In this lesson, you’ll explore color saturation by organizing colors into clearly defined levels of intensity. Bill Perkins introduces how saturation interacts with value and light, then presents four lighting setups that each demand a different balance of saturation. You’ll use a limited palette to separate neutral, mid, and high saturation zones, observing how saturation shifts across form and environment. The exercises train you to compare and adjust saturation in context, creating depth and harmony within a restrained color range. 

This lesson belongs to the course Color Theory Bootcamp. In this 5-week course, acclaimed painter and visual development art director Bill Perkins guides you through a focused, practical approach to color theory. Designed to build your foundational understanding and sharpen your color decision-making, this course introduces essential concepts through timed painting exercises from the model in carefully controlled lighting setups. Each week explores a core component of color theory—value, saturation, complementary colors, temperature, and hue. With every session, you’ll compare your results with Bill’s demonstration to gain direct painting insights, refine your process, and reinforce the principles in action. This course is ideal for painters looking to build fluency with color and strengthen their ability to organize complex scenes quickly and effectively.

Throughout this course, you’ll have access to the NMA community for feedback and critiques to improve your work as you progress.