Color Theory

Color Wheel

A circular diagram of colors developed by Sir Isaac Newton.

Split-complementary Color Scheme

A color scheme that uses a key color with the two colors that lie on either side of its complement. Example: red with yellow-green and blue-green.

Analogous Split-complementary Color Scheme

A color scheme that uses a predominantly analogous palette, but includes accents using the two colors that lie on either side of the complement of the key color. Example: blue analogous palette with red-orange and yellow-orange accents.

Monochromatic

A color scheme that uses tints and shades of only one hue.

CMYK

A color system or model used for printing, that creates colors by blending different levels of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

Shade

A dark value of a hue made by adding black.

Tint

A light value of a hue made by adding white (or water).

Tertiary/Intermediate Colors

Colors made by mixing the primary colors with the secondary colors. (red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet)When you say these colors, you always say the primary color first.

Warm Colors

Colors that are on one side of the color wheel that elicit a feeling of warmth; associated with the sun and fire in nature; active, advancing. For example: red, orange and yellow.

Cool Colors

Colors that elicit a feeling of coolness; associated with the sky, air, water or grass in nature; calm, receding. For example: blue, green, purple.

Analogous Colors

Colors that sit side by side on the color wheel, and have a common hue.

RGB

The RGB color model uses varying intensities of (R)ed, (G)reen, and (B)lue light added together to produce a broad array of colors. Black is no light added and white is all RGB light added.

Complementary Colors

The colors directly opposite of each other on the color wheel. Used together in a work of art, they create an intense contrast. When mixed together, they cancel each other out and create a dull neutral color. The three main complementary pairs are red and green, blue and orange, and purple and yellow.

Value

The darkness or lightness of a color. The relative lightness or darkness of a color.

Hue

The term for the pure spectrum colors commonly referred to by the "color names" - red, orange, yellow, blue, green, violet, etc. Color without tint , tone or shade (added white, grey or black)

Triadic color scheme

Three colors equally distant from each other on the color wheel

Secondary Colors

Three colors made by mixing two primary colors together. (orange, green, and violet)

Primary Colors

Three colors that cannot be made by mixing other hues together. (red, blue, and yellow) These colors are used to create all the other colors on the color wheel.

Neutral Colors

White, gray, black and brown

Color Scheme

a plan for organizing colors according to their relationship on the color wheel