Aura Two and Color Theory

One of the joys of my business is giving people the freedom to select their own colors and patterns to create pieces special to the individual. After all, the tagline for my business is "Customizable Chainmail Jewelry and Accessories." But in order to present all these options, I need to make a lot of examples. So how do I choose which colors to pair together? What makes a good combo or a bad combo? And how do I decide on the pre-set themes?

Color combos have been on my mind lately because this month I added the Aura Two bracelets to my website. This is a beautiful weave that I've had on my table for years but only just got listed on my website. Why the delay? It takes some time to first make dozens of copies of a weave, then photograph each one, then edit those photos, and finally post listings for everything. Unfortunately completing this process for Aura Two just didn't seem like a priority... until now! One of my goals for this year is to get a lot more of my bracelet weaves online.

Since I've been making Aura Two bracelets for a while, I already had four patterns (shown above) for the weave that I liked using. The bracelets look classy in black and white, but it was time to bring on the colors!

When I create the example bracelets for any weave, I have several goals in mind. First, I want colors that highlight the pattern. Basically this means that I'm not going to select two colors that are so close in shade that you can't even see the difference between them. Second, I want to have an assortment of colors used across all the patterns. I'm not going to use the same exact colors in each of the four patterns. And third, I want to pick colors that will be pleasing to look at.

Without realizing it, I had become a student of color theory. This is the study of the behavior of colors, including color mixing, color contrasting, color harmony, color schemes, and more. Specifically I was dealing with color harmony. I was seeking out the properties that make certain color combinations aesthetically pleasing.

Selecting harmonious colors is a subjective practice as most people tend to have their own opinions and favorites, but there are some guiding models for color harmony. The first type is complementary colors. These are colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. They therefore create the most contrast and fit perfectly with my goal of using colors that highlight the patterns.

The next type of color harmony that I often use is analogous colors. These are colors next to each other on the color wheel. They are not so close in shade as to be lost side by side, but rather they blend gently creating a nice, subtle look. Typically this type of color harmony is defined by three adjacent colors, but the same effect is seen in my two-color combinations.

Color temperature is another aspect of color harmony. As shown above, the color wheel can be divided into warm and cool colors. Warm colors range from red through to yellow and tend to bring to mind warmth, like the sun. Cool colors range from purple to blue to green and can bring to mind coolness, like water.

Monochromatic colors consist of variations or shades of one color. I sometimes like to refer to this color scheme as fades or ombré to sound fancy. The monochromatic colors provide a subtle color change which highlights the beauty of one particular shade.

An important thing to remember with color theory is that all of this is only a guideline for picking out color combinations. Different colors will have different meanings to different people, and there are no wrong options. I also offer several pre-set designs in each one of my bracelet weaves. I pick them out based on what's popular, on what I think will work nicely with the weave, and based on my mood at the time. I enjoy playing with all these colors and hope that my customers get some enjoyment from it too.

This year is off to a great start with two shows already completed: CaptainCon and TotalCon. Thank you to all the wonderful people who came by my booth at those conventions. Next month I hit the road with my first Midwest show: Indiana Comic Con. This will be my first time vending at this particular show, and I'm excited to have a corner spot right in the front row of Artist Alley (booth 2A). In addition, I've just signed up for Wicked Comic Con and Rhode Island Comic Con for later in the year. Check out my Shows page to see the most up-to-date list.

• Mar 14-16, Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Comic Con

• Apr 4-6, Washington, DC: AwesomeCon

• Apr 19, Boston, MA: Wicked Comic Con

• Apr 25-27, Milford, MA: Rising Phoenix Game Con

• Jun 18-22, Columbus, OH: Origins Game Fair

• Jun 27-29, Indianapolis, IN: PopCon Indy

• Nov 7-9, Providence, RI: Rhode Island Comic Con