Split Color Ideas

Split Color Ideas

Splitter shades are used in interior & architectural design to bring together different colors. Splitter shades are created when two or more primary colors, usually red, blue, purple or green, are mixed with a third primary color, usually yellow. Splitter shades provide contrast and enhance the visual interest of the design by adding depth. Splitter shades have also been called parallel split color or splatter color. There are some disadvantages of using these types of color mixes. The main disadvantage is that it results in colors sometimes that are too similar.

Splitter colors have been formulated to produce certain optical illusions that are the basis of art. In the art world these types of splatter colors are known as complementary colors, or complementary blends. In architecture they are called blend colors or splatter dominant colors. In art this type of splitting is known as analogous coloring.

A combination of two primary colors with a third secondary color is referred to as a color split. A simple example is the color magenta. A common split gel is a medium dark blue/white combination. Other examples are a deep red/green combination, a medium pink/purple combination, a dark blue/white blend, and a dark magenta/cyan blue combination.

There are many split hair color ideas. The most popular ones are the full hair splitter color, partial hair split color ideas, split dye glitter color ideas and half hair color ideas. A full hair split color is simply the application of the color on the full head. This is a simple way of creating the effect of two different colors side by side.

A split complementary color idea consists of using the exact colors in the same design but applied in opposite directions. For instance, you can have light purple/red and light green/blue, or light blue/magenta and light red/green. A similar approach is to use a full set of one colored beads/stones that match in both color directions, but arranged in opposite directions. This is not to say that a perfectly matched complementary color is not beautiful, but as with any split color idea, it's all about experimenting!

If you're interested in making up your own split color ideas, there are many resources online to help. Books on color theory will inform you about the relationships between color intensities, analogous colors and split colors. Splitting color Palette Theory books and DVD Color Pick Guide are excellent for learning how to select colors from an analogous palette. Once you've developed your own color palette using analogous colors, you'll be able to use color in unique ways.