COLOR THEORY

• Color is the eye’s response to the visual spectrum from red to violet. Different colors in the spectrum are created by different wavelengths of light. Combine two colors or wavelength and get a third color or wavelength.

• White is the presence of all colors in the spectrum and Black is the absence of all colors.

• The additive color system uses red, green, and blue (RGB) to make-up the spectrum of color. This method is used in computers and TV monitors.

• CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) is the color system used in commercial printing.

• The subtractive color mixing method is used when mixing pigments or paints.

The Color Wheel

• When the spectrum is organized as a color wheel, the colors are divided into groups called primary, secondary, and tertiary (or intermediate) colors; analogous and complementary; and also as warm and cool colors.

• The Additive and Subtractive color wheels are different and represent different ways of mixing colors. Additive uses light and Subtractive uses pigment.

Additive Color WheelPrimary colors: red, green, blue

Secondary colors: yellow, magenta, cyan

CMYK COLOR WHEELUses cyan, magenta, yellow and black

Subtractive Color WheelPrimary colors: red, yellow, blue

Secondary colors: orange, green, purple

Every color has 3 distinct properties:

• Hue—the primary or secondary color that makes up a given color. (the hue of maroon is red, the hue of lilac is purple)

• Value—a color’s variation of light and dark. A tint is when white is added (pink is a tint of red) and a shade is when black is added (navy is a shade of blue).

• Intensity (saturation)—the level of pure color that is present.

Complementary colors are two colors on opposite sides of the color wheel (red and green)

Split Complement: a color and the two colors adjacent to the complement. (red, yellow-green, and blue-green)

Analogous: colors adjacent on the color wheel. (red-violet, red, and red-orange)

Triad: three colors equidistant on the color wheel. (red, yellow, and blue)

Homework Assignment:• Color Scheme Designs: Choose one of the following topics

for your designs: Halloween, Science Fiction, or Nature. Then create a series of 3 different designs for one theme each using a different color scheme (complementary, split complement, analogous, or triad).

• Make sure you do at least one page of 16 thumbnails on a separate piece of paper before beginning the 3 final designs. The 3 final designs should be 5x5 (for a square format) or 5x6 (for a rectangle format).

• You do not have to use flat color, you can add tints and shades to create the illusion of a third dimension. You may use the medium of your choice. For each design you should be able to identify the color scheme you used to create the image.

Next Week:

• The In-class assignment next week is open to any medium (value materials, color materials, pencil, pen, collage). Make sure you bring all your materials to class next week. You will go through the creative process from start to finish in class. Everyone should have a well done and completed design by the end of the class period or a great in-progress design that is nearly finished.