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Book of Color Theory Tanya

This document provides an overview of color theory and different color schemes for students preparing for design exams. It defines key color concepts like hue, saturation, value, complementary colors, and color temperature. Various color schemes are described, including complementary, triadic, tetradic, analogous, and split-complementary. Examples are given to illustrate primary, secondary and tertiary colors on the color wheel.

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Buzz Priyanshu
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© © All Rights Reserved
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438 views27 pages

Book of Color Theory Tanya

This document provides an overview of color theory and different color schemes for students preparing for design exams. It defines key color concepts like hue, saturation, value, complementary colors, and color temperature. Various color schemes are described, including complementary, triadic, tetradic, analogous, and split-complementary. Examples are given to illustrate primary, secondary and tertiary colors on the color wheel.

Uploaded by

Buzz Priyanshu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Book for

NID/NIFT
Aspirants

CO L O R T H E O R Y
BOOK
A Guide to Colors

Color Theory

Book

Book for
NID/NIFT/UCEED/NATA
Aspirants

By Tanya
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Color Wheel
Color Schemes
1. Complementary Color Scheme
2. Triadic Color Scheme
3. Tetradic Color Scheme
4. Analogous Color Scheme
5. Split-Complementary Color Scheme
Color Properties
1. Hue
2. Saturation/Intensity
3. ValueTanya
Color Temperature
COLOR WHEEL
The Color Wheel is a visual
representation of colors arranged
according to their chromatic
relationship. The basic color wheel
consists of 12 colors that can be
broken down into three different
groups: primary, secondary, and
tertiary.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW


Presentations are communication tools that
can be used as lectures, speeches, reports,
and more. Most of the time, they’re
presented before an audience.
One of the easiest things to create is a
12-color wheel with just the three
primaries: red, yellow, and blue. All
colors are derived from these three.
Beginners should mix a color wheel
with both the primaries and
secondaries. This can help you
understand how to create additional
colors, see how colors interact, and
see your palette of colors in spectrum
order.
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The Basics of
Colors

Primary Tertiary
Colors Colors
Secondary
Colors
BASICS OF COLORS
Primary Colors
The primary colors are red, yellow, and
blue. These colors cannot be created by
mixing any other colors, but in theory,
all other colors can be mixed from
them.

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Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are created by mixing
any two primary colors; they are found
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
in between the primary colors on the
color wheel.areOrange,
Presentations green,
communication and
tools thatpurple
are
can secondary colors.
be used as lectures, speeches, reports,
and more. Most of the time, they’re
presented before an audience.
Tertiary Colors
If you mix a primary color with its
adjacentTanya
secondary color, you get a
tertiary color. These colors fill in the
gaps and finish the color wheel.
Tertiary colors are red-orange, red-
violet, yellow-orange, yellow-green,
blue-green, and blue-violet.
COLOR SCHEMES
Choosing and applying a color
scheme (or a selection of related
colors) in your painting can help
you achieve unity, harmony, or
dynamic contrasts. This page
showcases a variety of common
color combinations. Explore these
different schemes to familiarize
yourself with the nature of color
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relationships and to practice
mixing colors.

Color

Schemes

Complementary Color Scheme


Triadic Color Scheme
Tetradic Color Scheme
Analogous Color Scheme
Split-Complementary Color Scheme
COMPLEMENTARY COLOR
SCHEME
Complementary colors are opposite
each other on the color wheel. Red
and green (shown above), orange
and blue, and yellow and purple are
examples of complementary colors.
When placed adjacent to each other
in a painting, complements make
each other appear brighter. When
mixed, they have the opposite
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effect, neutralizing (or greying)
each other.
TRIADIC COLOR
SCHEME
Triadic color scheme consists of
three colors that form an equilateral
triangle on the color wheel. An
example of this would be blue-violet,
red-orange, and yellow-green. Many
artists enjoy using this scheme
because, unlike the previous two,
there is ample color contrast and a
natural color balance. One color
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serves as the dominant color, while
the other two act as subordinate
hues.
TETRADIC COLOR
SCHEME
Tetradic color scheme consists of
three color Four colors that form a
square or a rectangle on the color
wheel create a tetradic color
scheme. This color scheme includes
two pairs of complementary colors,
such as orange and blue and yellow-
orange and blue-violet (shown
above). This
Tanyais also known as
a“double-complementary” color
scheme.
ANALOGOUS COLOR
SCHEME
Analogous colors are adjacent (or
close) to each other on the color
wheel. Analogous color schemes are
good for creating unity within a
painting because the colors are
already related. You can do a tight
analogous scheme or a loose
analogous scheme. Examples of
tight analogous color schemes
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would be red, red-orange, and
orange; or blue-violet, blue, and
blue-green. A loose analogous
scheme would be blue, violet, and
red.
SPLIT-COMPLEMENTARY
COLOR SCHEME
The split complementary scheme
uses a color and the two colors
adjacent to its complement
(for example, red, yellow-green, and
blue-geen). This scheme still
features good color contrast, but it
conveys less tension than the
complementary scheme. This
scheme includes a main color and a
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color on each side of its
complementary color. An example
of this (shown at left) would be red,
yellow-green, and blue-green.
SOME OTHER COLOR
SCHEMES

Other Color

Schemes

Achromatic Color Scheme


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Monochromatic Color Scheme

Analogous-Complementary
Color Scheme

Neutral Color Scheme


ACHROMATIC COLOR
SCHEME
The achromatic color scheme uses
only black and white color
throughout, along with variations
of its shades, tints, and tones. While
it’s not known to be the most
exciting color scheme, a achromatic
palette is elegant, easy on the eyes,
and soothing. This is the easiest
color scheme to create; just use of
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black and white paints.
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR
SCHEME
The monochromatic color scheme
uses a single color throughout,
along with variations of the color’s
shades, tints, and tones. While it’s
not known to be the most exciting
color scheme, a monochromatic
palette is elegant, easy on the eyes,
and soothing. This is the easiest
color scheme to create; just use a
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chosen color, black, and white
paints.
ANALOGOUS-COMPLEMENTARY
COLOR SCHEME
This scheme combines the
analogous and complementary
schemes, incorporating three side-
by-side hues plus the complement
of the center color (for example,
red, blue-green, green, and yellow-
green).

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NEUTRAL COLOR
SCHEME
As the opposite of the saturated
scheme, the neutral scheme uses
colors that have been greyed down.
This diffused palette is perfect for
foggy landscapes, white-on-white
subjects, and scenes with a soft,
mellow mood.

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COLOR PROPERTIES
Hue, saturation (or intensity), and
value are the three characteristics
that help us describe and categorize
a color. For instance, if we say an
object is red, we can more
specifically describe the color by
answering the following questions:
Is it an orangey red or a crimson
red? Is it brilliant or muted? Is it
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light or dark? With this
understanding, you can identify and
describe any color.

Satura
tion

WHAT YOU
Hu NEED TO KNOW
e
Presentations are communication tools that
can be used as lectures, speeches, reports,
and more. Most of the time, e
they’re
u
a l
V
presented before an audience.
HUE
The term “hue,” which is often used
interchangeably with the word
“color,” refers to the family to
which a particular color belongs.
Rose, burgundy, magenta, and
candy apple are all in the red hue
family. Chartreuse, leaf green, and
sea-foam are all in the green hue
family, and so on. In essence, when
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one uses the word “color,” one is
referring to its hue. Below are five
swatches of blue that show
different hues within the same
color family.
SATURATION
A color’s saturation, also called its
“intensity” or “chroma,” refers to
its level of brilliance or dullness. A
highly saturated color is very
vibrant. Many beginners who strive
to create brilliant, colourful
paintings work with a palette of
only—or mostly—highly saturated
colors. This can defeat their
purpose,Tanya
however, because when
too many brilliant colors are placed
together in the same painting, each
color competes for the viewer’s
attention. An effective way to use
saturated color is in conjunction
with unsaturated color (or
neutrals), so that some parts of the
painting demand the attention
while others fade back and play
supportive roles.
VALUE
Within each hue, you can achieve a
range of values—from dark shades
to light tints. However, each hue
has a value relative to others on the
color wheel. For example, yellow is
the lightest color and violet is the
darkest. To see this clearly, scan a
color wheel and use computer-
editing software to view it in
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grayscale. It is also very helpful to
create a grayscale chart of all the
paints in your palette so you know
how their values relate to one
another.
COLOR
TEMPERATURE
Color temperature refers to the
feeling one gets when viewing a
color or set of colors. Generally,
yellows, oranges, and reds are
considered warm, whereas greens,
blues, and purples are considered
cool. When used within a work of
art, warm colors seem to advance
toward the viewer, and cool colors
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appear to recede into the distance.
This dynamic is important to
remember when suggesting depth
or creating an area of focus.

Divide the color wheel in half by


drawing a
line from a point between red and
red-violet to a point between
yellow-green and green. This makes
a visual distinction between the
warm and cool colors.
WARM AND COOL
COLORS
Within individual colors exist
warm and cool varieties. If a color
leans toward red on the color
wheel, it is considered warmer
than a version of the color that
leans blue. While colors are
generally classified as warm or
cool, they can also be relatively
warm or cool within their hue.
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By virtue of the relative warmness
or coolness of a color, artists can
manipulate space and influence
how the viewer perceives a color.
This leads us to the importance of
color relationships. The way we
perceive a color’s characteristics is
relative to its surroundings. By
using contrasts in temperature,
value, and chroma, we can make
colors appear warmer or cooler,
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lighter or darker, and brighter or
duller simply by the colors we place
next to them.
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The End

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