Art 1 Color Unit Study Guide
Terms are listed alphabetically, unlike the quiz.
Analogous Colors – Three colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. ex. orange/red/purple. Another ex. - yellow/green/blue.
Arbitrary Color – Colors used subjectively or creatively, not in accordance with what
the color of an object is usually expected to be. ex. - a blue tree or red grass.
Complementary Colors – Colors opposite on the color wheel. ex. – red/green;
blue/orange; yellow/purple
Local Color – The color normally associated with an object, like blue sky, green grass,
red apples, etc.
Neutralized Color – Color that is muted with complete reduction of chroma by mixing a
color with its complement plus adding white. Ex. – mixing blue with orange, plus
adding white will result in a gray.
Primary Color – A color that cannot be made by mixing other colors together.
Ex. – red, yellow, and blue.
Saturation – When color is at complete chroma, rich and vibrant. Saturated color is
color at its fullest. Adding other colors, black, or white, dilutes its intensity.
Secondary Color – A mixture of two primary colors. Ex. – orange, green, and purple;
Red/yellow = orange; blue/yellow = green; blue/red (plus white) = purple
Shade – A color with black added.
Tint – A color with white added, also known as the pastel colors.