Color

Colors speak all languages. (Joseph Addison)

Color is all. When color is right, form is right. Color is everything, color is vibration like music; everything is

vibration. (Marc Chagall)

Color depends on light, because it is made of light.

There must be light in order for us to see color.

The whiter the light the more true the colors will be.

Hue, Value and Intensity are the three main characteristics of color.

Color Spectrum -

The color wheel is a tool artists useto learn the relationships of colors

to each other.

The color wheel is set up in aCircle using the Primary Colors,Red – Yellow – Blue and usually

the Secondary Colors, Green –Orange and Purple.

In this color wheel the tertiaryOr intermediate colors are also

shown – Red-Violet, Blue-Violet,Yellow-Orange, Red Orange,

Blue-Green, and Yellow-Green

Color Mixing and the Color Wheel

It's easy to mix paints to make new colors.

You can use the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) plus black and white to get all

of the colors of the rainbow.

Mixing Colors

Red

YellowYellow

Blue =

Primary Colors

Purple

Green

Orange =

Secondary

Colors

Black, white, brown and gray are not true colors (or hues).

They are considered to be neutral, achromatic colors.

Typically, the Neutral Colors are Black, White, Brown and Gray. They are not on the color wheel because they

are neutral and independent from the Primary Colors. Neutral Colors coordinate with all colors. Neutral Colors do not "clash" with any colors. Neutral Colors also do not

"make" any "new" colors by mixing them together. Neutral Colors do produce variations of existing colors.

Neutrals

Intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of a color. An example is

bright red (or dull red). You can reduce the intensity of a

Color by mixing together Complimentary colors. This makes

the color duller or not as bright.

Reducing the intensity and Neutralizing

a color are considered the same.

This also produces neutrals, alsocalled TONES.

By mixing complimentarycolors you can develop a

whole tonal range of colorscalled Tones.

Tones are mixtures of complimentary colors that

reduce the intensity (brightness)of colors.

Tones

This method isalso called

neutralizing colorsbecause many become

neutral colors in the process.

Here, blue andorange havebeen mixedtogether to givea whole rangeof tones.

Making Colors Lighter or DarkerOr --- Working With Value

To make a color lighter in value, add color to white. The more white you add, the

lighter the color will get. This is called a tint of the original color.

   To make a color darker (this is called a shade of the original color), add a small amount of black. If you add too much black, your color will be almost black.

Tints Shades

In the diagram you can see the difference between some of the

propertiesof color.

The pure color of “blue” is called a

HUE

When white and blue are mixed together it

is called a TINT

When black and blue are mixed together it is called a SHADE

Artists will use tints and shades when creating Atmospheric perspective In a work of art.

In his painting, Bathers, Seurat used tints and shades to create a feeling of depth and perspective in his painting.

TEMPERATURE AFFECTS SIZE

the perceived size of an object is affected by its

colorwarm colors advance,

cool colors recedeboth interior squares are the same physical sizebut the yellow square should appear to be

slightly larger

CONTRAST AFFECTS SIZE

the perceived size of an object is affected

by its contrastlight areas advance, dark areas recede

both interior squares are the same physical

sizebut the lighter square should appear to be

slightly larger

How do artists choose which colors to use?

• There are several different color combinations that artists can use.

• These different combinations are called “color harmonies”.

• On the next several slides, a variety of color harmonies will be discussed.

• In the future, you will need to refer to these harmonies, and make decisions for your own

artwork.

Monochrome (meaning "one color") color harmonies include only one color in different value (the lightness and darkness of a color) and intensity (the brightness or dullness of a color). An example of a monochrome color scheme could include any color mixed with white, gray, or black. For example, red, rose and pink (red mixed

with white) are monochrome.

Analogous colors (also called Adjacent colors) uses colors that neighbor each other on the color wheel. An example is a color scheme that includes various values

and intensities of reds and oranges.

AdjacentMeans “next to”.

Colors have different moods,

temperature and contrast, depending on the color they are next to.

Colors that are placed next to, or adjacent to other

colors can also appear to be different hues.

COMPLIMENTShues opposite each other on the color wheel intensifies the

difference between colors

ANALOGOUShues next to each other on the color wheelthe colors blend and are harmonious

OPTICAL COLORcolor is affected by surrounding colors both lighter rectangles are exactly the same colorbut each should appear different based on the color around it

Van Goghused optical

color mixing inhis paintings all

the time.

This style of painting was

called Impressionism.

So did Gorges Seurat in Afternoon at La Grande JatteThis style of painting was called pointillism.

Colors opposite each other on the color wheel are called complementary colors. For example, violet

and yellow are complementary colors. So are red and green, and blue and orange.

A single split compliment uses a primary color plus colors on either side of its compliment. An example is

a color scheme that includes various values and intensities of greens, violet-reds and red-oranges.

A double split compliment (also called tetradic) uses two pairs of compliments, one apart on the color

wheel. An example is red, green, orange, and blue.

A triad uses colors at the points of an equilateral triangle (three colors spaced equally on the color

wheel). These are sometimes called balanced colors. An example of a triadic scheme could be red, blue,

and yellow; green, orange, and purple, etc.

Color Schemes (Color Harmonies):

Color Has TemperatureWarm Colors and Cool Colors:

The warm colors include reds, oranges, and yellows; the cool colors include blues, greens and violets. The neutral colors are

black, white, and grays.

Analogous:Colors that are Related or Next

To Each Other On The Color Wheel

Cool Colors:

Double SplitComplementary

SplitComplementary

TriadColor

Scheme

WarmColorScheme

Monochromatic