Color theory: Pandas

Pandas, color pencil on paper.

How the monochromatic pandas escaped from the Emerald Kingdom, braved the terrors of the Grayscale Mountains and found a new home in the Hills of Complementary Colors.

It’s not easy being green, but in the case of the monochromatic pandas that lived in the emerald city it was definitely not easy not being green. If it wasn’t bad enough that they were monochromatic (some would even go as far as to say achromatic) they also managed to eat all of the bamboo in the Emerald Kingdom. This to the great chagrin of its ruler, Hue, who was very fond of everything green. Also, the fact that looking at the pandas for too long always gave him horrible after-images didn’t help much. So he gave the pandas two options: either be turned into rugs, or brave the perils of the Grayscale Mountains in search of a new home. Not wanting to be turned into any kind of upholstery, the pandas went on their way, guided by the light of the three primary planets in the sky. First they had to traverse the treacherous and dangerous path through the Grayscale Mountains that lay at the edge of the yellow brick road. The mountains were not particularly high or steep, nor were they inhabited by anything more dangerous than the common Char-kole, yet their apparent calm was deceptive, for inside the mountains lay the biggest danger anyone could face: utter boredom. Many travelers who took that path simply perished from the lack of color. The pandas however did not find the lack of color disturbing and would have happily shared the Grayscale Mountains with the elusive Char-kole, were it not for the fact that there was nothing for them to eat; no bamboo, no pencils, not even a tough little crayon. So they decided to try and cross the misty river to the fair and multicolored lands beyond. It was a dangerous path, and they almost lost a handful of pandas, but soon they reached the beautiful analogous shores. From there it was only a short trek towards the sanctuary of complementary colors, where the food was bountiful, and animals of every color were made to feel welcome, including those that didn’t have any color at all.

Luciano Sormani

Color Theory

11/16/2010