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THE USE OF INTERMINGLED COLOURS THIS should be studied regularly, not only by all engaged in practical design work, but by all who have to adapt, or to vary, the colour schemes of given designs, or who have to determine the causes of failure in producing desired effects. It is evident that where a variety of tints is required in one pattern there will be greater outlay in production than where but a few tints are used; therefore if by using three colours in varying proportions we can produce seven tints, there will be some saving in the cost. This is, of course, perfectly well known in certain industries, notably the textile and colour printing trades, but it is not yet studied as fully or as systematically as it should be. By way of experiment blue and yellow may be used. If three squares be filled with narrow lines of alternate blue and yellow in the proportion of (a) two blue to one yellow, (b) two blue to two yellow, and (c) one blue to two yellow, the results will be (a) a broken blue inclining to green, (b] green, and (c) a broken greenish yellow. This, with the two original colours, gives five separate tints instead of two, not to mention the variations of texture due to the size of the figures and the modes of grouping them. The addition of another colour to this experiment means an addition of six more tints due to intermingling, so that the total of tints at our disposal becomes three original and nine additional, or twelve in all. Experiment in this direction is evidently worth while. In practice the results of this intermingling can be very beautiful. They allow gradations and subtle variations of colour, so that with comparatively unpromising materials and limited resources quite charming effects can be obtained. Discords can be employed in this way to produce luminous colour. Continued on this page |