Color Theory

Color
• Color is the general name of all the
sensation arising from the activity of retina
of the eye & attached nervous
mechanism.
• We see are the colors of the visual
spectrum
of red, orange, yellow, green, blue & violet.
• Objects absorb certain wavelength & reflect
others back to viewer. We perceive this
wavelength as color.
 Cont….
• Human vision relies on light sensitive cells in the retina of the eye. There
are two basic kinds of sensors. These are rods and cones.
• Rods are cells which can work at very low intensity, but cannot
resolve sharp images or color. Cones are cells that can resolve sharp
images and color, but require much higher light levels to work. The
combined information from these sensors is sent to the brain and
enables us to see.
• Human eye can only see a short range of wavelength from 460nm to
750nm.
Spectrum of visible
light
Color
wheel
• The color wheel or color circle is the basic tool
for combining colors. The first circular color
diagram was designed by Sir Isaac Newton in
1666.
• The color wheel is designed so that virtually any
colors you pick from it will look good together.
Over the years, many variations of the basic
design have been made, but the most common
version is a wheel of 12 colors based on the RYB
(or artistic) color model.
 Primary color
• In the RYB (or subtractive) color
model, the primary colors are red,
yellow and blue.
• In traditional color theory (used in
paint and pigments), primary colors are
the 3 pigment colors that cannot be
mixed or formed by any combination
of other colors. All other colors are
derived from these 3 hues.
Secondary
color
The three secondary colors (green, orange and
purple) are created by mixing two primary colors.
Tertiary color

• Another six tertiary colors are created by

mixing primary and secondary colors.
• Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple,
blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green
These are the colors formed by mixing a
primary and a secondary color. That's why
the hue is a two word name, such as blue-
green, red-violet, and yellow-orange.
Warm & Cool color
• The color circle can be divided into warm and cool
colors.
• Warm colors are vivid and energetic, and tend to
advance in space. Red yellow, oranges are warm color.
They create feelings of warmth, activities & excitement.
• Cool colors give an impression of calm, and create a
soothing impression. Blue purple & green are cool color.
Create feelings of coolness, calmness & relaxation,
 Natural color
• White, black, brown, tan cream and gray are considered to be neutral. They
are not found in color wheel.
 Color
Harmony
• Color harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of something
pleasing to eye.it creates the sense of balance & order to the viewers. If it is
not harmonious it becomes boring.
 Complementary color
schemes
•
Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel are considered to be
complementary colors (example: red and green).
• The high contrast of complementary colors creates a vibrant look especially when
used at full saturation.
 Monochromatic
• Mono means one & chrome means hue or color. Monochromatic means
using one hue by adding white, black or grey to create tint, tone & shade.
• Analogous color scheme
Analogous color schemes use colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. They usually
match well and create serene and comfortable designs.
• Analogous color schemes are often found in nature and are harmonious and pleasing to the eye.
• Make sure you have enough contrast when choosing an analogous color scheme.
• Triadic color scheme
Triadic colors are evenly spaced around the color wheel and tend to be
very
bright and dynamic
• A triadic color scheme uses colors that are evenly spaced around the color
wheel.
Split-complementary color
scheme
• The split-complementary color scheme is a
variation of the complementary color scheme. In
addition to the base color, it uses the two colors
adjacent to its complement.
• This color scheme has the same strong visual
contrast as the complementary color scheme, but
has less tension.
• The split-complimentary color scheme is often a
good choice for beginners, because it is difficult to
mess up
Tints, Shades, and Tones

These terms are often used

incorrectly, although they
describe fairly simple color
concepts.
Tints, tones, and shades are
variations of the hues found
on the basic color wheel when
white, black or both are
mixed in.
 Tint

• If a color is made lighter by adding white, the result is called a tint.

 Shad
e
• If black is added, the darker version is called a shade.
 Ton
e
• And if gray is added, the result is a
different tone
 Hu
e
• The name of color. More specifically, a hue is
any color on the color wheel.
• A HUE refers to the dominant Color
Family of the specific color we're looking
at. White, Black and Grey are never referred
to as a Hue.
Saturation or Chroma
Saturation defines the brilliance and
intensity of a color. It means the
brightness or dullness of hue. It
show When a pigment hue is
“toned,” both white and black (grey)
are added to the color to reduce the
color’s saturation.
Lightness or
Value
• Value is the dimension of lightness/darkness. In
terms of a spectral definition of color, value
describes the overall intensity or strength of the light.
If hue can be thought of as a dimension going
around a wheel, then value is a linear axis running
through the middle of the wheel.
 Color Mixing
Theory
• Virtually all our visible colors can be produced by utilizing some
combination of 3 primary colors. They are mixed in specific pairs to create
secondary colors. There are 2 theory of color mixing. They are------
 Additive theory
 Subtractive theory
 Additive
theory
• It is also called RGB theory. In this process color is created by adding light (red, green&
blue) to dark background.
• TV screens and projectors use red, green and blue (RGB) as their primary colors, and
then mix them together to create other colors.
• From this theory we found ----
 Red + Green =Yellow
 Green +Blue =Cyan
 Blue + Red =Magenta
 Red +Blue + Green=White
 Cont…
• Additive color processes, such as television, work by
having the capability to generate an image composed
of red, green, and blue light.
• The 3 primaries in light are red, blue, and green,
because they correspond to the red, blue, and green
cones in the eye.
• Example shows how the light from red, green
and blue flashlights would appear if shone on a dark
wall
Subtractive
theory
• It is also called CYMK theory.
• Subtractive
color, like additive, has three primary colors -
Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow (CMY).
• In
subtractive color white is the absence of
color, while black is the combination of color,
but it’s an imperfect system.
• We call this "Key", hence CMYK, but essentially
it's black
 Cont….
• Subtractive color synthesis is the creation of color by mixing colors of pigment, such
as paint or ink in your computer printer. This type of color is what is used in the art
and design world.
• Subtractive color processes work by blocking out parts of the spectrum. The idea
of subtractive color is to reduce the amount of undesired color reaching the eye.
• If, for example, you had a yellow image, you would want to have a dye that
would let red and green reach the eye, and block out blue.
• The additive secondary become the printers subtractive primaries, because each
of the additive secondary will reflect two of the additive primaries, and absorb one
of the additive primaries