Color

Color

A characteristic of light (a.k.a. radiant energy).

The Munsell system

Allows for an infinite number of color variations using three characteristics of color and a notation system that clearly represents each in every possible color, even colors yet to be derived. The three components of color in the Munsell system are: hue, value and chroma.

Complementary colors

Are colors that appear opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green, blue and orange and violet and yellow. Note that these are the three subtractive primaries (red, blue and yellow) paired with the three secondary colors, green, orange and violet, which are their complements.

Warm colors

Are near the red end of the color spectrum, including red, orange and yellow.

Monochromatic colors

Are various tones of the same color, as you have seen on paint wheels. A monochromatic color scheme uses a single color (hue) in a wide or narrow range of chroma and value.

Secondary colors

By mixing two primary subtractive (pigment- based) colors in equal proportions, the secondary colors of orange (red and yellow), violet (blue and red) and green (yellow and blue) are created.

Color harmony

Color harmony is the use of pleasing, balanced colors that work together to create a relationship of concord and agreement, giving a sense of order and visual pleasure.

Monotone

Color schemes use a single color of low chroma in one value or a very limited range of values, typically grays, tans and tinted whites.(neutral)

Advancing and receding

Colors can be used to modify perception and spatial relations. Warm colors appear closer than they are and cool colors recede.

Discordant colors

Discordant colors occur when white or black is added to a color until its value is reversed. Also rare, but interesting.

Different colors in small areas

Fuse or mix when seen at a distance. A textile woven of two color yarns will seem to be one solid color from a distance.

Tint

Is a pure color to which only white has been added (red becomes pink),while a shade is a pure color to which only black has been added (olive or taupe).

Tetrad of colors

Is a scheme made up of four colors equally spaced around the color wheel—YG, B, RP and O. These are not common schemes.

Hue (another word for color)

Is the quality that gives an identifying name to a chromatic color so that we can distinguish one color from another. Munsell recognized five principal hues (red, yellow, blue, green and purple) and five secondary colors (yellow-red, green-yellow, blue-green, purple-blue and red- purple).

Value

Is the second characteristic of color. The term refers to the amount of light the color reflects (lighter toward white) and absorbs (darker toward black). Adding white or black to a color does not change the hue, only the lightness or darkness of the hue.

Shades

Light values, known as tints, are in the 6-9 range and dark values

Grays and other neutrals

May be called warm or cool according to their content of warm or cool chromatic color.

Violet colors

May be warm or cool according to their relative content of red and blue.

Law of chromatic distribution

May help you decide on a color scheme. This principle states that the more neutralized colors of the color scheme should cover the larger areas.

Tone or tonal

May refer to a harmonious color scheme using various shades of white, gray and black.

Split-complementary

One of the most subtle and pleasing color schemes. In addition to the base color, it uses the two colors adjacent to its complement.

Primary colors

Primary colors are colors that cannot be created by mixing any combination of any other two or more colors.

Rainbow or the light spectrum

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. (The last two colors are so close to each other that they are often merged and called purple, thus six colors are in some spectrums.)

Chroma

Refers to a color's intensity, purity or saturation. In the Munsell color system, chroma is measured by a range of numbers from 1-14, with the highest numbers indicating maximum intensity. A low number, such as a two, indicates that the color is very grey and of a low chroma. The more color, the higher the chroma number.

Beware of metameric shift

The appearance of an object or textile as one color in one light and another color in another light.

Tertiary colors

The literal definition of tertiary is 'third formation' or 'third stage.' The first and most commonly use denotes the mixture of a secondary color such as orange, with a primary color such as yellow or red to produce an intermediate (tertiary) color such as yellow/orange or red/orange.

Simultaneous contrast

The term used to describe the effect that adjacent areas of color have on one another. This term also refers to the effect of size on color contrasts.

Triad colors

Three colors which are approximately equidistant from one another on the color wheel.

Analogous colors

Use hues that are close together on the color wheel within an arc of no more than 90 degrees

Tonal quality of an object

degrees of black and white

Cool colors

greens and blues