Color Theory
Digital Media
a property
of light
Light
| Physics
a property
of objects
 Object
| Chemistry
Happens in
the observer
 Observer
| Biology

What is Color?
Photons and Waves

Isaac Newton
discovered in 1672 that
light could be split into
many colors by a
prism, and used this
experimental concept
to analyze light. The
colors produced by
light passing through a
prism are arranged in a
precise array or
spectrum from red
through orange,
yellow, green, blue,
and into indigo (violet).
P m
r
i
s
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The colors we see are light waves
absorbed or reflected by everything
around us. Rainbows are white light
broken apart by moisture in the air.
The colors of the visible light
spectrum are red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, and violet.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Visible Light
Waves of light

The order of colors is constant, and
each color has a unique signature
identifying its location in the spectrum.
The signature of color is the wavelength
of light.
The Eye: How it all works.

This is your eye. It's
a ball with a hole in
front. The hole is
called your pupil.
Light comes through
the pupil and
splashes inside your
eye on the retina.
Optic nerves carry
information about
the light to your
brain.
Seeing Color and Black and
White

Your retina is
filled with two
kinds of special
cells, rods and
cones. Rods
let you see
black and white
only. Cones let
you see color.
Rods and Cones

This is a sketch of a
retina. See the big dots?
Those are cones. The
cones are dense at the
center of your retina but
not at the edges. Cones
work best when there's
lots of light, like during
the day.

This is another sketch of
a retina. See the little
dots? Those are the rods.
Rods are dense at the
edge but there aren't
many of them in the
center. Rods work best
when light is dim, like in
the late evening. Then
you don't see much color.

Some animals
see differently
than we do.
Some animals,
like bees, have
cones for colors
we can't see.
Other animals
may be missing
cones for colors
we can see. For
example, look at
how the monkey
and the owl see
colors.
How Do Animals
See Color?
Hue is the basic name of a color or the
pure form of color – there are six basic
hues: red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
and violet.
 Saturation refers to the relative
brightness or dullness of the color – a
color is at full intensity only when pure
and unmixed.
 Value is the lightness or darkness of a
hue.

Three Properties of Color
Photoshop | HSB
Primary Colors
Red, yellow, and blue
In traditional color theory,
these are the three
pigment colors that can
not be mixed or formed
by any combination of
other colors
 All other colors are
derived from these three
hues


Secondary Colors
These are the three
colors formed by mixing
two primary colors
together - green,
orange, and violet
 Blue + yellow =
green
 Red + yellow =
orange
 Red + blue = violet

Tertiary Colors

These are the six
colors formed by
mixing a primary
color with a
secondary color yellow-orange, redorange, red-violet,
blue-violet, bluegreen, and yellowgreen

Color schemes are ways to use groups of
colors together so a desired affect is
achieved by an artist
Basic Color Schemes
This uses a single pure
hue with a number of
tints and shades to
provide variety
 Pros: Extremely unified
and harmonious effective for establishing
an overall mood
 Cons: Can be dull
because of the lack of
variation and therefore
can lose the interest of
the viewer

Monochromatic Scheme
Analogous colors are any three colors which are side
by side on a 12 part color wheel, such as yellowgreen, yellow, and yellow-orange
 Usually one of the three colors predominates
 Pros: Great selection of possible combinations makes
this scheme versatile - the similarity of colors makes
the schemes harmonious with great results because it
is used in nature and is usually soothing and restful.
 Cons: The use of more than three colors can dilute
the overall effect of this scheme

Analogous Colors
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Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly
opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green
and red-purple and yellow-green.
In the illustration below, there are several variations of yellowgreen in the leaves and several variations of red-purple in the
orchid.
These opposing colors create maximum contrast and maximum
stability – they heighten and accent one another.
Pros: Extremely eye-catching and vibrant, sometimes more so
than the triadic scheme.
Cons: The limited number of colors in complementary schemes
means the colors are easily digested and then discarded by the
viewer.
Complementary Colors
The points on the triangle indicate the colors
you should choose
 This scheme is very appealing and well
balanced
 Most effective color scheme consists of the
three primary colors - the extreme contrast has
immense visual impact.
 Pros: Extremely stable, each color perfectly
balances with the other - the bold nature makes
for a vibrant color scheme and is useful for
presenting information in bold decisive patterns
 Cons: The vibrancy may be too garish and
detract from the message

Triadic
Split Complimentary colors are similar to
complimentary but instead of just two colors
directly opposite on the color wheel, two of the
three colors are adjacent to one of the colors
that is opposite
 Pros: This scheme has more variety than
a simple complementary color scheme
 Cons: It is less vibrant and eye-catching
- it is difficult to harmonize the colors

Split Complementary