Color

This part of the course will investigate color: how you see it, how to mix it and a little about how to use it..

COLOR

Color is the perceptual characteristic of light described by a color name. Color is - What the eye sees when light is reflected off an object. Specifically, color is light, and light is composed of many colorsthose we see are the colors of the visual spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Objects absorb certain wavelengths and reflect others back to the viewer. We perceive these wavelengths as color.

COLOR

Color is all around us, and its probably for that reason that most people dont think much about it. Fortunately for us, techniques for using color have been broken down almost into a science. Hundreds of years and generations of artists and designers have explored color and how it can be used to achieve a specific desired result. There are literally dozens of books about color and how to use it, and there are many ways to apply color technique.

The Eye

Who would believe that so small a space could contain all the images of the universe. Leonardo da Vinci (referring to the eye.) Although we see color in our brain, it is the eye that has the receptors that tell our brain what we are looking at. There are two sets of receptors in the retina in the back of the eye: rods and cones. Rods and cones vary in sensitivity to different colors and light, and they convey the color of light to our brain. There are about 125 million rods (named for their shape). They are very sensitive to light but are mostly color blind. The color detectors in the eye are the cones. There are about 7 million of these in three forms concentrated in the center of vision. Individual cones can only sense one of three narrowly defined frequencies of light: red, green and blue. The response from these three "primary" colors is sorted in our brain to give us the perception of color. One or more of these color receptors malfunctions in a color blind person.

Color wheel: In color theory, we often talk about the color wheel. A color wheel is really just the spectrum twisted around so that the violet and red ends are joined. The color wheel is particularly useful for showing how the colors relate to each other and how you can create new colors by mixing two or more colors.

Primary Colors: 3 color Colors at their basic essence; those colors that cannot be created by mixing others. - Red - Yellow - Blue Secondary Colors: 3 color Those colors achieved by a mixture of two primaries - Orange - Green - Violet/Purple Tertiary Colors: 6 color Those colors achieved by a mixture of primary and secondary hues. - Red-Orange - Yellow-Orange - Yellow-Green - Blue-Green - Blue-Violet - Red-Violet

Three Dimensions Of Color

Hue Value Intensity (The Degree of purity or saturation)

Hue

The traditional color name of a specific wavelength of light is a hue. Another description is: spectral color. All of the colors of the spectrum are hues. The color that we see of a hue is mostly dependent on the dominant wavelength that is emitted or reflected from an object. In other words, hue is a perceptible color that corresponds to a unique, dominant wavelength of light The color wheel (right) diagrams the relationship between hues (around the outside) and saturation (center to outside).

Achromatic hue : coolers those are absent in the color wheel.

Ex: black,white,gray.

Value

Value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color. It is an important tool for the designer/artist, in the way that it defines form and creates spatial illusions. Inherent Value: The hues have a natural value where they look the purest. For example: Yellow is an inherently lighter color than Blue. Blue is and inherently darker color than Green.

Intensity

Intensity is the brightness or dullness of a color. Saturation is concerned with the intensity, Saturation is a measure of a color's pureness and brilliance (strength). This is determined by the quantity of the dominant hue. A saturated color is high in intensity - it is bright. A color that is dull is unsaturated or low in intensity. One may lower the intensity by adding white or black. The triangle diagrams the relationship between value (vertically) and saturation (horizontally).



The first parrot on the left is at 100% saturation, all colors are brilliant. The middle parrot has a saturation of 50%; the colors are very dull. The third parrot has no saturation, creating a black and white image.

Tints and Shades

When white is added to a color, the color is diluted and produces a tint (also referred to as pastels). A shade is created when a color is mixed with black. The addition of both white and black creates a tone. Brilliance and luminosity are terms used to describe the amount of black mixed with the color to create the shade. Zero brilliance or zero luminosity is black. Whenever a color is diluted by mixing white or black into it, the color loses saturation. The color pink is created by mixing red with white. Technically the color pink can be described as a tint of red or low-saturation red. The effect of tints and shades upon the observer varies based on how they are used, but both are visually weaker and have less energy than does pure color. Traditionally, products targeted to women include more tints, while products for men are often more saturated. Whether this is the development of social conditioning or is based on physical gender is difficult to tell, but it does appear to work when targeting a gender-based audience.

Tints - adding white to a pure hue:

Shades - adding black to a pure hue:

Tones - adding gray to a pure hue:

Color Temperature

The color wheel can be divided into ranges that are visually active or passive. Active colors will appear to advance when placed against passive hues. Passive colors appear to recede when positioned against active hues. Advancing hues are most often thought to have less visual weight than the receding hues. Most often warm, saturated, light value hues are "active" and visually advance. Cool, low saturated, dark value hues are "passive" and visually recede. Tints or hues with a low saturation appear lighter than shades or highly saturated colors. Some colors remain visually neutral or indifferent.

Color Temperature

The color wheel is useful in that it shows the relationship between warm and cool colors. This is called color temperature and relates to the sense of temperature each color imparts. The colors on the red side of the wheel are said to be warm because they are associated with warm phenomena. The green side implies cool phenomena. These color temperature designations are absolute. More subtle color temperature relationships are relative. One red can be warmer or cooler than another for instance. Color temperatures effect us both psychologically and perceptually. They help determine how objects appear positioned in space. Warm colors are said to advance -- they appear closer to the observer. Cool colors are said to recede -- they appear farther from the observer. WARM COOL

Warm Colors: Colors such as red, yellow, and orange. These colors evoke warmth because they remind us of things like the sun or fire. Cool Colors: Colors like blue, green, and purple (violet). These colors evoke a cool feeling because they remind us of things like water or grass. Neutral Colors: Gray, Brown. These aren't on most color wheels, but they're considered neutral because they don't contrast with much of anything. They're dull and uneventful.