The Color Wheel
•Primary
•Secondary
•Tertiary
PrimaryColors
•Yellow
•Red
•Blue
SecondaryColors
Orange
Violet
Green
Tertiary Colors
•Yellow-Orange
•Red-Orange
•Red-Purple
•Blue-Purple
•Blue-Green
•Yellow-Green
Chroma - Saturation/Intensity - Value
Shade Tint
Complementary Colors
•The colors that are positioned opposite one another are complementary colors.
Violet/Yellow
Red/Green
Red-Orange /
Blue-Green
Yellow-Green /
Red-Violet
Yellow-Orange / Blue-Violet
Orange / Blue
When mixed, complementary colors annihilate eachother when mixed to create dark neutrals:
LIGHT & SHADOW ZONES
LIGHT ZONE
LIGHT = Intensity (tint)
BRIGHT = Saturation
(Pure chroma)
WARM = Temperature
Warm Colors: Red,Yellow, and Orange
SHADOW ZONE
DARK = Intensity (shade)
DULL = Saturation
(Add Compliment)
COOL =Temperature
Cool Colors: Blue, Violet,and Green
Warm Colors
•Active colors willappear to advancewhen placed againstpassive hues.
•Most often warm,saturated, light valuehues are "active" andvisually advance.
Deux fillettes, fond jaune et rouge (TwoGirls in a Yellow and Red Interior), HenriMatisse
Fighting Forms, Franz Marc
Cool Colors
•Cool, low saturated,dark value hues are"passive" and visuallyrecede.
•Passive colors appearto recede whenpositioned againstactive hues.
Old Guitarist, Pablo Picasso
Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh
Color Context
•Red appears more brilliant against a black background andsomewhat duller against the white background. In contrast withorange, the red appears lifeless; in contrast with blue-green, itexhibits brilliance. Notice that the red square appears larger onblack than on other background colors.
Red-Purple RectangleBlue-Purple Rectangle
Different Readings of the Same Color
You will saw that the small purple rectangle onthe left appeared to have a red-purple tingewhen compared to the small purple rectangleon the right.
They are both the same color as seen in theillustration below. This demonstrates how threecolors can be perceived as four colors.
