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#Post#: 19--------------------------------------------------
Red-green complementary palettes in scenery
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 20, 2021, 10:19 am
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When I'm not sure what colour scheme to paint a scene in one of
the nicest palettes to try is a "complementary" palette. This is
what artists use to describe a colour scheme where the two main
hues are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel:
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Red green is one of the palettes I enjoy playing around with
when I want to show a dramatic, fantastical scene. Both red and
green are quite eerie to use as bold highlights, but both can
also be used to show more natural things. Nature has plenty of
examples of colours in this configuration that catch our eye -
think of red flowers on a green bush.
These exceptional levels of contrast afforded by using directly
opposite hues can be very powerful, but it can also be more
subtle as well. Not all of the scenes I'll be looking at here
are pure red or pure green - some of the greens verge into
bluish, some reds are purplish or orangeish. Mainly, I wanted to
look at a wide range of examples, to see how different uses of
this idea vary in atmosphere, power and contrast.
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One of the first examples that sprang into my mind was this
section in Kyrandia 2. Red and green aren't the only hues
present here, but they work extremely well at highlighting two
different features simultaneously. The deep reds and orange
highlights of the stream of lava mixed with the vivid green of
the crystal features really gives an impression of having
stumbled upon some forgotten place. It's a great moment in
Zanthia's journey through this magical world, and stands out
quite distinctly from the more naturally coloured parts of the
game that came before.
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Here's an example of a similar situation with a very different
approach. Instead of the deep reds of the lava we saw before,
here they're a blazing, fiery orange, with scorching yellow and
white highlights, and the greenish bridge over it is a much more
muted, desaturated grey-green, which stands out perfectly, but
not as a feature. In the last scene, our green bridge was the
highlight, here it's the lava that's the star of the piece.
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Desaturating both colours gives an oppressive, musty feeling
like this shot from Beneath a Steel Sky. The red gurney looks
uninviting, and the drab green surrounds feel cold and creepy.
Everything here looks old and dirty. It's repulsive, even before
we get to the figures in the lockers.
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The same game uses red and green to indicate new things, too.
Here both highlight colours glow, the reds with rich saturation
and the greens with harsh white highlights. The reds of the
floor and greens of the walls are much more muted, and jump out
much less at us than the highlight colours.
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Similar glowing green highlights can be seen in this scene from
Monkey Island 2, a powerful, harsh green that lights the trees
and central structure in a very eerie way, helping to establish
the feel of a mystic's dwelling. The reddish-brown building
jumps out wonderfully from this green and grabs our attention,
not only with hue, but being much deeper in value and saturation
than the pale green. It's a great way of developing focus and
leading the eye. A few small reddish brown features separate
from the main structure in the form of torches on the left side
of the image help to balance out the main focal point, too.
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This scene from Gabriel Knight shows the roles reversed - here
the red is the surrounding colour, feeling rich and aged, and
also giving a great impression of somewhere dark and mystical.
The green is the highlight feature, drawing our eyes to the
crystal ball and firmly establishing what kind of area we're in.
Similar to the torches in the last scene, a separate, less
important green feature on the right side of the image helps to
balance this strong green sitting in a sea of red. It's
fascinating that two very similar locations can be given similar
treatments with the colours completely reversed for quite
similar effect.
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Yet another scene with a similar treatment in The Lost Files of
Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel. Here the
table takes a back seat, and the crystal ball itself is given a
direct green treatment that catches the eye instantly, again
with a green lamp off to the right that helps to balance such a
strong hue in a sea of opposite hues. The reds here are quite
purple in the shadowy areas, giving a rich, luxurious feel. This
combination of red and green is excellent for establishing the
feeling of a mystic's abode.
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Another great example of a mysterious feel with just a few
greenish highlights is this shot from Waxworks. Here the
highlight colours are a rich teal, with greenish shadows that
make them richer, and the reds vary between deep browns and
oranges to pure red curtains that frame the shot. The use of the
greenish blue highlights here really draw our attention to the
points of interest. It's a great way of directing the player's
eye to important elements very quickly, establishing a clear
narrative in a very short space of time.
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More greenish blues can be seen in this scene from Conquests of
the Longbow - here the teal takes a back seat while the read
becomes a rich highlight. Again we see red curtains, but here
the teal is much less saturated next to the super-saturated
reds. They help give the feeling of rich decoration, and the
focus is mostly directed to the bed and the book with the use of
value, rather than hue. It's a wonderfully rich scene.
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Finally, this shot from Discworld shows red and blue together in
a much more natural setting. The greens here are much more
yellow than in our previous two examples, giving the impression
of a warm, sunny day. The reds, despite being incredibly
saturated, are quite low in value, helping them not feel like
too much of a feature, while still highlighting what would,
otherwise, be a rather drab, brown door.
I love these colour combinations, and I love seeing how
different artists use complementary red-green palettes in
different ways, and how it affects their work. It's fascinating
to make direct comparisons like this and realize that even with
a very specific colour idea, the results can be incredibly
different. Complementary palettes are wonderfully bold in their
contrast, and this is just one example of the results that can
be achieved by using two opposite hues to render a scene.
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