Unit 3: Color Theory
• Color plays a big role in art from creating
certain moods and feelings to developing
more interesting compositions.
• Understanding color helps in a variety of fields
such as interior design, fashion design, artists,
and many others.
Objectives
• You will learn about the color wheel and its
uses.
• You will be introduced to basic color theory.
• You will learn about the primary, secondary
and intermediate colors.
• You will learn about complementary, warm,
cool, and monochromatic colors.
• You will demonstrate your understanding of
these colors and their placement on the color
wheel by completing a self-practice exercise.
The Color Wheel
Sir Isaac Newton developed
one of the first circular color
charts in the mid 1600s.
Since then scientists and artists
have developed numerous
forms of the color wheel or
color charts.
Color wheels are broken into
sectors to show the
relationships between colors.
Color wheels are tools that
artists use to relate colors and
to make color schemes.
Color: the element of art that refers to
reflected light
•
Hue: Is another name for COLOR. For example, red is a hue.
•
What is a pure color?
Pure color is any color that is true to it’s original hue. This means it has not had
any other color added to change it.
How does the human eye see color?
• Different wavelengths of light appear to our eyes as different colors.
• Objects absorb different light rays and reflect others. Our eyes see those
reflected light rays.
•
White in art is considered the absence of color-this is in relation to pigments. This
is opposite from the scientific idea of visible light rays- in which white
encompasses all the light rays.
•
Black in art or pigment form is all the colors mixed together, where as in the light
spectrum, it is the absence of color.
The Science behind Color
Light receptors within the eye transmit
messages to the brain, which produces the
familiar sensations of color. Newton observed
that color is not inherent in objects. Rather,
the surface of an object reflects some colors
and absorbs all the others. We perceive only
the reflected colors.
Imagine a World without Color
• http://theweek.com/articles/547323/justhow-important-color
• Watch this video…
Primary Colors
• The Color wheel starts
off with Primary colors.
• Primary Colors cannot
be made by mixing
colors together.
• From these three
colors; red, yellow and
blue make secondary
and intermediate
colors.
Secondary Colors
• There are three
secondary colors green,
orange and violet.
• Red + Yellow = Orange
• Yellow+ Blue= Green
• Blue + Red= Violet
Fun Fact; Violet is actually
the correct name for
purple. The manufactures
of Crayola actually came up
with the name purple.
Primary +Primary = Secondary
• Intermediate or
Tertiary Colors are the
colors made by
mixing the primary
and secondary
colors.
Complementary colors are colors that are
opposite of each other on the color wheel, such
as blue and orange, red and green, violet and
yellow.
-
-
There are two color spectrums on the color wheel.
• Warm Colors are
brighter colors that
can create feelings of
warmth, heat, anger,
passion, and love.
Blue
• Cool Colors are darker
or dull colors that can
create feelings of
calmness, coolness, and
sadness.
Blue-violet
Blue-green
Violet
Blue
Blue-violet
Blue-green
Green
Violet
Red-violet
Green
Yellow-green
Red-violet
Red
Yellow-green
Yellow
Red
Red-orange
Yellow
Yellow-orange
Red-orange
Orange
Yellow-orange
Orange
Monochromatic means “one color”
•
Monochromatic uses
only the tints, tones, and shades of 1
color.
• An example could be
Navy blue, blue, and baby blue.
To make a tint you add WHITE to a pure
color.
To make a tone you add GRAY to a color.
To make a shade you add BLACK to a
pure color.
Use the information you just learned to help you complete the worksheet
provided. If you have your own colored pencils please get them out.
• In the Warm& Cool color
sections, divide the boxes so you
have 6 spaces instead of 3.
• You also need to add a column to
the right of the cool colors. Label
it Intermediate colors.
It should have 6 sections.
• Use color pencils to complete the
worksheet.