lecture 3 part 1

ART 251: Lecture 3, part 1

Color Theory:Traditional Color Circle, Color Attributes, 

and Color Schemes

color theory: color schemes & “traditional” color wheel

ART 251

ISAAC NEWTON DISCOVERED THAT LIGHTCONTAINED ALL COLORS OF THE RAINBOW.

ORGANIZED THE FIRST COLOR WHEEL

“Newton’s error was trusting math over the sensations of his eye.”

-Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), poet and author of Faust, published Theory of Colours in 1810. As a color theorist, he was more interested in how we perceive color.

COLOR IS ALSO A MATTER OF PERCEPTION AND HOW IT AFFECTS OUR BRAIN.

AFTER IMAGE EFFECT:

STARE AT THE RED CIRCLE, THEN MOVE GAZE TO BLACK DOT.WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Basic Color Wheel… but it is flawed!

Purple not so pure

Color Bias Wheel

How to use the Color Bias Wheel

to mix colors...

What happens when you mix complementary colors?

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What happens when you mix complementary colors?

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= a neutral grey or brown

Color Bias Wheel

Make brightest purple

Make duller purple because some blue and o r ange a re mixed

M a k e d u l l e s t purple, because blue is mixed with orange and red is mixed with green.

Understand this color wheel & you

will be more successful in color

mixing!

Itten’s Color Wheel

Ewald Hering (1834-1918)

The 3 Properties of Color

Hue Value

Intensity

Properties of Color

• HUE

• VALUE •  INTENSITY (or saturation)

(Hate Videogames Immensely)

Properties of Color

HUE - the name of the color, the part of the color spectrum that the color belongs to: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or violet.

There is no pure blue.

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If colored paints were actually pure color- every time any two “pure” colors of paint were mixed you would get black. The bits of blue in the blue paint would absorb the red and yellow light. The bits of yellow paint would absorb the red and blue light. No light would escape from the paint, and you’d see a perfectly black surface.

Properties of Color

V A L U E - l ightness or darkness of the hue.

Mark Rothko, Untitled (Black on Gray),

1969/1970.

MUNSELL VALUES

Add grey tone = tone

Inherent Value: “Normal” hues have different values.

Grayscale Chart

Low Key

High Key

Shadows in black and white...

7-8

6

3

4-5

2-3

1

3

3

Properties of Color

VALUE—lightness or darkness of the hue.

–  Adding white produces a TINT –  Adding black produces a SHADE

Add grey = tone.More subtle transitions in creating a 3D‐effect.

Contrast in Value:Monochromatic areas of shades and tints

Painting with a limited number of values

David Hockney, Mist, 1973. From The Weather Series. Lithograph, 37 X 32 in.

Painting with a limited number of values

Assignment # 4

MOSAIC VALUE DESIGNcreating an illusion of depth or 3‐D whilemaintaining values from a value scale