History Main / TechnicolorMagic

* ''Webcomic/StringTheory'': Active PsychicPowers come with floating tendrils of light around the psychic and the target. Different characters have distinct colours: Abel, the most powerful and experienced, has {{purple|IsPowerful}}, whereas [[spoiler:Dr. Schtein]] has [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver blood-red]].

* ''VideoGame/Ziggurat'': The supernatural comes in all kinds of colours. Your wand always uses purple mana and usually produces purple projectiles, Carina's is blue, and wands producing status effects may be color-coded as well.

Much like other phenomenons that only exist in fiction, when it comes to magic, psychic energy, and other paranormal or supernatural things, creators have to decide how to best depict them. One obvious way is to just show the direct effect of a spell or ability. This is particularly common with {{Psychic Power}}s like [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]]: to show that a person is moving an object with their mind, the object will be depicted as moving on its own.

This trope, however, covers when such actions and abilities are visualized using punches of color. These colors can be simply there for [[GarnishingTheStory garnishing]] to maximize [[ColorContrast visual contrast]], such as a mostly [[UnnaturallyBlueLighting cool-toned film]] coloring the magic and supernatural abilities [[BlueOrangeContrast red and orange]] to make them pop. However, often times the colors selected will have some characterizing purpose, drawing from GoodColorsEvilColors.

Subtrope of ColorCodedForYourConvenience. Compare ColorCodedWizardry in which wizards and magic classes are assigned particular colors to help differentiate them.

[[AC:Anime & Manga]]

[[AC:Arts]]
* Creator/AlexandreCabanel's ''Art/TheFallenAngel'': Lucifer's wings show three distinct zones -- white inside, technicolor in-between, and dark edges. The multicolored intermediate region is a visual representation of whatever divine magic is demoting him from angel to demon.

[[AC:Comic Books]]

[[AC:Fan Works]]

[[AC:Films -- Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'', FairyDevilmother Maleficent's magic usually glows bright green.

[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In the TV adaptation of Literature/{{Discworld}}'s ''Film/TheColourOfMagic'', the magic is represented with purple. In the books, the color of magic is actually the [[FictionalColor fictional 8th color, octarine]], but it's noted in the book to be outside the visible spectrum, unless you have TrueSight, so a visible color was chosen.

* In ''Film/Warcraft2016'', the BlackMagic fel is green, while more benevolent Azeroth-style magic is blue, yellow, red or purple, and those touched by fel can be recognized by their unnaturally green skin or eyes. Lothar exploits this when he has to check whether [[spoiler:Medivh has been corrupted by the fel.]]


[[AC:Literature]]

* Powers in ''Literature/{{Price}}'' tend to generate red, blue or yellow light. Stronger Imbued have two colors and sometimes a blend of those colors (red and blue makes purple- or possibly magenta or some other shade of purple). The really strong ones have black or white.

* In ''Literature/TheThieftakerChronicles'', every magic user's power is a different color and leaves behind a colorful residue visible only to other conjurers. Ethan, the titular [[BountyHunter thieftaker]], has magic that is a rusty shade of red.

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' is centered entirely around a system of five colors of magic: White (order, purity and light), Green (tradition, destiny, nature and life), Red (fire, emotion and strength), Black (death, undeath, ambition, pragmatism and decay), and Blue (air, water, technology, intelligence, trickery and mental powers). They sometimes dress in those colors, too, but thankfully don't always. Part of the reason for dressing "in-color" is that most card art has a palette that matches the card's color.

[[AC:Video Games]]

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Arcane Magic is associated with blue and purple contrasting the sickly green of Fel magic.

[[AC:Webcomics]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheSecretDoor'', Alexa's magic is pink and rainbow-colored, while Malucia's is blue and a sickly green.

** ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]'': Gwen uses purplish-pink energy with her magic[[spoiler:-alien]] abilities and constructs.

[[AC: Anime & Manga]]

[[AC: Arts]]

[[AC: Comic Books]]

[[AC: Fan Works]]

[[AC: Films -- Animation]]

[[AC: Films -- Live-Action]]

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Tabletop Games]]

[[AC: Video Games]]

[[AC: Western Animation]]

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