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Colors are directly connected to how we express our emotions. We’re blue when sad, seeing red when we’re angry, or even tickled pink when happy! We associate specific colors to emotions and much more: to objects, words, brands — you name it, and there’s a color that comes to mind. Mastering the use of color in your creative work is essential to communicating a message. It’s the difference between good and unforgettable, professional creative work.
Domestika is becoming the most popular online course platform for creatives, with courses in hundreds of different creative disciplines, taught by the industry’s top professionals. We’ve selected some of our favorite courses when it comes to perfecting your use of color. Ready to take your coloring skills to the next level?
Use the code THEDESIGNEST-10 to get an extra 10% off any course. You can even use the code on multiple purchases — there’s no limit to what you can learn.
Perfect Your Color Palettes With These 7 Courses:
A course by James Eccleston
Creating a harmonious color palette that captures the essence of your brand or service is key to communicating your identity. In this course, branding and UX expert James Eccleston shows you how to communicate with colors and apply them to your digital designs.
James starts the course by going through the theory and terminology of colors. Explore the meaning we associate with colors by looking at how it relates to psychology, culture, and context. Learn how to create an original color palette and apply it to your website. Finally, James shares his expert tips and advice on how to fix bad colors and mistakes, and shows you which are ideal to use for a call to action.
A course by Marcos Chin
Depicting a written story through illustration – whether it’s your own or a poem you love – involves delving into the meaning behind each image to convey a specific feeling or atmosphere. Marcos Chin is a freelance illustrator and visual arts teacher from NYC who uses illustration to express his inner world through compelling visual storytelling. His graphic and colorful style has led him to work with clients like Ford, Michael Kors, Starbucks, HBO, and more.
Marcos goes through color theory, showing you some of his tricks to create space and depth with warm and cool colors. He goes into detail on how to combine color and composition, with clear examples that are easy to understand. You’ll learn all you need to captivate viewers with your use of color and composition and enhance your message.
A course by Miriam Alía
If you’re interested in seeing how to make your interiors pop through color, texture, and structure, this course is for you. With over 16K students who’ve already completed the course, it’s safe to say that interior designer Myriam Alía has become a favorite among color enthusiasts at Domestika. Although the audio is in Spanish, the lessons are meticulously subtitled and easy to follow.
Learn about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors before going through some interesting combinations and the psychological theory behind each color. Learn about 3D colors, and get started on your mood board. Roam the online stores where Myriam finds her unique pieces to decorate and furnish interiors for inspiration. Wrap up your final project with some insight on how to effectively work with clients and some final ideas to inspire your future projects.
A course by The Endery
Uplifting worn and torn knitwear with bold colors not only gives new life to your garments, but it’s also very satisfying to mend your clothes with an original twist. Ellen Saville is the co-founder and creative director of The Endery, a brand dedicated to creating handcrafted knitwear made from leftover yarn. She believes that developing our own mending style is a conscious way to fight consumerism and deepen our relationship with clothes.
Before delving into the many techniques to mend your knitwear, Ellen goes through her own technique for building a color palette, using just what you have at hand. Her approach goes against the common triadic and analogous methods, she likes to generate intrigue by combining colors in an unconventional way and shows you her unique approach.
A course by Karmen Loh (Bearbrickjia)
Creating a sense of ethereal magic through the use of color and light is how the work of artist and illustrator Karmen Loh – aka Bearbrickjia – is best described. Her portraits glow in a multitude of wondrous tones and have become increasingly popular on social media, with over 514K people following her artwork on Instagram.
In this course, Bearbrickjia shows how to create atmospheric portraits using delicate hues and lighting in Photoshop. Learn about how colors can translate a mood, and carry out a series of practical exercises. See how to collect references according to your theme, before learning how to apply color and lighting to your digital artwork. Once you’re finished, you’ll have learned how to create soft lighting and glows to enhance your dreamlike effects.
A course by Yaopey Yong
How we perceive color and the psychological impact it has on us can transform how we perceive an image. Yaopey Yong is an award-winning photographer who is fascinated by the art and science of color. In this course, he shows you how to enhance your color use by understanding the theory, psychology, and camera functions to create vibrant photographs.
With an entire unit devoted to the study of color, chromatic fans will be sure to learn lots of useful information on the subject. Go through the fundamentals, harmony rules, color psychology, and learn how to study color. Explore adjustment tools for your camera, in Lightroom and Photoshop, as well as useful advice on how to manipulate light in your photos.
A course by James Chapman
A sketchbook is a powerful ally when seeking to experiment and develop our illustration style. Doctor-turned-illustrator James Chapman relies on his sketchbook to develop and redefine his unique and colorful aesthetic. His medium of choice is acrylic markers, and in this course, he shows you his original techniques for exploring your imagination and expressing it with colored acrylic markers.
After going through some basic acrylic pen tips and techniques, James delves right into creating color palettes that stand out. Create a color wheel and learn about complementary colors. Then, go through his methods for creating a color palette that replicates reality, as well as seeing how to simplify it for a screenprint.