Color
What would the world be like without any
color?
When light is reflected off an object,
color is what the eye sees.
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Color is a part of light. Without light
there would be NO color.
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Color is a perception, a response of
the brain to data received by the
visual systems. Just as artificial flavors
evoke a similar smell to real foods, or
as artificial sugar stimulates our
sense of sweetness, so different
combinations of light can be
perceived as the same "color".
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What is real is that objects emit light
in various mixtures of wavelengths.
Our minds perceive those wavelength
mixtures as a phenomenon we call
color, and this perception creates
questions that color theory tries to
explain.
The color in paints, markers, crayons (etc) are made from pigments.
• Pigments are a powder that is
added to a vehicle (or binder,
example is wax or acrylic paint), a
relatively neutral or colorless
material that suspends the
pigment and gives the paint its
adhesion.
Primary colors are yellow blue and Red
• You can't make them by
mixing any other colors
• ALL other colors
(thousands) are made
from the primary colors
Secondary colors are PURPLE, GREEN
and Orange
• Secondary colors are
made by mixing the
primary colors together
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EXAMPLE RED+Yellow
makes orange
• Mixing secondary colors
together will create a
tertiary color. Example
Orange
+red=red/orange
A color wheel is a
• A color wheel is a tool often used
by artists and students. A color
wheel is a diagram that displays a
layout of colors and explains their
relationship to each other. Color
wheels often show (at minimum)
primary, secondary and tertiary
colors. They can be used to show
which colors come together to
form other colors and which
colors make up color schemes
that are visually acceptable to
humans.
• Sir Isaac Newton developed the
first circular diagram of colors in
1666
COLOR SCHEMES are a planned
combination of color
• SOME POPULAR COLOR SCHEMES INCLUDE….
• Complimentary color schemes
• Warm/cool colors schemes
Monochromatic color schemes
Complimentary color schemes are
colors OPPOSITE of each other on the
color wheel
• RED with Green
• Orange with BLUE
• Yellow with Purple
Warm and cool color schemes are
colors next to each other on the color
wheel
• YELLOW ORANGE AND RED
are warm color schemes
and give the feeling of
warmth, happiness,
vibrancy
• BLUE GREEN AND PURPLE
are the cool color schemes
and give the feeling of
quietness, coolness,
calmness
Monochromatic means A monochromatic object or
image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues.
• In order to make a
monochromatic
painting you need to
mix TINTS AND SHADES
of one color……..
TINTS AND SHADES are created by
adding white and black to a color
• A tint is adding WHITE
to a color so PINK is a
TINT of Red
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A shade is adding Black
to a color so Maroon is
a SHADE of red.
There are thousands of other color
schemes that exist
• Your room might be
decorated with a color
scheme….
• AN album cover uses a
color scheme
• Holidays show us color
schemes.
So how do colors affect our moods and
feelings?
• Think about it….
When you go to a fast
food restaurant like
McDonalds, how do
those colors make you
feel?
What sort of colors do you see in a
hospital or bank?
What about sad days, what colors you
think of?
What feelings do these colors give
you?
How about these?
Don’t believe colors affect people’s moods and
feelings?
A factory in the United States changed the color of the bathrooms to an unpleasant green and saw
production increase by 8%.
Customers of a coffee house constantly complained about the cool temperature in the room. At that
time, the walls were painted a light blue. After changing the color to orange, there were no more
complaints.
The color yellow can cause nausea, so it is avoided in airplanes.
Black boxes seemed heavier to workmen than green boxes filled with the same material.
Red can make you hungry, while the opposite color, green, suppresses it.
The color red can also increase your muscle reaction, make you want to gamble more, and raise your
blood pressure. Blue has the opposite effect.
Blue street lighting resulted in lower crime rates in Glascow in 2000.
Blue conveys trust and reliability.
Green is believed to increase concentration.
Some other facts about color….
Humans, apes, most old world monkeys,
ground squirrels, and many species of fish,
birds, and insects have well-developed color
vision. However, it's worth noting that 7 or 8
percent of human males are relatively or
completely deficient in color vision
Mammals with limited color vision or none at
all include mice, rats, rabbits, cats, and dogs.
Nocturnal animals - such as foxes, owls,
skunks, and raccoons - whose vision is
specialized for dim light seldom have good
color vision. By comparison, humans are colorblind in dim light.
So what would the world be like
without any color?
One last thing…do you have a favorite
color?
RED: warmth, love, anger, danger, boldness, excitement, speed, strength, energy, determination, desire, passion,
courage
ORANGE: cheerfulness, low cost, affordability, enthusiasm, stimulation, creativity, aggression, food
YELLOW: attention-grabbing, comfort, liveliness, cowardliness, hunger, optimism, overwhelm, Summer, comfort,
liveliness, intellect, happiness, energy, conflict
GREEN: durability, reliability, environmental, luxurious, well-being, nature, calm, relaxation, Spring, safety,
honesty, optimism, harmony, freshness
BLUE: peace, professionalism, loyalty, reliability, honor, melancholia, boredom, coldness, Winter, depth,
stability, professionalism, honor, trust
PURPLE: power, royalty, nobility, elegance, sophistication, artificial, luxury, mystery, royalty, elegance, magic
GRAY: conservatism, traditionalism, intelligence, serious, dull, uninteresting
BROWN: relaxing, confident, casual, reassuring, nature, earthy, solid, reliable, genuine, Autumn, endurance
BLACK: Elegance, sophistication, formality, power, strength, illegality, depression, morbidity, night, death
WHITE: Cleanliness, purity, newness, virginity, peace, innocence, simplicity, sterility, snow, ice, cold
Name___________________________________________
Color Pretest
1. What are the primary colors?
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2. What are secondary colors and how are they made?
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3. What are tertiary colors?
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4. What is the difference between warm and cool colors?
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5. Name three types of color schemes.
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Color Pretest Answer Sheet
1. What are the primary colors?
The primary colors are red, yellow and
blue.______
2. What are secondary colors and how are
they made?
The secondary colors are green, orange and
violet. They are made by mixing
two primary colors.
3. What are tertiary colors?
The tertiary colors are red-violet, blue-violet,
yellow-green, yellow-orange, redorange and
blue-green.
4. What is the difference between warm and
cool colors?
Warm colors include yellow, orange, and red
and appear to come towards the
vie wer . Cool colors include blue, green and
violet and appear to move away from
the viewer.
5. Name three types of color schemes.
Three types of color schemes are
Complementary, Analogous and Triadic
Vocabulary Sheet
Math Terms
Diameter lines - lines that go through the center of a circle
Equilateral Triangle - a triangle with equal sides and angles
Hexagon - a polygon with six angles and six sides
Proportional Reasoning - reducing or enlarging based on a constant ratio
Ratio - the relationship in quantity, amount, or size between two or more things
Color Wheel Art Terms
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Analogous Color Scheme- Colors that are beside each other on the color wheel
and share a common color
Color Set – Grouping colors based on how they are made
Color Scheme - A way to organize colors
Complementary Colors – Colors that are directly opposite each other on the color
wheel
Cool Colors – Colors that include blue, green and violet and appear to move
away from the viewer
Primary – Basic set of colors: red, yellow and blue. They can not be made by
mixing any other colors. They appear naturally in nature.
Secondary - A second set of colors that are created by mixing equal parts of two
primary colors. They secondary colors are orange, violet and green.
Shades – A darker version of a color made by mixing black with a color
Tints - A lighter version of a color by mixing white with a color
Tertiary - A third set of colors made by mixing equal parts of one primary and one
secondary color. The tertiary colors are: yellow-orange, yellow-green, redorange, red-violet, blue-green and blueviolet.
Triadic (Split Complementary) Color Scheme – A color and the two colors on
either side of that color's complement
Warm Colors – Colors that include red, yellow and orange and appear to move
towards the viewer.