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#Post#: 4--------------------------------------------------
Purple-green colour schemes
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 20, 2021, 3:29 am
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One of my absolute favourite colour schemes to draw with, green
and purple complement each other in a mysterious, otherworldly
way. Green is a fairly common colour in nature, with purple
being more of a feature colour, seen mostly in things like
flowers. Seeing the way artists play with the combination,
though, is always fascinating, and there are some great examples
of this colour scheme.
HTML https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hleKePId2A0/WPz2fSseLmI/AAAAAAAABAw/URsEoUhzvksRRiK0tSpf7ezOW35lGt5rwCLcB/s400/HlW2FiM.png
Because purple feels somewhat opposite to the warm yellow light
of the sun, it makes an excellent shadow colour, which suits
scenes filled with lush, richly lit foliage, such as this scene
from Quest for Glory 3. The purple shadows really help the
greens to stand out. Especially interesting here is the leaves
in the foreground - though they appear greenish, these are
actually a mid blue - only appearing greenish because they're
placed with such dark purples.
HTML https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HhvSLA8E8V4/WPz2gn8icSI/AAAAAAAABBc/QgLkpDlfEcYHFsdgQ9lROIr4GynfwygDgCLcB/s400/N8y64qp.png
Another use of a purple among sunny green is as a nice feature
colour to mix things up, as seen here. The leaves are nicely
balanced, with the large patch in the top right corner evened
out by the smaller patch on the left hand side, and a few
smaller, individual details down in the bottom right corner.
These work particularly well to break up the dominant greens,
and add some wonderful variety and colour into the background.
HTML https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-snHxY-ZSws4/WPz2gMkdxoI/AAAAAAAABBI/iraoubmYn4k8y2jepJ1fxfIMJQRTDpoWACLcB/s400/kq5_075-1280x800.png
In less sunny scenes, such as this one from King's Quest 5, the
greens become less sunny and yellow, and shift to much bluer
greens. The purplish blues seem to tinge everything, from
shadowed sections of the path, to stones and foliage. This makes
for an excellent gloomy feel, without losing the feeling of
being in a forest that greenish hues bring.
HTML https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Hp-UGbVyNk/WPz2fp-3eGI/AAAAAAAABA4/P3JaIYZn0OE0dquVo-cAVNZRX7AT0KkIQCLcB/s400/RL2LGmA.png
Another approach is to have the sunniest greens in the
background, with the nearer greens less bright, as shown in this
scene from Shannara. Here the purples are just the merest hint
of a rimlight on the left sides of the trees - it doesn't feel
as dark and gloomy as the ominous King's Quest 5 example, but
isn't as sunny and cheerful as the Quest for Glory 3 examples,
either. A nice middle ground, suitable for a deep forest,
without being too sinister in tone.
HTML https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bunj3gvcK6I/WPz5UHpL43I/AAAAAAAABBo/fBauqpjS0TIbjdW2GfHLQzTsMTrRwT7ZgCLcB/s400/sadasd.png
This scene from Gateway 2 still has a bright sky shining through
the trees, but here it's a bluish purple. This light source
means that the cool greens of the foreground leaves are well
matched, in a very cohesive and beautiful colour scheme. The
effect is still of a bright light, but less sunny and a little
less friendly as well. Particularly interesting is that most of
the darker colours are greens - an interesting subversion of the
normal trend to make purples the darker colour in a scene.
HTML https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3AMUPhDmd88/WPz2f2xRmDI/AAAAAAAABBA/9hekjajzBtcOTqex6WLTS1IIi24BWoFXgCLcB/s400/awCzg.png
This area from Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis does the
opposite - instead of putting a bright, glaring purple in the
distance, we get a rich, deep bluish colour, with a large,
shadowy mountain jutting up above us, and the greens are
relegated to the grassy areas. This is more a case of the
materials informing the colours, but the lack of the yellowish
greens in the grass, coupled with the very deep purple sky, give
a feeling of a heavy, overcast day.
HTML https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4kBfUDjUIqE/WP0SWJZ6kaI/AAAAAAAABCI/pVEgHrAbTPQp3u_fozPtrNeZz9HeFladACLcB/s400/lol.png
Sam & Max Hit the Road takes this to a fun extreme, here with a
much more pink purple in the sky, and a very angular green
feature in the foreground. This works for a VR simulation
because the exaggerated colours make sense - It's easy to accept
the massive, purple castle on the hill when it's delivered to us
as part of a simulation. The greens and purples here make for a
very nice complement, colours that might not work so well in a
more realistic environment, but feel great here.
HTML https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ul0hcRuUZhQ/WP0SWUpr_WI/AAAAAAAABCc/dhTarb04MvoqS6UzSiw438zFa-U9wsxvgCEw/s400/mg0eR.png
Fate of Atlantis also uses very warm purples in places - here
the purples are being lit by lava, and so glow red in the planes
where the light hits them the strongest, with bluer shades off
into the distance. The green highlights really jump out here,
and give the device an otherworldly look; the fact that this is
an ancient machine running on mysterious energies is really
represented well with the unnatural lighting from below and the
presence of green lights - not a common feature in nature.
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A third variant of this colour idea is evident in Fate of
Atlantis, for yet another very different effect. Here the
presence of stone walls is made more interesting by being lit by
the eerie green lights, an interesting and mysterious change
from the grey stone evident in earlier areas of the game. The
purples in the shadows offset this nicely, and help some of the
more interesting foreground details to stand out, while also
making sure the mysterious feel of the lighting scheme is
carried through into the shadowed areas.
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For this eerie interior in King's Quest 5, a sickly green light
does the same thing to an even greater degree, as offset once
more by vivid purple shadows. Like the previous scene, the
lighting feels unnatural and mysterious, and conveys an ominous
atmosphere to the scene. The presence of blue sky through the
windows is largely ignored as a light source, helping the green
to shine unchallenged.
HTML https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZDJwGP6fOLA/WP0SV0-WdFI/AAAAAAAABCc/XE5AZ518HrEZgcm1RFvXpd5WOCOKchvygCEw/s400/3iGdU.png
This shot from The Dig shows another striking example of green
and purple used in an interior, but here roles are reversed,
with the highlights shown in vivid purple, the shadows in dark,
rich greens, and just a hint of warmer green highlights coming
through the distant tunnel sections. This is a very unusual
lighting arrangement - there's really very few circumstances in
nature, or even in modern cities, where this precise colour
scheme can be observed, and as such it looks very alien to us -
a perfect colour scheme to use for when exploring an alien ruin
as we are here.
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Green light light can also look very alien when shown to be very
vivid. This bizarre green glow coming from the rocky cavern in
The Dig is mysterious and unusual, and the purple rocks, offset
by very rich blue and purple features, make this entire scene
very unusual. I feel this scene is slightly unbalanced - the
strong green really has no other greens to offset it - but
perhaps an awkward lack of balance in an alien world is
something that could be considered a feature, rather than a
flaw.
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Here we have a shot from Space Quest 5 that shows us very bright
green lights, surrounded with metallic greens and purples. The
purple ceiling feels cold and metallic - a common look for
science fiction corridors, and the green lights help to liven up
the scene and break up the large metallic areas. This adds
colour, without ruining the feeling of a technological
environment, and also helps to balance the warm, green exit to
the left of the scene.
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This is another great example, with the purple metal corridors
broken up again - this time by much more organic, alien greens.
The effect is very different, without losing the dynamic of
being in a science fiction setting, and the much darker, less
saturated greens suit the organic forms much better than the
bright, electronic greens of the previous scene.
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One final, rather iconic shot here, showing a green chron-o-john
hurling through the vortices of time. What sort of backdrop
colour complements a green shape, and also best represents the
idea of a mysterious channel through time? Dark purple, of
course.
Green and purple, then, is an excellent combination, useful for
many different situations - especially for magical, or
otherworldly applications. Whether describing organic forms, the
idea of future technology, or a combination of both, it's a
powerful blend of two hues that has a range of applications.
It's a very useful colour scheme, and in the right situation,
can give a game's scenery a great sense of atmosphere and tone.
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