1. What is Color? Color is the light reflected from a surface.
Visible light is made up of the wavelengths of light between infrared and ultraviolet radiation (between 400 and 700 nanometers).

2. Color Models Additive Model Subtractitive Model RGB, Light
CMYK, Pigment
Note that in actual CMYK printing A pure black ink (K) is used because C+Y+M actually results in a dark muddy color.

3. Additive Color
Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii. Dmitrievskii Church, 1911.

4. Describing Color Hue Value Saturation (Chroma)
The ‘color’ of the color. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
Value
Lightness (tint) or darkness (shade) of a color.
Saturation (Chroma)
Intensity of the hue in the color. Desaturated colors tend to look gray.

5. Color Contrast Contrast Of Hue Contrast Of Value
Low Contrast High Contrast
Contrast Of Hue
Contrast Of Value
Contrast Of Saturation

6. Newton’s Color Model
A color circle, based on red, yellow and blue, is traditional in the field of art. Sir Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colors in 1666.
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7. Primary Colors
Primary colors are the most basic colors; they cannot be broken down into component colors. The primary colors are different depending on which color model you are using. The primary colors in the Newtonian color model are red, yellow, and blue.
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8. Secondary Colors
These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.
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9. Tertiary Colors
These are the colors formed by mixing one primary and one secondary color.
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10. Color Relationships Primary Colors
Essential colors, cannot be broken down into component colors
Secondary Colors
Mixture of two primary colors
Analogous Colors
located close together on a color wheel.
Complementary Colors
Located opposite each other on a color wheel
Newtonian (Artist’s) Color Wheel
Monochromatic Colors
Shades and tints of the same color
Shade and Tint
Add black or white
Intensity
Amount of saturation)
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11. Color Temperature WARM COOL
Temperature can be measured absolutely, or relatively.
For example, yellow-green is warmer than cyan-green, but both are cool colors.
An approximate separation of absolute color temperature is denoted below:
COOL
WARM
This dividing line in approximate, and very imprecisely placed.
Nearly any color could appear as either warm or cold depending on the surrounding colors, especially those near the dividing line.

12. Color Context
Red appears more brilliant against a black background and somewhat duller against the white background. In contrast with orange, the red appears lifeless; in contrast with blue-green, it exhibits brilliance. Notice that the red square appears larger on black than on other background colors.
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