1. COLOR THEORY 101

2. COLOR THEORY 101

3. Light: the Visible Spectrum

4. The Color Wheel
The color wheel is a way to visualize and organize the entire color spectrum of light. The ends of the spectrum are bent around a circle to form a color wheel

5. Types of Color Theories
Additive Color (RBG)
The additive (light) theory deals with radiated and filtered light.
Subtractive Color (CMYK) The subtractive (pigment) theory deals with how white light is absorbed and reflected off of colored surfaces.

6. Additive Theory White (sunlight) radiates ALL light
Black radiates no light
Light-emitting media use the process of capturing and radiating light, therefore they use Additive (Light) Theory
Primary colors in Additive Theory:
Red ( R )
Green ( G )
Blue ( B )
All the primaries mixed together to make WHITE
Additive (Light) Theory is used in computer monitors, television, theater lighting, and video production.

7. Subtractive Theory Black absorbs most light White reflects most light
Colored Pigments absorb light and reflect only the frequency of the pigment color.
All colors other than the pigment colors are absorbed, so this is called subtractive color theory.
Primary colors in Subtractive Theory:
Cyan ( C )
Magenta ( M )
Yellow ( Y )
Black ( K )
Subtractive or Pigment Theory is used in desktop and commercial printing.

8. Subtractive Color: RYB Color Model
Traditional “Painter’s Color Wheel”
Primary Colors (RYB) are pure pigments that cannot be mixed:
Red
Yellow
Blue
RYB is used primarily with traditional pigment-based art media (like painting)

9. The Color Wheel Hue: pure color Saturation: brightness or dullness
Colors on the wheel can be described using three elements:
Hue: pure color
Saturation: brightness or dullness
Value: lightness or darkness

10. Hue Color Theory 101 The technical name for color
Describes the position of a color on a classic color wheel
Used to name the color (Yellow, Orange, Red, etc.)

11. Color Theory 101 Saturation refers to how vivid and intense a color is

12. Tone = Shade + Tint

13. Color Theory 101
Painter’s Color Wheel
Primary Colors
Secondary Colors

14. Color Theory 101
Color Temperature
Warm / Cool Colors

15. Color Schemes: Warm
Warm Colors: Right half of the color wheel contains colors associated with fire, heat
Artist: Jan Vermeer
Title: Girl Asleep at a Table
Year: 1657

16. Color Schemes: Warm
Paul Cezanne
The Basket of Apples, 1894

17. Color Schemes: Warm
Henri Matisse
The Dessert, Harmony in Red, 1908

18. Color Schemes: Cool
Artist: Pablo Picasso
Title: Femme Allongée Lisant
Year: 1939
Cool: Left half of the wheel has cooler colors associated with ice, water

19. Pablo Picasso
The Old Guitarist, 1903

20. Color Schemes: Monochromatic
Color Theory 101
Color Schemes: Monochromatic
Monochromatic uses different values of the same hue, including tints and shades

21. Color Schemes: Monochromatic
Monochromatic uses different values of the same hue, including tints and shades
Artist: Georges Braque
Title: Le Portugais
Year: 1911

22. Color Schemes: Monochromatic
Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937

23. Color Schemes: Monochromatic
Monochromatic color palettes in interior design

24. Color Schemes: Monochromatic

25. Color Schemes: Analagous
Color Theory 101
Color Schemes: Analagous
Analogous: A selection of colors that are adjacent on the color wheel

26. Color Schemes: Analogous
Analogous: A selection of colors that are adjacent on the color wheel
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Title: The Iris
Year: 1889

27. Color Schemes: Analogous

28. Color Schemes: Analogous

29. Color Schemes: Analogous

30. Color Schemes: Analogous

31. Color Schemes: Complementary
Color Theory 101
Color Schemes: Complementary
Complementary: Colors that are opposite on the wheel. High Contrast

32. Color Schemes: Complementary
Complementary: Colors that are opposite on the wheel. High Contrast
Vincent Van Gogh
The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night
1888

33. Complementary Colors in Art
Georges Seurat, Le Chahut,

34. Complementary Colors in Art
Eugène Delacroix, Women of Algiers, 1834

35. Complementary Colors in Graphic Design

36. Complementary Colors in Fashion

37. Color Schemes: Triadic
Color Theory 101
Color Schemes: Triadic
Triadic

38. Triadic Color Schemes in Design

39. Triadic Color Schemes in Design

40. Triadic Color Schemes in Art
Andy Warhol
Piet Mondrian

41. HINT: Choosing ONE common color can help tie random color schemes together