Color Theory is simple a system to describe and organize colors. Calling it a theory is apt, because there are no hard and fast rules that always work. As a corollary, there is no "best" color theory. Each color theory has advantages and disadvantages, and one would do well to study several and take the relevant parts from each that best meet one's objectives.

Color - The visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum is color. As electrons move from one electron shell of an atom to another, they either absorb or emit a photon. The human eye senses the photon as a color. Color is a hue with a certain saturation and value.

• Hue is the main component of the color. In light it is the frequency; in paint, the pigment. It is the pure, unmixed color from a tube or from a ray of light.
• Saturation is how much of a hue is in a color, also called Chroma.
• Value is how light or dark a color is. Value is usually used to describe form, with changes in value reflecting the changes in form.
  • A Tint is White added to a color.
  • A Tone is Grey added to a color.
  • A Shade is Black added to a color. In common language, a shade is any variation of a color.

Color Wheel - A circular, logical organization of colors. The most common color wheel starts with Red, then moves to Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, and ends with Red-Violet. Color wheels are the basis for most color theories.

• Primary Colors on a color wheel are the fundamental, unmixable colors. They're like assumptions in a logical argument. In light, the primary colors are Red, Green, and Blue. In paint they are Red, Yellow, and Blue, though some color theories add Green, which is more realistic, because in real life it is hard to mix a good Green.
• Secondary Colors are the result of mixing equal parts of two primary colors together. In light, the secondary colors are Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow (three of the four colors for 4-color process printing). In paint they are Orange, Green, and Purple or Violet. In the 4-primary-color system Green is replaced by Yellow-Green and Blue-Green.
• Tertiary Colors are the result of mixing equal parts of neighboring primary and secondary colors together.

Color Harmony/Color Schemes - Combinations of colors that work together.

• Complementry Colors is the most commonly used harmony. Complimentary colors are on opposite sides of the color wheel. They are called complimentary, because they contain all the colors the other needs to be "perfect" meaning it contains all the colors in the color wheel. In light, two compliments make White; in paint the result is a Black.
  For example, in paint, the compliment of Red is Green; Green contains Blue and Yellow, the two primary colors red doesn't have. In light, Yellow is the compliment of Blue; Yellow contains Red and Green, the two primary colors Blue doesn't have. Because the compliment "completes" the other color, they tend to harmonize very well; no color is left out. Most color theories only look at color wheels of paint, ignoring so many more combinations that work equally as well together.
• Split Compliments are a color and the neighboring colors of its compliments.
  For example, in paint, Orange is the compliment of Blue. Red-Orange and Yellow-Orange are the split compliments, because they are next to the true compliment.
• A Color Triad is made of three colors equidistance from each other on a color wheel. The two most common are the Primary Triad (Red, Yellow, and Blue) and the Secondary Triad (Orange, Green, and Purple), both based again on the color wheel of paint.
  Nature scenes tend to have a primary triad scheme.
• Analogous Colors are colors next to each other on the color wheel. They usually include one color and the next door neighbors, though some think it's ok to travel half way around the color wheel. Remember, this is a theory and whichever one works in a given situation is right in that situation. Don't worry about the rules.
  Analogous color schemes are useful for emotional paintings, because they are usually focused on one color and the emotions it inspires.
• A Monochromatic Color Scheme is one color and all the tints, tones, shades, and chromas of that color.

Color Context - Colors are affected by their environment. If you want to change a color, many times you can just change its environment and the color will appear to become a new one.

Elements of Art | Principles of Design | Cartooning Tips

©2004 Jeff Thomason