Analogous colors are groups of colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, with one being the dominant color, which tends to be a primary or secondary color, and two on either side complimenting, which tend to be tertiary.

The term analogous refers to the having analogy, or corresponding to something in particular. An analogous color scheme creates a rich, monochromatic look. It’s best used with either warm or cool colors, creating a look that has a certain temperature as well as proper color harmony. While this is true, the scheme also lacks contrast and is less vibrant than complementary schemes.

These color schemes are most often seen in nature. For example, during the fall, you will often see the changing leaves form an analogous sort of color scheme, progressively moving through the color wheel to create a gradient in its natural pattern.

High-key color schemes have a lighter value, having white added to them or water in the case of watercolors. These have a more pastel-like look to them. Having a high-key analogous color scheme can give your piece a stimulating shimmer that pleases the eye, making everything seem the same color at first until approach. The colors are pure and aren’t affected by their compliments which grab attention. This was commonly used in impressionism by artists such as Monet, Pissaro, and Degas. Pierre Bonnard has also been noted for using it.

Color or colour (see spelling differences) is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue, and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light power versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Color categories and physical specifications of color are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra. By defining a color space, colors can be identified numerically by their coordinates.

Because perception of color stems from the varying spectral sensitivity of different types of cone cells in the retina to different parts of the spectrum, colors may be defined and quantified by the degree to which they stimulate these cells. These physical or physiological quantifications of color, however, do not fully explain the psychophysical perception of color appearance.

In the visual arts, color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual impacts of specific color combination. There are also definitions (or categories) of colors based on the color wheel: primary color, secondary color and tertiary color. Although color theory principles first appeared in the writings of Leone Battista Alberti (c.1435) and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (c.1490), a tradition of "colory theory" began in the 18th century, initially within a partisan controversy around Isaac Newton's theory of color (Opticks, 1704) and the nature of so-called primary colors. From there it developed as an independent artistic tradition with only superficial reference to colorimetry and vision science.

The foundations of pre-20th-century color theory were built around "pure" or ideal colors, characterized by sensory experiences rather than attributes of the physical world. This has led to a number of inaccuracies in traditional color theory principles that are not always remedied in modern formulations.^{[citation needed]}