7th Grade: Color Theory Vocabulary

Analogous colors

A color scheme that uses hues next to each other on the color wheel.

Hue

A color's technical name in the spectrum

Intermediate color

A hue (color) made by mixing a primary and secondary color.

Secondary colors

A hue created by combining two primary colors. (orange, green, violet)

Monochromatic Color

All the tints and shades of a single hue or color

Color wheel

An arrangement of colors in a circular format. Primary, secondary, and intermediate hues (colors) are arranged in orderly intervals.

Color

Art element that is derived from reflected light

Neutral colors

Browns and grays created by mixing complementary colors

Color Abbreviations

Color "shorthand" of abbreviations used to write color formulas. i.e.: blue-green= BG

High Intensity Color

Color scheme using bright pure hues

Low Intensity Color

Color scheme using more neutral dull hues which are created by mixing complementary colors

RBG

Color used on computer monitors & TVs: Red, Blue, Green

Complementary colors

Colors opposite on the color wheel: red & green; blue & orange; yellow & violet

Cool colors

Colors suggesting coolness; blue, green, violet and their variants.

Warm colors

Colors suggesting warmth: reds, yellows, and oranges and their variants.

CMKY

Colors used in printing: Cyan, Magenta, Black, Yellow

Shade

Created when black is added to a color. Refers to a darker value of a color.

Tint

Created when white is added to a color. Refers to a lighter value of a color.

Monochromatic

Different tints and shades of only one color (hue).

Color Mixing

Knowledge of the way colors interact when we combine them and what new colors are created when we do.

Primary colors

Pure or fundamental colors (red,yellow, and blue) that cannot be created by combining other colors.

Intensity

The brightness or dullness of a color

Value

The darkness or lightness of a color.

Sir Isaac Newtown

The scientist who discovered "Opticks" (Optics) and defined the spectrum found in light. He also invented the color wheel.

Color Properties

There are three color properties: Hue, Value and Intensity

Spectrum

When a beam of light is bent by a prism and separated into bands of color like the a rainbow