Scribd
Upload
58 views20 pages

Color Theory

Uploaded by

Earl Quinn Varilla
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
58 views20 pages

Color Theory

Uploaded by

Earl Quinn Varilla
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 20

COLOR THEORY

COLOR THEORY
both the science and art of using color. It explains how humans perceive color; and the visual effects
of how colors mix, match or contrast with each other. Color theory also involves the messages colors
communicate; and the methods used to replicate color.

Color is perception. Our eyes see something (the sky, for example), and data sent from our eyes to
our brains tells us it’s a certain color (blue). Objects reflect light in different combinations of
wavelengths. Our brains pick up on those wavelength combinations and translate them into the
phenomenon we call color.
RGB: THE ADDITIVE
COLOR MIXING MODEL
Humans see colors in light waves. Mixing
light—or the additive color mixing model—
allows you to create colors by mixing red,
green and blue light sources of various
intensities. The more light you add, the
brighter the color mix becomes. If you mix all
three colors of light, you get pure, white light.

TVs, screens and projectors use red, green


and blue (RGB) as their primary colors, and
then mix them together to create other colors.
CYMK: THE
SUBTRACTIVE COLOR
MIXING MODEL
Any color you see on a physical surface
(paper, signage, packaging, etc.) uses
the subtractive color mixing model. Most
people are more familiar with this color model
because it’s what we learned in kindergarten
when mixing finger paints. In this case,
“subtractive” simply refers to the fact that you
subtract the light from the paper by adding
more color.
Traditionally, the primary colors used in
subtractive process were red, yellow and blue,
as these were the colors painters mixed to get
all other hues. As color printing emerged, they
were subsequently replaced with cyan,
magenta, yellow and key/black (CMYK), as
this color combo enables printers to produce a
COLOR WHEEL

The first color wheel was designed by Sir Isaac Newton in


1666
The color wheel consists of three primary colors (red,
yellow, blue), three secondary colors (colors created
when primary colors are mixed: green, orange, purple)
and six tertiary colors (colors made from primary and
secondary colors, such as blue-green or red-violet).
Draw a line through the center of the wheel, and you’ll
separate the warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows)
from cool colors (blues, greens, purples).

5
Primary Colors: Red, Yellow, and Blue
In classical color theory, primary colors are the three hues
that cannot be formed by any combination of other colors.
Thus, the defining element of primary colors is that they
cannot be created by combining any other pigments on the
color wheel.

Secondary Colors: Green, Orange, and Violet


Used in design and color theory just as often as primary
colors, secondary colors can be created by mixing two primary
colors together.

Tertiary Colors
There are six main tertiary colors on the modern color wheel.
As defined by modern color theory, these are yellow-orange,
red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-
green. Each tertiary color has a hyphenated name because
they are created by mixing one primary and one secondary
color together.
COLOR WHEEL

Warm colors
are generally
cool colors
associated
are often
with energy,
identified with
brightness,
calm, peace,
and action
and serenity.

19/01/2024 7
MUNSELL COLOR SYSTEM

The Munsell Color System, which is a diagrammatic color


space that specifies colors based on three main
factors: hue, value, and chroma. When describing or
identifying colors, these three terms form the foundation
of understanding in the world of color theory

8
HUE
The term “hue” refers to pigment in the realm of color theory. This
technically defined as “the degree to which a stimulus can be described as
similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue,
and yellow.” Hue can essentially be thought of as the basic color, tint, or
shade as defined by the color wheel.

VALUE
Value is synonymous with “lightness” when used in regard to color
theory. This is basically a representation of variation in the perception of a
color’s overall brightness. If the hue of a color is “blue”, then the value
determines if the color description could be “light blue” (high value) or “dark
blue” (low value).

CHROMA
Chroma, commonly referred to as “saturation”, refers to the
perceived intensity of a specific color along the color wheel. A higher
chroma will result in greater “colorfulness” or richness of the color as
perceived by the end user. Lower chroma thus results in a more subtle, dull
color.
Hue, Shade, Tint, and Tone
Simply put, tints, tones and shades are variations of hues, or colors, on the color
wheel. A tint is a hue to which white has been added. For example, red + white = pink.
A shade is a hue to which black has been added. For example, red + black =
burgundy. Finally, a tone is a color to which black and white (or grey) have been
added. This darkens the original hue while making the color appear more subtle and
less intense.

11
COLOR
HARMONY
7 MAJOR COLOR SCHEMES

1. Monochromatic 2. Analogous 3. Complementary


Monochromatic color schemes use a single Analogous color schemes are formed
a complementary color scheme is
color with varying shades and tints to by pairing one main color with the two
based on the use of two colors
produce a consistent look and feel. colors directly next to it on the color
directly across from each other on
Although it lacks color contrast, it often wheel. You can also add two additional
the color wheel and relevant tints of
ends up looking very clean and polished. It colors (which are found next to the two
those colors.
also allows you to easily change the outside colors) if you want to use a
darkness and lightness of your colors. five-color scheme instead of just three
colors.
13
MONOCHROMATIC

ANALOGOUS

COMPLEMENTARY
7 MAJOR COLOR SCHEMES

4. Split Complementary 5. Triadic 6. Square


Triadic color schemes offer high The square color scheme uses four
A split complementary scheme includes one contrasting color schemes while colors equidistant from each other on
dominant color and the two colors directly retaining the same tone. Triadic color the color wheel to create a square or
adjacent to the dominant color's complement. schemes are created by choosing diamond shape. While this evenly-
This creates a more nuanced color palette than three colors that are equally placed in spaced color scheme provides
a complementary color scheme while still lines around the color wheel. substantial contrast to your design, it’s
retaining the benefits of contrasting colors. a good idea to select one dominant
color rather than trying to balance all
four.
15
SPLIT-
COMPLEMENTARY

TRIADIC

SQUARE
7 MAJOR COLOR SCHEMES

7. Rectangle/Tetradic

Also called the tetradic color scheme, the rectangle


approach is similar to its square counterpart but offers a
more subtle approach to color selection.

17
TETRADIC

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy