Using Colour in illustration.

How I use colour in my illustrations.
I initially trained and worked as a textile print designer, (Trent and Manchester if you're interested) which involves working to exacting client briefs, including defined colour palettes. So you only use the colours that have been assigned to that brief.
Fashion colour forecasts are worked out years in advance and every season everyone works to a set palette (that's why all the shops are full of say mustard one year, and chartreuse another time - it's not coincidence!) So one season, orange is a particular Persimmon shade, or purple has to be Aubergine.

When I began to do illustration work, instead of textile design, it was a whole new experience for me, different type of brief, subject matter, no longer following fashion forecasts, and a lot of my work was self generated, I decided what I wanted to draw and paint.
The biggest liberation for me was COLOUR - you mean I can use ANY colours I want? as many as I want? in the same piece? fantastic!
So that is what I do -I just DO MY OWN THING.
I have certain colours that I gravitate towards, and favourite colour combinations - and I mostly favour BRIGHT, but not  exclusively. Also you may notice that my paint boxes (very handy vintage cutlery trays ) don't have a lot of green, and the blue one is very full - but my actual artwork has different colour palettes as in these  examples.
You can see more of my illustration colour palettes on my website (I sometimes work in black and white too!)