The Science of Color

Instructional Materials Service

Texas A&M University

Basic Color Principles

When a beam of white light is passed through a prism, a spectrum of the entire range of pure colors visible to the naked eye is formed.

The Three Dimensions of Color

• Hue

• Value

• Chroma

Hue• Hue identifies a color by name. Every color

falls into a definite hue category as indicated by the spectrum color name on the color wheel.

Value

• White added to a hue creates a tint.

• Gray added to a hue creates a tone.

• Black added to a hue creates a shade.

Value is the lightness or darkness of a hue achieved by adding white, gray, or black.

Chroma• Chroma refers to the degree of intensity, strength,

saturation, or purity of a color. Purity of a color refers to its freedom from white, black, or gray.

Primary Colors

• Red, blue, and yellow comprise the three primary colors.

• These three colors can approximate, through selective mixture, all of the other colors.

Secondary Colors

• Orange, violet, and green are the secondary colors.

• Each is placed between the two primaries that are mixed to produce it.

Primary & Secondary Colors

Color Harmony

• Complementary

• Split Complementary

• Triadic

• Analogous

• Monochromatic

Complementary• Complementary color harmony features colors directly opposite on the

color wheel.

Split Complementary• Combining one color with two colors on either side of its direct

complement results in a split complementary.

Triadic• Triadic color harmony involves three colors

equally spaced on the color wheel.

Analogous

• Analogous colors consist of related colors that are adjacent on the color wheel.

• They usually include only one primary color. • Analogous color harmony allows one color to

dominate and others to enhance.

Monochromatic

• Monochromatic color represents a harmony arrived at through variation in the value and intensity dimensions of a single color.

Color Balance• Any color which dominates its immediate

environment in hue, intensity or value will over balance a color or colors of lesser contrast and tend to divert attention from the composition.

Warm Colors• Warm, or advancing colors, are those that

resemble fire and heat. Red, red-violet, red-orange, and yellow-orange are examples of warm colors.

• Warm colors appear closer and are more eye catching than cool colors.

Cool Colors• Cool, or receding colors, are associated

with peace and calm. Blue, blue-green, and blue-violets represent cool colors.

• Cool colors in a composition tend to visually recede and look smaller. They are not easily seen from a distance.

Jane Gloyd, TMF, AAF, Horticultural Professor (retired), Richland College, Dallas, Texas organized and developed the information used in this PowerPoint Presentation.

Christine Stetter, Artist, Instructional Materials Service, developed and illustrated this PowerPoint Presentation.

Keith Zamzow, Curriculum Specialist, Instructional Materials Service, edited and reviewed this PowerPoint Presentation.

Vickie Marriott, Office Software Associate, Instructional Materials Service, edited this PowerPoint Presentation.

Acknowledgements