Color Schemes Worksheet

Press New sheet for eight other subjects, one for each color scheme, then print both pages.

Color schemes

Name Date

Draw the subject in each box, then color it using only the scheme its caption names.

  1. Monochromatic: a pea pod split open

  2. Analogous: a pear and two lemons

  3. Complementary: a goldfish in a pond

  4. Split-complementary: a cactus in bloom

  5. Triadic: a rocket leaving a planet

  6. Tetradic: a patchwork quilt

  7. Warm colors: a slice of pizza

  8. Cool colors: mountains far away

Sheet 8UQY38 · page 1 of 2 · Made at drawthisnext.com

Color schemes: what to look for

One line for every caption on the sheet, in the order of the boxes.

  1. Monochromatic: a pea pod split open. One hue, light to dark: green. A pale green inside, mid green peas, a dark green pod.

  2. Analogous: a pear and two lemons. Neighbors on the wheel: yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green. Yellow lemons, a yellow-green pear, yellow-orange shadows.

  3. Complementary: a goldfish in a pond. Orange and blue sit opposite on the wheel. Fish orange, water blue.

  4. Split-complementary: a cactus in bloom. Green with red-violet and red-orange, the neighbors of its opposite. Cactus, flowers and pot, in that order.

  5. Triadic: a rocket leaving a planet. Red-orange, yellow-green and blue-violet are evenly spaced around the wheel. Rocket, planet and space, in that order.

  6. Tetradic: a patchwork quilt. Two opposite pairs: yellow with violet, green with red. Fill the patches; put yellow on the most.

  7. Warm colors: a slice of pizza. Warm colors run from red through yellow. Yellow cheese, a yellow-orange crust, red and red-orange toppings.

  8. Cool colors: mountains far away. Cool colors run blue-green to blue-violet. Blue near peaks, blue-violet far ones, paler row by row.

Sheet 8UQY38 · page 2 of 2 · Made at drawthisnext.com

Sheet 8UQY38. 8 boxes in 4 rows of 2, dealt from 8 of the 8 groups, with a page of notes. 2 pages on paper.

The lock in a box keeps its caption when a new sheet is dealt; the arrow keys move from lock to lock. The preview scrolls; on paper every page is fitted to US Letter or A4, in black and white.

Deal from
Boxes

All 48 subjects

Monochromatic 6

  • Monochromatic: a bunch of grapes One hue, light to dark: violet. A pale shine on each grape, full violet around it, dark gaps between.
  • Monochromatic: a chick hatching One hue, light to dark: yellow. A pale shell, a full yellow chick, dark yellow under the wing.
  • Monochromatic: a pea pod split open One hue, light to dark: green. A pale green inside, mid green peas, a dark green pod.
  • Monochromatic: a strawberry on a plate One hue, light to dark: red. A pale plate, a full red berry, dark red in its shadow.
  • Monochromatic: a whale under the waves One hue, light to dark: blue. Pale water near the top, a mid blue whale, dark blue deep below.
  • Monochromatic: three pumpkins in a row One hue, light to dark: orange. A pale sky, full orange pumpkins, dark orange in the grooves.
Show all 48 subjects (42 more)

Analogous 6

  • Analogous: a bowl of cherries Neighbors on the wheel: red-violet, red, red-orange. Red cherries with a red-orange side, a red-violet bowl.
  • Analogous: a butterfly on a thistle Neighbors on the wheel: blue-violet, violet, red-violet. Violet wings, blue-violet spots, a red-violet thistle.
  • Analogous: a pear and two lemons Neighbors on the wheel: yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green. Yellow lemons, a yellow-green pear, yellow-orange shadows.
  • Analogous: a tiger looking at you Neighbors on the wheel: red-orange, orange, yellow-orange. Orange fur, a red-orange nose, yellow-orange eyes.
  • Analogous: a turtle in tall grass Neighbors on the wheel: yellow-green, green, blue-green. A green shell, yellow-green grass, blue-green shadows.
  • Analogous: a wave about to break Neighbors on the wheel: blue-green, blue, blue-violet. A blue wave, blue-green at its thin top, blue-violet underneath.

Complementary 6

  • Complementary: a caterpillar on a blossom Yellow-green and red-violet sit opposite on the wheel. Caterpillar yellow-green, blossom red-violet.
  • Complementary: a crab in a tide pool Red-orange and blue-green sit opposite on the wheel. Crab red-orange, pool blue-green.
  • Complementary: a crescent moon and stars Yellow and violet sit opposite on the wheel. Moon and stars yellow, sky violet.
  • Complementary: a goldfish in a pond Orange and blue sit opposite on the wheel. Fish orange, water blue.
  • Complementary: a ladybug on a leaf Red and green sit opposite on the wheel. Ladybug red, leaf and stem green.
  • Complementary: a lantern at dusk Yellow-orange and blue-violet sit opposite on the wheel. Glow yellow-orange, dusk blue-violet.

Split-complementary 6

  • Split-complementary: a cactus in bloom Green with red-violet and red-orange, the neighbors of its opposite. Cactus, flowers and pot, in that order.
  • Split-complementary: a clownfish by a reef Orange with blue-green and blue-violet, the neighbors of its opposite. Fish, water and reef, in that order.
  • Split-complementary: a kite in the sky Blue with red-orange and yellow-orange, the neighbors of its opposite. Sky first; the kite and its tail take the others.
  • Split-complementary: a pansy in a pot Violet with yellow-orange and yellow-green, the neighbors of its opposite. Petals, eye and leaves, in that order.
  • Split-complementary: a shooting star Yellow with blue-violet and red-violet, the neighbors of its opposite. Star first; the sky takes the other two.
  • Split-complementary: a toadstool in moss Red with yellow-green and blue-green, the neighbors of its opposite. Cap, moss and shade, in that order.

Triadic 6

  • Triadic: a carrot, peas and an eggplant Orange, green and violet are evenly spaced around the wheel. One vegetable takes each, in that order.
  • Triadic: a friendly three-eyed monster Violet, orange and green are evenly spaced around the wheel. Fur, horns and spots, in that order.
  • Triadic: a parrot in flight Red, yellow and blue are evenly spaced around the wheel. Body, shoulders and wing tips, in that order.
  • Triadic: a rocket leaving a planet Red-orange, yellow-green and blue-violet are evenly spaced around the wheel. Rocket, planet and space, in that order.
  • Triadic: a seahorse in the coral Yellow-orange, blue-green and red-violet are evenly spaced around the wheel. Seahorse, water and coral, in that order.
  • Triadic: a stack of toy blocks Red, yellow and blue are evenly spaced around the wheel. One block of each; make the red one biggest.

Tetradic 6

  • Tetradic: a beach umbrella Two opposite pairs: orange with blue, yellow-green with red-violet. The panels take turns around the pole.
  • Tetradic: a hot-air balloon Two opposite pairs: red with green, orange with blue. Stripe it in all four; make the red stripes widest.
  • Tetradic: a jester hat with bells Two opposite pairs: orange with blue, yellow with violet. One color to each point; bells in any of the four.
  • Tetradic: a patchwork quilt Two opposite pairs: yellow with violet, green with red. Fill the patches; put yellow on the most.
  • Tetradic: a row of four houses Two opposite pairs: red with green, yellow-orange with blue-violet. One house each; each door takes its wall's opposite.
  • Tetradic: a stained glass window Two opposite pairs: red-orange with blue-green, yellow with violet. One color to a pane; no two the same side by side.

Warm colors 6

  • Warm colors: a campfire Warm colors run from red through yellow. Red embers, orange flames, yellow tips.
  • Warm colors: a desert at noon Warm colors run from red through yellow. A yellow sun, yellow-orange sand, orange and red-orange rocks.
  • Warm colors: a dragon breathing fire Warm colors run from red through yellow. A red dragon, red-orange wings, orange and yellow fire.
  • Warm colors: a lion with a full mane Warm colors run from red through yellow. A yellow face, a yellow-orange and orange mane.
  • Warm colors: a rooster at sunrise Warm colors run from red through yellow. Red comb, red-orange and orange tail, yellow-orange sun, yellow beak.
  • Warm colors: a slice of pizza Warm colors run from red through yellow. Yellow cheese, a yellow-orange crust, red and red-orange toppings.

Cool colors 6

  • Cool colors: a penguin on the ice Cool colors run blue-green to blue-violet. A blue-violet back, blue ice; leave the belly white.
  • Cool colors: a shark in deep water Cool colors run blue-green to blue-violet. A blue shark, blue-green water above, blue-violet below.
  • Cool colors: a snowman at dusk Cool colors run blue-green to blue-violet. A blue-violet sky, blue shadows, a blue-green scarf.
  • Cool colors: an igloo Cool colors run blue-green to blue-violet. Blue-green blocks, blue shadows, a blue-violet sky.
  • Cool colors: mountains far away Cool colors run blue-green to blue-violet. Blue near peaks, blue-violet far ones, paler row by row.
  • Cool colors: rain on a window Cool colors run blue-green to blue-violet. Blue drops, blue-green trails where they run.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-08: 48 small subjects to draw, six for each of eight color schemes, each with a note that names the colors its box takes. The subjects, and which color goes where, are our suggestions, not rules; the colors of each box are counted off around the painter's twelve-color wheel. Checked on 2026-10-08 against Wikipedia, Color scheme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_scheme): a monochromatic scheme is the shades, tints and tones of one hue; analogous colors are adjacent on the wheel, a base color and the color on either side of it; a complementary scheme is two colors on opposite sides of the wheel; a split-complementary scheme is a base color and the two colors 150 and 210 degrees from it; a triadic scheme is a base color and the two colors 120 and 240 degrees from it; a tetradic scheme is four colors in two complementary pairs, as a square (90 degrees apart) or a rectangle (60, 180 and 240 degrees from the base). Color theory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory): warm colors are usually given as the hues from red through yellow and cool colors the hues blue-green to blue-violet; this sheet keeps to those two ranges. Color wheel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_wheel): the artists' wheel has the primaries red, yellow and blue, the secondaries green, orange and violet and six tertiary colors, twelve main divisions in all. Complementary colors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementary_colors): in the traditional red, yellow and blue model the pairs are red and green, yellow and purple, blue and orange, and a screen makes its colors from red, green and blue light, so its pairs differ. Tint, shade and tone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tint,_shade_and_tone): a tint is a color mixed with white, a shade a color mixed with black. The sheet prints in black line. Licence: own work

How it works

This color schemes worksheet has one empty box for each of eight schemes: monochromatic, analogous, complementary, split-complementary, triadic, tetradic, warm and cool. Each caption names a scheme and a small subject to draw, and the second page names the colors.

Read the full guide

The eight color schemes on the wheel

All eight are read off the painter's twelve-color wheel. Monochromatic is one color, light to dark. Analogous is three neighbors. Complementary is two opposites. Split-complementary is a color with the two neighbors of its opposite. Triadic is three, evenly spaced. Tetradic is two opposite pairs. Warm runs from red through yellow, cool from blue-green through blue-violet.

Print it for an art class

The sheet prints in black line, so students bring the color: pencils, crayons or paint. Sixteen boxes give every scheme twice. A class that has not met tetradic yet can switch that scheme off.

Questions and answers

Does the color schemes worksheet have an answer key?

Yes. The second page lists every box on the sheet with the colors it takes and a suggestion for where each one goes. Hand it out as a help sheet, or keep it back and use it for marking.

Is green a warm or cool color?

On this sheet, neither. Warm colors are often said to run from red through yellow and cool colors from blue-green through blue-violet. Green and yellow-green sit between the two ranges on the wheel, as violet and red-violet do on the other side.

What are the 12 colors on the color wheel?

Red, yellow and blue; orange, green and violet between them; and six named for their neighbors: red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet and red-violet. That is the painter's wheel this sheet uses. A screen mixes red, green and blue light, so its opposite pairs differ.

How do you color a monochromatic picture with one pencil?

Change the pressure: light for the pale parts, heavy for the dark ones, with a second layer where it should be darkest. With paint, add white to the color for a tint and black for a shade.

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