Color Theory and Terms

Subtractive Color: model explains the mixing of a limited set of dyes, inks, paint pigments or natural colorants to create a wider range of colors, each the result of partially or completely subtracting (that is, absorbing) some wavelengths of light and not others. The color that a surface displays depends on which parts of the visible spectrum are not absorbed and therefore remain visible.

Hue: Color (Ex: Red) Scientific definition of Hue: A distinction between color identities defined by their wavelengths.

Saturation: The relative dullness or brightness of a color.

Temperature: A color’s percieved warmth or coolness. Temperature will be thrown in one direction or another if compared to any other color.
EX: hot red next to an even hotter oragnge.

Value: Whether a color appears light or dark

Shade: a color made darker by adding black.

Tint: a color made lighter by adding white.

Relational Intensity: Bringing together two colors that are far away from each other on the color wheel will intensify them. This is even more pronounced if the amounts  of the two colors are very different. The color in a small amount will become much more intense against a large field of the second color.

Additive color wheel:

Primary Colors in an additive system are red, blue and green. These wavelengths are as different from each other in frequency as can be discerned by the rods and cones in the human optical system. The secondary colors-in an additive system-orange, green and violet- represent shifts in frequency towards one primary color or another. The tertiary colors are still smaller shifts perceptible between secondary colors and their parent primary colors.

• Primary Colors: Red Blue Green
• Secondary Colors: Orange, Green, Violet
• Tertiary Colors: vermillion (red-orange), Chartreuse (yellow-green), Indigo (purple-blue), Violet (red-purple), Aqua (blue-green) and Ochre (yellow-orange).
• Analogous: Colors next to each other (adjacent) on the color wheel. Relationship becomes more about temperature difference.
• Complimentary colors: Two colors opposite from each other on the color wheel. Mixing these two colors together will result in a neutral color. Brown will result if mixing paint, grey will result if mixing light.
• Triadic: (split compliments): 3 colors at 120 degree intervals from each other on the color wheel.

Extension: Relative volume of one color to another so that each seems to have the same presence.

Simultaneous contrast: perceived change of identity 0f one color when it comes into contrast with others.

Aerial perspective (atmospheric perspective)  refers to the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of an object as it is viewed from a distance. As the distance between an object and a viewer increases, the contrast between the object and its background decreases, and the contrast of any markings or details within the object also decreases. The colours of the object also become less saturated and shift towards the background color, which is usually blue, but under some conditions may be some other color (for example, at sunrise or sunset distant colors may shift towards red).