Color: The element of art that is a property of light.
The three Properties of color are: Hue- The name of a color in the color spectrum
Value- the lightness or darkness of a color
Intensity- the brightness or dullness of a color
Primary Colors/ Red, Yellow, Blue Referred to as primary because they cannot be mixed
using other colors.
Secondary Colors/ Orange, Green, Violet Secondary Colors are made by mixing 2
primary colors.
Tertiary/Intermediate Colors/ Yellow-green, blue-green, red-orange, yellow orange, red
violet, blue violet occur when you mix 1 primary color and 1 secondary color.
Color Schemes:
1. Monochromatic – a color scheme that uses one color and its tints and shades.
2. Analogous- colors that sit side by side on the color wheel
3. Complementary colors- colors that are directly across from each other on the
color wheel.
4. Triads- A color triad is composed of 3 colors spaced an equal distance apart on
the color wheel.
5. Split complements- a split complement is the combination of one hue plus the
hues on each side of its complement.
Color spectrum/ when light passes through a wedge shaped glass, called a prism; the
beam of white light is bent and separated into bands of color called the color spectrum.
Afterimage/ Afterimages occur because the receptors in your eyes retain the visual
stimulation even after it has ceased. Your brain creates the afterimage as a reaction to the
color you stared at originally.
Color Wheel/ the spectrum bent into a circle
Neutral colors/ Black, White, and Gray
High-key / refers to paintings where many tints of colors are used, for example if an artist
wants to depict a sunny day he would use tints.
Low-key/ refers to paintings where many shades have been used, creating dark values.
Color: The element of art that is a property of light.
The three Properties of color are: Hue- The name of a color in the color spectrum
Value- the lightness or darkness of a color
Intensity- the brightness or dullness of a color
Color Schemes / a plan for organizing colors.
Color Schemes:
6. Monochromatic – a color scheme that uses one color and its tints and shades.
7. Analogous- colors that sit side by side on the color wheel
8. Complementary colors- colors that are directly across from each other on the
color wheel.
9. Triads- A color triad is composed of 3 colors spaced an equal distance apart on
the color wheel.
10. Split complements- a split complement is the combination of one hue plus the
hues on each side of its complement.
Notes:
Hue/
Another term for color.
Intensity/
The brightness or dullness of a hue
Intensity can be changed by mixing a color with its compliment creates a tone of the
original hue.
A color + its complement= lower intensity
High intensity denotes a pure or bright hue.
Low intensity denotes a dull hue.
Value/
The amount of black and white in a color.
The lightness or darkness of a color.
Value can be changed by adding black or white to a color
A color + white or black= change of value
Tints/
Created by adding white to a hue, tints are also called pastels.
Ex. Baby blue, peach, pink
A color + white = tints/pastels
Shades/
Adding black to a hue
Examples: navy blue, forest green, burgundy
A color + black= a shade
Simultaneous contrast- 2 colors side by side interact with one another, for example a
yellow green surround3ed by yellow appears greener, and Grayish-green will seem
brighter when it is placed against a gray background.
Pigments/ Finely ground, colored powders that form paint when mixed with a binder.
Binder/ a material that holds together the grains of pigment in a form that can be spead
over some surface. Ex. Linseed oil is the binder for oil paints.
Solvent/ the liquid that controls the thickness or the thinness of the paint.
Dyes/ Pigments that dissolve in liquid.
Optical color/ when the artist reproduces colors the way he sees them.
Tonality/ Sometimes an artist lets one color, dominate a work of art, if the dominate color
was blue for example the painting would be said to have a blue tonality. Other colors can
be present it is just that the overall effect is of one color.
Arbitrary color/ When artists use color to express meaning, emotion, or to fit a personal
preference, or design.
Color Wheel
yellow