Munsell wheel
Albert Munsell
• Invented the
Munsell wheel
• American born
colour theorist
1858-1918
• Published Colour
Notations in 1905
• The Colour Wheel
was his life’s work.
Munsell Wheel Three levels :
• 1) 5 Principal colours are indicated
by the number 5 and one letter
example 5R (5R,5Y, 5G,5B, 5P)
• 2) 5 Intermediate colours are
indicated by the number 5 and two
letters example 5YR .
3) 10 Secondary colours are
indicated by the number 10 plus one
or two letters the Example 10 YR or
10 Y(These are hues that fall between
the 5 principal and 5 intermediate
colours)
Three levels of colours
P
s
I
S
I
s
S
P
P
S
S
I
I
S
S
P
S
I
S
P
Munsell Wheel Intermediate colours
Relationship they are complementary to
intermediate colours ➢ Principal
5 R-
Intermediate
5BG
5Y
5BP
5G
5RP
5B
5YR
5P
5GY
Intermediate Colours
Complementary
• Intermediate colours (second level of
colours)
• Munsell obtained the second level of
colours by a process called after imaging.
• After imaging is an optical reaction that
occurs after we stare intensely at a hue and
then shift our eyes to a white. surface. This
second hue is termed after imaging
After Imaging pp 101 text
• How does after imaging work ?
• When our eyes are exposed to a hue for a
prolonged period, the rods & cones
become fatigued.
• If you are reading something on colored
paper, and then look away—you often see
the inverse, or complement, of the image.
This occurrence can be advantageous if
you are seeking the opposite, or contrast, of
a colour.
• Example; staring at a red dot the resulting
after image is blue –green.
After Imaging
Test
Munsell Tree
➢ )
Munsell Tree- set up
Segregated via the properties of colour
• Hue –colour name - runs the outer edges of
the chroma branches
• Value-The lightness or darkness of a Hue,
trunk = value scale• Chroma -The vibrancy or saturation of a
Hue, how bright and pure it is versus how
light or dark it is. branch extensions
Value dimension=
via the trunk
Chroma dimension=
extension of
branches
Hue dimension
runs around the
outer edge of
the chroma
branches
Munsell Tree 3 dimensions
Munsell Colour - Value
.
➢ Value runs up and down the
axis of the tree and
measures the lightness or
darkness of a colour.
➢ Center hub starts with
black & ends with white
providing the range of the
value scale.
➢ It is the territory in the
centre of the colour wheel
that must be understood in
order to be able to control
the brightness of colours.
Munsell Colour - Chroma
➢
Colour samples on each
hue go from dullest to
brightest as they radiate
from the center out.
➢ Colours/ Hues are at their
brightest or purest at the
outside of the tree.
➢ The farther from the
center a colour is, the
brighter it is until it reaches
a pure hue at the end.
Wedge Showing chroma
Three Dimensions
Value =
lightness
or
darkness
of a hue
runs up
and down
axis or
trunk of
tree
sample of a wedge for 5R
Example HUE
Is 5R within
it there is a
colour called
5R6/10
5R – red
has a value
( lightness
or darkness)
of 6 and
chroma
( or
intensity) )
of 10
Chroma intensity of a hue Further away from the center
value scale the brighter the chroma
• Colour Notation
Munsell Colour Notation
• Munsell used numeric notation system so that
the colours can be described more accurately.
• The notations describes the dimensions of the
specific hue in terms of value and chroma.
• The first number & letter is the hue:
• -the second number is value
• the third number is chroma
• EXAMPLE colour notation :5R6/10
• 5R = Hue
• 6= value ( lightness or darkness )
• 10 = chroma ( or intensity )
Colour Wedge(Branch) &
Notation
Review class exercise
one wedge per colour
Summary
• Munsell Developed a system for giving colours
numerical descriptions.
• Developed a 3D model to illustrate colour
According to Munsell, colour has three distinct
properties or dimensions.
• 5 principal,5 intermediate and 10 secondary hues
• To understand colour you must understand how
these three properties relate to each other.
• When viewing colour, the three dimensions must
be analysed independently of each other.