Color Theory and Applications Langara College
Additive Color (RGB)
Subtractive Color (CMY) (CMYK)
Additive Color (RGB) Red, Green, Blue The mixing of red, green and blue light to create white light (when each is mixed in equal strength) -or to create one of the millions of other colors when mixed selectively This is the color system of screen displays and digital image capture systems
Subtractive Color (CMY) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow (CMYK) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key
The color model describing the primary colors of reflected light: cyan, magenta and yellow (CMY)
CMYK is for print, or ink based output It is a subtractive model C – Cyan M – Magenta Y – Yellow K – Black (Key) Black is also called “key” because all the other plates in the printing process are “keyed” or aligned with the black plate
The RGB system is based upon A maximum number range of 255 Red = 255 Green = 255 Blue = 255 The CMYK system is based upon a percentage Cyan = 100% Magenta = 100% Yellow = 100% Black = 100%
Hue The attribute of a color defined by it’s dominant wavelength and therefore position in the visible spectrum. Hue is what we normally mean when we ask “What color is it?”
RGB Primary Colors
The secondary colors of the RGB color wheel (additive color wheel) CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW
CMY Primary Colors
The secondary colors of the CMY color wheel (subtractive color wheel) RED GREEN BLUE
Primary and Secondary Color Wheel
A tertiary color is a color made by mixing either one primary color with one secondary color, or two secondary colors, in a given color space such as RGB (additive) or CMY (subtractive).
The tertiary colors of the color wheel AZURE VIOLET ROSE ORANGE CHARTREUSE SPRING GREEN
B
VIOLET M
AZURE C
ROSE
SPRING GREEN cyan + blue = azure blue + magenta = violet magenta + red = rose red + yellow = orange yellow + green =chartreuse green +cyan = spring green
R
G
ORANGE Y
1900 Albert H Munsell defines colors based on three dimensions: Hue (Color) Chroma (Saturation) Value (Lightness)
Any color can be described in terms of its hue, saturation and value. A dark brown color for example, would have a hue in the yellow-red region of the color wheel. It would have a low saturation, and would have a low value (because it's dark). A light brown color would differ from the dark brown only in its value.
Saturated
Desaturated
Value The relative lightness or darkness of a color. Value is a measurement of the brightness of a color. The brighter a color is, the higher is its value and the more light it emits. High value is lighter Low value is darker
Value is an important tool for the designer/artist, in the way that it defines form and has the possibility to create spatial illusions.
Value is an important tool for the designer/artist, in the way that it defines form and has the possibility to create spatial illusions.
Chiaroscuro
Leonardo DaVinci
Chiaroscuro Italian for lightdark. In art is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts, affecting a whole composition.
Vogue Russia: 2009 Angelo Pennetta
We can see the values of two colors on a computer by changing the hue to grey scale
Red = 255 / Green = 255
Red = 128 / Green = 65
Blue – Sampled Values
Green – Sampled Values
This wedge shows all of the saturation and value variations on this particular red. At the top of the wedge, the lightest red runs from high saturation on the right to white on the left. As you move down the wedge, the reds get darker and the saturation range from right to left gets narrower.
With or without color the designer / illustrator must be aware of the value structure of a composition. The visibility, and hence the readability, of an image depends mostly on the careful use of values.
Leonardo de Vinci's "Mona Lisa", like most paintings, is structured on value and decorated with color.
Tint: Any hue with white added. This is often referred to as a “pastel” Shade: Any hue with black added Tone: Any hue with both black and white added (grey).
A tint is sometimes called a pastel. A color scheme using tints is usually soft and soothing, especially the lighter versions.
A shade is any color with black added. You can go from an extremely dark, to a barely shaded pure hue. Shades are often deep, powerful and mysterious– but can also be overwhelming.
A tone is created by adding both white and black (grey) to any hue. Any color that is “greyed down” is considered a tone. By adding grey, you are affecting the “chroma”, or intensity of the hue.
Warm colors come forward and cool colors recede
Warm and bright colors give the illusion of being closer to the viewer within a composition, while cool and dull colors appear further away.
Exercise: 1. Create a color wheel, with the primary, secondary and tertiary colors. 2. Create a 11 step black to white value scale 3. Create a series of tints, shades and tones of the primary and secondary and tertiary colors of your color wheel.
B
VIOLET M
AZURE C
ROSE
SPRING GREEN cyan + blue = azure blue + magenta = violet magenta + red = rose red + yellow = orange yellow + green =chartreuse green +cyan = spring green
R
G
ORANGE Y