Color Schemes

Understanding and Applying Color

(Comprendre et appliquer les couleurs)

Primary Colors

• RED, YELLOW, BLUE• Primary because they can’t

be made using other colors

• (Primaire parce qu'ils ne peuvent pas être faites en utilisant d'autres couleurs)

Johannes Vermeer “The Milkmaid”

Johannes (Jan) Vermeer, Dutch Master, 1632-1675

Secondary Colors

• ORANGE, GREEN, PURPLE• Primary + Primary =

Secondary• Red and Blue = purple

• Yellow and Blue = green• Yellow and Red = orange

Georges Seurat, “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” 1884-1886

Tertiary Colors

Six tertiary colors:

Red Orange Yellow Orange Yellow Green Blue GreenBlue Purple Red Purple

• Primary + Secondary = Tertiary

Color Wheel

Terminology

• Hue - the color itself (la couleur elle-même)• Chroma - the brightness and dullness of a color

(la luminosité et la matité de la couleur)• Value (valeur)- the lightness or darkness of a

color (la clarté ou l'obscurité d'une couleur)• Tint (teinte) - color plus white (couleur plus

blanche)• Tone - color plus grey (couleur plus grise)• Shade - color plus black (couleur + noir)

Some Yellow Variations

Color Schemes

• Complementary - across from each other on the color wheel

• Split Complementary - using the neighbors of one of the complimentary colors

• Analogous - three colors next to each other• Triadic - evenly spaced around color wheel

Color Schemes

ba

c d

complementary

Split complementary analogous

triadic

Complementary Color Scale

Tint/ Shade Grid

Robert Swain, Untitled Works