Color Theory

Basic color terms Red hue Red tone Red shade Red tint Hue refers to the color’s name Value refers to the amount of dark and light in a hue i.e. dark, medium or light red Saturation (Intensity or Chroma) refers to the level of purity Shade is a hue with black added Tint is a hue with white added Tone is a hue with gray added

Terms for color groupings Primary colors Secondary colors Monochromatic colors Complimentary colors Analogous colors

Simultaneous contract Color and Contrast Figure /ground relationships are basic to all visual representation. A figure is a subject and a ground is the area that surrounds it. How much the figure and ground stand apart from each other is the measure of contrast. The more contrast, the higher the visibility. Simultaneous contrast occurs when colors side by side affect each other. One seems to modify the tone or hue of the other. However these changes are only perceptual. High contrast Low contrast Simultaneous contract

The Color Wheel Color wheels arrange color in a way that allows us to see the relationships between primary, secondary and even tertiary colors. Color wheels shows the range of gradations between different hues. Warm, saturated, light value hues are active. Cool, low saturation, dark value hues are passive. Some colors remain visually neutral or indifferent Advancing hues are most often thought to have less visual weight than receding hues This color wheel also shows colors divided into passive, active and neutral zones

Johannes Itten: 7 color contrasts Pure color (hue) contrast Contrast of hue is illustrated by undiluted colors in their most intense luminosity.

Cool-Warm Contrast These colors can be used to produce effects in landscape. Cooler colors make objects more distant because of the intervening depths of atmosphere. Cold-warm contrast helps suggest nearness and distance.

Complimentary Contrast Two colors are complementary if their pigments, mixed together produce a neutral gray-black. These neutrals can create a diverse range of undertones.

Light-dark contrast Expressions of light and dark using white and black.

Saturation Contrast 1 Contrast of saturation is the contrast between pure, intense colors and dull, diluted colors.

Saturation Contrast 2 Contrast of saturation is the contrast between pure, intense colors and dull, diluted colors.

Contrast of Extension 1 Different amounts of one color are needed to balance another.   The contrast of extension is used to refer to contrast between the proportion of one area of color to another.

Contrast of Extension 2 Different amounts of one color are needed to balance another.   The contrast of extension is used to refer to contrast between the proportion of one area of color to another.

Color Combinations Complementary Split-complementary Triadic relationship Split-complementary relationship Triadic relationship Analogous relationship Double complementary relationship

Study questions What are primary colors What are secondary colors? What is hue? What is value? What is saturation? What is a complimentary color palette? What is a analogous color palette? What is a monochrome color palette? What is an active color? What is a passive color? What are Ittens’ color contrasts? What is a neutral color? What is a tint? What is a shade? What is simultaneous contrast? Which colors make a room seem larger? Which colors make a room seems smaller?