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Color

This part of the course will investigate color: how you see it, how to mix it and a little about how to use it..

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Color is the perceptual characteristic of lightdescribed by a color name.

Color is - What the eye sees when light isreflected off an object.

Specifically, color is light, and light iscomposed of many colorsthose we see

are the colors of the visual spectrum: red,orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

Objects absorb certain wavelengths andreflect others back to the viewer. Weperceive these wavelengths as color.

COLOR

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COLOR

Color is all around us, and its probably for that reason that most peopledont think much about it.

Fortunately for us, techniques for using color have been broken downalmost into a science. Hundreds of years and generations of artists anddesigners have explored color and how it can be used to achieve aspecific desired result. There are literally dozens of books about color

and how to use it, and there are many ways to apply color technique.

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The Eye

Who would believe that so small a space couldcontain all the images of the universe. Leonardo da Vinci (referring to the eye.)

Although we see color in our brain, it is the eye that

has the receptors that tell our brain what we arelooking at.

There are two sets of receptors in the retina in theback of the eye: rods and cones.

Rods and cones vary in sensitivity to different colors

and light, and they convey the color of light to ourbrain.

There are about 125 million rods (named for theirshape). They are very sensitive to light but are mostlycolor blind.

The color detectors in the eye are the cones. There

are about 7 million of these in three formsconcentrated in the center of vision.

Individual cones can only sense one of three narrowlydefined frequencies of light: red, green and blue.

The response from these three "primary" colors issorted in our brain to give us the perception of color.One or more of these color receptors malfunctions in acolor blind person.

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Col o r w h ee l :

In color theory, we often talk about the color wheel. A color wheel is really just the spectrumtwisted around so that the violet and red ends are joined. The color wheel is particularly

useful for showing how the colors relate to each other and how you can create new colors bymixing two or more colors.

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Primary Colors: 3 color

Colors at their basic essence;

those colors that cannot becreated by mixing others.

- Red

- Yellow

- Blue

Secondary Colors: 3 color

Those colors achieved by amixture of two primaries

- Orange

- Green

- Violet/Purple

Tertiary Colors: 6 color

Those colors achieved by amixture of primary and

secondary hues.- Red-Orange

- Yellow-Orange

- Yellow-Green

- Blue-Green

- Blue-Violet- Red-Violet

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Three Dimensions Of Color

Hue

Value

Intensity (The Degree of purity or saturation)

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Hue

The traditional color name of a specific wavelength of light is a hue.

Another description is: spectral color. All of the colors of the spectrumare hues.

The color that we see of a hue is mostly dependent on the dominantwavelength that is emitted or reflected from an object. In other words, hueis a perceptible color that corresponds to a unique, dominant wavelength oflight

The color wheel (right) diagrams the relationship between hues (aroundthe outside) and saturation (center to outside).

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Achromatic hue : coolers those are absent in the color wheel.Ex: black,white,gray.

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Value

Value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color.

It is an important tool for the designer/artist, in the way that it definesform and creates spatial illusions.

Inherent Value: The hues have a natural value where they look thepurest. For example:

Yellow is an inherently lighter color than Blue.

Blue is and inherently darker color than Green.

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Intensity

Intensity is the brightness or dullness of a color. Saturation is concerned with the intensity,

Saturation is a measure of a color's pureness and brilliance(strength).

This is determined by the quantity of the dominant hue.

A saturated color is high in intensity - it is bright.

A color that is dull is unsaturated or low in intensity.

One may lower the intensity by adding white or black.

The triangle diagrams the relationship between value(vertically) and saturation (horizontally).

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The first parrot on the left is at 100% saturation, all colors arebrilliant.

The middle parrot has a saturation of 50%; the colors arevery dull.

The third parrot has no saturation, creating a black and whiteimage.

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Tints - adding white to a pure hue:

Shades - adding black to a pure hue:

Tones - adding gray to a pure hue:

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Color Temperature

The color wheel can be divided into ranges that are visually active

or passive. Active colors will appear to advance when placedagainst passive hues. Passive colors appear to recede whenpositioned against active hues.

Advancing hues are most often thought to have less visual weightthan the receding hues.

Most often warm, saturated, light value hues are "active" andvisually advance.

Cool, low saturated, dark value hues are "passive" and visuallyrecede.

Tints or hues with a low saturation appear lighter than shades orhighly saturated colors.

Some colors remain visually neutral or indifferent.

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Color Temperature

The color wheel is useful in that it shows the relationship between warmand cool colors. This is called color temperature and relates to the senseof temperature each color imparts.

The colors on the red side of the wheel are said to be warm because theyare associated with warm phenomena. The green side implies coolphenomena. These color temperature designations are absolute.

More subtle color temperature relationships are relative. One red can bewarmer or cooler than another for instance.

Color temperatures effect us both psychologically and perceptually. Theyhelp determine how objects appear positioned in space. Warm colors aresaid to advance -- they appear closer to the observer. Cool colors are saidto recede -- they appear farther from the observer.

WARM COOL

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Warm Colors:Colors such as red,

yellow, and orange.

These colors evoke

warmth because

they remind us ofthings like the sun or

fire.

Cool Colors: Colors

like blue, green, andpurple (violet).

These colors evoke

a cool feeling

because they

remind us of thingslike water or grass.

Neutral Colors: Gray, Brown. These aren't on most color

wheels, but they're considered neutral because they don't

contrast with much of anything. They're dull and uneventful.

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