination a cool color combination can also exist great for sci-fi and fantasy characters (ice magic using character for example).

Decision

At that place is a lot to know when information technology comes to colors only hopefully this tutorial helped you gain a meliorate understanding of different types of color combinations. You can try and apply these when coloring your drawings and y'all can also try and spot some of them in your favorite anime characters.

For more on color see:

How to Color an Anime Character Step by Step

For beginner drawing tips see:

Beginner Guide to Drawing Anime & Manga