This article is excerpted from [Digital] Texturing and Painting, by Owen Demers.

The Psychology of Colors

Colors can have a psychological and physiological effect on all of us. As an artist, a user
and manipulator of color, you need to be aware of some of these effects. This article on
color psychology and physiology is a combination of personal observation and the ideas
and observations of two major authors and their books on the subject: The Power of
Color by Dr. Morton Walker and Color Psychology and Color Therapy by Faber Birren.
These two authors, and the experts they cite, delve much more finely and deeply into
this vast area of color theory than there is room for here. I have taken the highlights, as
it were, from these sources just to give you an idea of what it is you are dealing with
when considering color.

From this research, it seems that the jury is still out on the definitive psychological
effects of color on living things. Yet, certain professionals, such as chromotherapists
(therapists who use color for medical purposes), believe color affects us so powerfully
that subjecting patients to different colored lights has curative qualities for their various
ailments. This is not a new age idea. On page 32 in his book The Power of Color, Dr.
Morton Walker states that

"...The ancient Egyptians, for example, built temples for the sick that were bedecked with
color and light. They set aside special colored rooms as sanctuaries where the sick could
be bathed in lights of deep blue, violet, and pink. Native American Indians also used color
for healing ... to fight chronic illness and to heal injuries sustained during buffalo hunts
and intertribal warfare."

According to William G. Cooper, president of the Cooper Foundation, (a nonprofit

educational organization offering natural methods of healing to the public), in The Power
of Color (p.xiii),

"...Light is a nutrient and, like food, is necessary for optimum health. Research
demonstrates that the full spectrum of daylight is needed to stimulate our endocrine
systems properly."

I give you these two examples to show you that the use of color is not reserved simply
for pretty picture making. It is a subject taken quite seriously by professionals other than
artists. By looking into the psychology of color more deeply, you can better influence and
illustrate the message, mood, and flavor of your projects.

So, how do we feel about one color over another? We all have personal color likes and
dislikes based on our own lives and experiences. Whether you love red and hate orange
based on some wonderful or tragic event in your life, there seems to be underlying
similarities with color and living things, not only humans. In this light, take a look at the
colors of the spectrum.

Red
Red is the most arrogant, attention-grabbing, and energetic color of the spectrum. In
terms of temperature, it is the warmest color. Emotionally, we relate red to love and
passion. Red is the color associated with our hearts: roses are red, and so are boxes
filled with chocolates on Valentine's Day. It is the color that excites us most and makes
us take notice--the color of stop signs, fire engines, and alarms. Red is an in-your-face
color that demands your attention, not a color that sits idly by waiting for you to take
notice. Because red excites us, it is not the choice of color in psychiatric wards, prisons,
or hospitals. Excessive subjection to red can lead to agitation, anger, and even violence.

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 Advertisers and designers who understand this can easily manipulate
our attention with it. Sale items in stores display red tags. Fast sports
cars, and now, even not-so-fast cars are often painted red.

Figure 1 Not exactly sport cars, but red seems to be the color of choice in
Budapest, Hungary in 1989.

Orange
Orange is a warm color because it is the marriage of red and yellow, and it's considered a
happy and lively color. It represents Halloween and Thanksgiving and is the color of
autumnal landscapes and fire's flame. Not as energetic as red, it is
known to "...stimulate creativity and ambition along with energetic
activity" (The Power of Color, p.15). It has a luminous, glowing quality
that captures our attention. Orange is the color used for construction
signs on roads and highways. It is a popular color in sports as seen on
many jerseys (oftentimes coupled with blue, its complementary color).
It is not considered an elegant color.

Figure 2 The color of autumn, orange, is clearly apparent in this photo from the
city of, what was once called, West Berlin.

Yellow
A warm, bright, and vibrant color that represents many things to us, yellow is the color
of the sun, gold, spirituality, and inspiration. On one hand, we relate yellow to goodness
and joy, on the other, cowardice and caution. Would the "happy face" be so happy if it
were red instead of yellow? Yellow is the color chosen for yield signs and warning labels.
The color of graphic lightning bolts, it suggests energy and
electricity. Used in interior design, it brightens up the room that
is otherwise dull. Yellow roses are a symbol of friendship, less
passionate or threatening than red ones.

Figure 3 This no-parking sticker hopes to get your attention. Does it?

Green
The color of the vegetal world, green represents freshness and nature. Its cool quality
soothes, calms, and has great healing powers. Surgeons dress in green,
"complementing" red blood. Green represents life, hope, and growth. We can be green
with envy, green at our job, or have a green thumb. Where it
doesn't belong, green has negative connotations. On a person's
face it suggests sickness, and on non-green food is the color of
decay.

Figure 4 The freshness of these avocados is heightened by their vivid

green coloring.

Blue
A cool color and the hue of the daytime sky, blue is the most sedate of all colors. Blue
can "...slow the pulse rate, lower body temperature, and reduce appetite" (The Power of
Color, p.52). Designers use blue to describe ice and minty freshness. It symbolizes the
heavens and divinity. It is a fairly serious color depending on its variations.
Blue is the color of choice in the business world when it comes to logos and suits.
Overexposure to blue can create depression, as in, "I'm feeling blue" or "I've got the
blues."
Figure 5 This picture, taken in Arizona, can only begin to tell the
story of how truly refreshingly cool the blue water is.

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Violet/Purple
Violet, the most exotic color, has long represented royalty. Back in the middle ages,
because of how it was acquired and made, the color crimson was made from the mucous
glands of snails. It took a thousand snails to yield 1 gram of crimson; making it was very
expensive, and only royalty could afford it. Therefore, subliminally it can represent
wealth, both monetarily and spiritually. It is the color of the twilight sky, exotic bird
plumage, and butterflies. In spiritual terms, it represents
transition, as evidenced by the religious Lent and Advent
colorings. It is a deep, mysterious hue. It is mystical and
meditative.

Figure 6 The purple flowers help to calm the sunny courtyard of this
hospital where Van Gogh once stayed.

White
When all colors are present in perfect balance, we see white. White in all its perfection is
known to symbolize purity, truth, and goodness. "Pure as the driven snow" or "a white
lie" are a couple of the many statements to describe this quality
of white. In old western films, the good guys always wore white.
White suggests antiseptic cleanliness. In religious paintings,
white is the color reserved for the presence of the Holy Spirit,
God's robe, and glowing angels.

Figure 7 Pure? As the driven snow.

Black
In light terminology, black is the absence of white light, and therefore the absence of all
colors. Black can represent the antithesis of white and is known to symbolize white's
opposites: the "bad guys" and deceit. It is the color of funerals, death, and mourning.
The "Black Market" and "Black Monday" are examples of the negative representation this
color has on us. However, it is better to be "in the black" than
"in the red."
Black can bring us feelings of despair and loneliness. It is also
mysterious, the color of night, and the place and habitat of
shadowed detail.

Figure 8 The mysterious beauty of black.

The Practical Side

So what does all this color psychology have to do with you and me? Knowing how colors
affect you emotionally and what you link symbolically to colors will allow you to better
place colors to get desired effects in your work. For instance, if you have to texture a
circus and capture all its energy, you will probably want to stay away from less energetic
colors, such as blues and greens, and go straight for the more energetic reds and yellows
for most of your palette. Conversely, if you are texturing a hospital for the criminally
insane, you will probably want to steer clear of bright yellows and reds and head straight
for the calmer, cooler colors and even muted values of these.

If you want more in-depth information on this topic, check out Chapter 3, "Color Theory,"
of [Digital] Texturing & Painting, by Owen Demers (© 2002 New Riders Publishing), ISBN
0-7357-0918-1).

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