Good thing you know this about selecting a color palette, otherwise analogous doesn’t really sound like something we want!  So far in our series of methods to select a color scheme, we’ve discussed the triad, and the monochrome methods of color selection.  Now, what is this analogous method you may ask.  It is simply using three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel!   Let’s take a look at a very basic color wheel.

A very basic color wheel.

If we take any three colors that are located next to each other on this color wheel, we will have an analogous color scheme.

You may feel like you select color just because you like the combinations, but in reality you are probably using a tried and true, known method, of color selection.  Your favorite color combination may be an analogous color scheme, or it may be another method of grouping colors that we will discuss at some point in this series.  Even if you feel like you never think about using a color wheel, that you just select colors because they appeal to you, it is still nice to know how or why those combinations work for you.  That way, if you are ever stumped, you may remember to look at color selection using an alternate method than something that is perhaps one of your go-to color schemes.

Here is a page I wanted to make using some pictures that were from a special day at my grandson’s preschool. It was an indoor beach party. I thought about using a beachy color scheme, but that didn’t seem to be as bright or vivid as I wanted for the feel of the page.  So, the colors scheme of blue, green, yellow as chosen.  You can see that it was loosely followed, but it seems to work.  The blue is more in line with the Hawaiian leis some of the children are wearing, as well as giving a more tropical blue feel to the page.  Yellow was used at the background, and the green pulls different greens from the palm trees in the pictures. The added elements on the page were not particularly for perfect placement, as much as they covered the backs of people’s heads!

What kind of project have you used with an analogous color scheme?  Share it with us over at the our FaceBook Group! Remember, it doesn’t have to be a scrapbook page.  I’m just in scrapbook mode this month, and it is an easy way to give some examples of different types of color schemes!