4 | Color
Key Vocabulary:
spectrum pigment neutral hue primary colors complementary colors
tint shade intensity tone color harmony
I. Color
1. Appeals directly to our senses and emotions
2. Color can affect your mood
3. Knowing where color comes from as well as its properties will help you make decision on how to use color in your work
II. The Source Of Color
1. Color comes from light which can be natural or artificial
2. When there is little or no light, there is little or no color
3. Bright light makes colors more intense
4. Color is produced by the way our vision responds to different wavelengths of light.
a. When a ray of light passes through a prism, the ray is bent. This ray of light is then separated into individual bands of color called the color spectrum.
b. The spectrum includes red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
5. Artists’ colors come from powdered substances called pigments.
a. These natural or chemical materials are combined w/ other substances to make various paints, crayons, inks, and pencils commonly used by artsists
III. Neutrals
1. Because we do not clearly see any one color in them, white, gray, and black are called neutrals.
a. these 3 neutrals are created by different amounts of reflected light.
b. white is the sum of all colors
1. white objects reflect all wavelengths shining on them and absorb none
c. Gray is created by partial reflection
1. A gray object reflects part of all the wavelengths and absorbs part of them
2. the more light that is reflected, the lighter the gray, the less light absorbed the darker the gray
d. Black is the total absence of reflected light and results when an object absorbs all the wavelengths shining on it, reflecting none of them.
IV. The Properties of Color
1. When artists discuss color, they talk about 3 properties that can be defined and measured: hue, value, and intensity. These properties are sometimes called qualities or characteristics of color. For easy study the colors are usually arrange in a circle on a color wheel.
a. Hue is the name of the color itself, such as blue, red, etc…and it refers to the color’s position on the color spectrum.
1. red, blue, and yellow are the primary colors.
2. If you mix the pigments of any 2 primary colors you will produce one of the 3 secondary colors. The secondary colors are orange, green, and violet.
3. The color wheel also shows 6 intermediate colors or hues. These colors are created by mixing a primary color with a neighboring secondary color. For example: yellow (primary) mixed with orange (secondary) creates yellow-orange (intermediate).
4. Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel and show the maximum visual contrast between two colors. Examples: blue/orange, red/green, yellow/violet.
b. Value is the range from black to white and when discussing color value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color.
V. Color Harmonies
1. Both natural and artificial light have enormous effects on shapes and forms
2. Bright sunlight can create dark shadows and extremely bright highlights
3. Angle of light also defines the form we see.
a. an overhead source can create shorter shadows and blur surface distinction
b. lighting an object from the side will lengthen and distort shadows calling attention to details of surface texture.
4. light is a powerful part of design and has a strong impact on both the shapes and forms you see and the ones produced in your artwork.
Vocabulary – Color Chapter 4
1. Spectrum – the complete range of color that is present in white light. The spectrum colors are visible when light is refracted through a prism.
2. Pigment – the coloring material used in making painting and drawing media, dyes, inks, and toners. Pigments may be natural (made from earth or plants) or made from laboratory-prepared chemicals.
3. Neutral – having no easily seen hue. White, gray, and black are neutrals.
4. Hue – the name of a color, determined by its position in the spectrum.
5. Primary colors – in subtractive color theory, such as when mixing pigments, the hues – red, yellow, and blue – from which all other colors are made.
6. Complementary colors – any two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.
7. Tint – a lighter value of a hue, created by adding white to the original hue.
8. Shade – a darker value of a hue, created by adding black or a darker complementary color to the original hue.
9. Intensity – the strength, brightness, or purity of a color. Changing a color’s value will also change its intensity.
10. Tone – a less intense value of a hue, created by adding gray to the original hue.
11. Color harmony – combinations of color – such as complementary or analogous colors – that can be defined by their positions on the color wheel. Particular color harmonies may be used to achieve specific effects.
