Color TheoryColor Theory““color is a visual sensation perceived color is a visual sensation perceived by the eye and the mind due to the by the eye and the mind due to the

activity and vibration of light”activity and vibration of light”

General Characteristics• Color can create different moods.

• Color Symbolism: people associate colors with various concepts

• A person’s culture may influence their association.

Colors of the Spectrum• Sir Isaac Newton (1666)• no one color predominates• colors always appear in the same

order ROYGBIV• colors extend beyond the spectrum:

• Infrared• Ultra-violet

Absorption • “the process of taking in, as in a

colored object which absorbs certain rays of light and reflects other rays giving the object its recognizable color”

Reflection• “the return of light waves from

surfaces; the bending or folding back of a part upon itself”

Chromatic Colors• “a color having hue; a color of the

visible spectrum (ROYGBIV)

• the colors of the spectrum, plus those produced by their mixtures

Achromatic Colors• “a color not found in the visible

spectrum; a neutral color such as white, black, gray, and silver, and gold (for decorative purposes)”

• the neutral colors

Dimensions of Color• Hue

• Value

• Intensity

Hue• “the property of a color by which it

is distinguished from other colors”• used only when speaking of the

unadulterated chromatic color• refers to a pure color

Primary Hues• Red

• Yellow

• Blue

Warm Hues• “a color which appears in the

spectral band, characterized by long wave-lengths; a color which makes an object appear closer and larger; a color which reflects warmth”

Cool Hues• “blue, green, purple (AKA violet) or

any intermediate pigmentary hue in which they predominate; a receding hue which creates the illusion of distance from the observer; a color of short wave-lengths”

Color Wheel’s Division into Warm & Cool Hues• Complements: “directly opposite

hues on the color wheel; any two pigmentary hues which, by their mixture in equal quantities, produce gray”

Value• “the lightness or darkness of a hue”

• every hue is capable of being darkened to a point above black

• every hue is capable of being lightened to a point below white

Intensity• (chroma)• “the brightness or dullness of a

hue”• a pure color is at full intensity• hues at full intensity are brilliant• low intensities are soft and pleasant

Pigment TheoryPigment TheoryThe Prang SystemThe Prang System

Pigment• “a coloring matter which can be

applied to an object, when combined with some type of vehicle”

• The earliest pigments came from various earths, minerals, or vegetable dyes.

Chemical Pigments• Range is more narrow.• Fade or bleach.• Are not pure colors.• Are not stable.• Absorb light rays when they are

mixed together.

Classes of Hues• Primary• Secondary• Intermediate• Tertiary

Primary Hues• “three pigmentary hues; red, yellow,

and blue which can be combined to make all other hues”

• Cannot be produced by mixtures of other hues.

• Equilateral triangle is the symbol used to locate the position of the primary hues on the color wheel.

Secondary Hues• “equal mixture of 2 primary pigmentary

hues (orange, green, and purple)”• Lie midway between the 2 primary hues

which produce it.• An inverted equilateral triangle depicts

the relationship of the primary and secondary hues.

Intermediate Hues• “a pigmentary hue produced by

mixing in equal quantities, a primary hue with its adjacent secondary hue on the color wheel”

• Are located midway between the primary and secondary hues which produce them.

• There are 6 intermediate hues.

Tertiary Hues• “the hue which results from the

mixture of 2 secondary pigmentary hues or an unbalanced proportion of complements with the warm or cool hue predominating”

• 2 families of colors: browns and slates

Monochromatic Hues• “variations of one hue; tints, tones

and shades of one hue”

Tint• “ a hue into which various

quantities of white are mixed”• As the quantity of white is

increased, the hue is weakened.• Changes the value of a hue.

– HUE + WHITE = TINT

Tone• “a hue mixed with either a small

quantity of gray or the complement of the hue, resulting in dulling the hue”

• Changes the intensity of the hue.– HUE + GRAY (COMPLEMENT) = TONE

Shade• “ a hue into which various

quantities of black are mixed; the darkened hue”

• Changes the value of the hue.– HUE + BLACK = SHADE

• Once white, black or gray (complement) is added to a hue, it is no longer a hue, it is a tint, a tone, or a shade.

Analogous Hues• “two or more hues which have the

same hue in common”

• Are adjacent to each other on the color wheel.

• Contain the same hue.

Color Wheel• “a circle in which the primary,

secondary, and intermediate hues are arranged in orderly intervals”

Complements• “directly opposite hues on the color

wheel”• Always involve a warm hue and a

cool hue.• When mixed in equal parts they

result in gray.• Are the greatest contrast in hues.

Juxtaposition• “(simultaneous contrast) any two

hues seen together which modify each other in the direction of their complements”

After-image• “psychological; a visual impression

remaining after the stimulus has been removed”

Color in LightColor in LightIlluminationIllumination

Types of Light• Incandescent Light (white light):

“the illumination resulting from the glowing of a heated filament”

Types of Light (cont’d)• Fluorescent Light: “the

illumination produced by a tubular electric discharge lamp; the fluorescence of phosphors coating the inside of a tube”

• Warm white; warm color; cool white

Dimensions• Hue: “the property of a color from

which it is distinguished from other colors”

• Brilliance: “brightness; the quantity of illumination passing through a color transparency

Dimensions (cont’d)• Saturation: “a visual aspect

indicating the vividness of the hue in the degree of difference from a gray of the same lightness”

Methods of Mixing• Additive Method: “white light can

be produced by the mixture of the 3 primary hues: red, blue and green

• The complement of any primary hue is the mixture of the 2 remaining primary hues (the complements are secondary hues)

Methods of Mixing (cont’d)

• The secondary hues of the additive method are the primary hues of the subtractive method.

Methods of Mixing (cont’d)

• Subtractive Method: “involves filtering out various colors in the illumination by using different colors of transparencies”

Methods of Mixing (cont’d)

• The primary hues of the subtractive method are the secondary hues of the additive method.

Effect of Colored Light on Colored Objects

• Colored light: “illumination of an identifiable hue”

• Emphasis: “using the same color of light as the color of the object”

Effect of Colored Light (cont’d)

• Absorption: “the process of taking in, as in a colored object which absorbs certain rays of light and reflects other rays giving the object its recognizable color”

Effects of Colored Light (cont’d)

• Conversion: “the color of an object being converted or completely destroyed when one color of illumination strikes an object of a completely different color”