- Create a Color Script
- Supporting Colors
- Color Me Awesome
- Tip 1: Limit Your Palette
- Tip 2: Support (Don't Upstage) Your Subject
- Tip 3: Select One Thematic and One Accent Color
- Tip 4: Use Saturation Mindfully
- Tip 5: Use Surprise Color for Punctuation
- Tip 6: Design for Movement
- Tip 7: Make Your Own Rules
- Assignment: Subvert a nursery rhyme, make a color script
Tip 1: Limit Your Palette
In still artwork, the eye has time to explore color and investigate composition. With animation (and all film), movement and the passage of time create the need for a continuous and clear focal point. You want your story to read quickly and consistently from scene to scene. Distracting the viewer’s eye with unimportant objects that are colorful is the first way to lose the attention of an audience.
Simply put, in choosing color, less is more. Too much color variety in a shot confuses the eye, just as too many flavors on a plate of food will confuse the palate. It’s best to take a minimalist approach to color and start with as few colors as possible. It will be far easier to add colors later in the process than to take them away. Limiting your palette will allow the viewer’s eye to quickly process the moving images and focus on what is most important in your story.