Color Theory

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Additive colors

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The process of mixing colors of light together.
Color seen as the result of light only. Differs from that of pigment.
A display screen starts out black; light is added to the screen in differing amounts to create color. The more light from the red, green, and blue phosphors that is added, the brighter and lighter the screen becomes. Therefore, when you have 0% intensity of red, green, and blue the screen is black and when you have 100% intensity of the red, green, and blue phosphors, the screen is white.

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Additive primaries

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Red, Blue, Green. Wavelengths of light that must be present to yield white light and to render all colors of objects..

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Additive secondaries

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cyan (blue and green), yellow (red and green, and magenta (red and blue).

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Afterimage

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A complementary color image generated by the eye in response to over stimulation (or fatigue) of part of the retina by a single color

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Analogous colors

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Hues adjacent (or nearly adjacent) on the color wheel.

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Advancing colors

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Colors that appear to be relatively nearer or closer to the observer. In general. Warmer, higher chroma and lighter value colors tend to advance.

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Bezold effect named after Wilhelm Bezold:

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who in 1901 who discovered the effect when creating rug patterns. The introduction of black or white can change the apparent saturation of a hue.

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Chroma/ saturation/intensity

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Term used to describe the relative purity or strength of a hue. Synonymous with the terms intensity and saturation. One of the three principal attributes used to describe a given color. High chroma is strong and pure color; low chroma is muted or diluted color. The purity of a hue. All pure hues are fully saturated

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Chromatic

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Possessing hue or color

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Color is defined by its hue, value and saturation

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A perceptual sensation created in the mind in response to certain wavelengths of electromagnetic energy that comprise the visible spectrum of light. Human perception of and response to those wavelengths is conditioned by many factors including physiology, psychology, culture and language

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Color is defined by its hue, value and saturation

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A perceptual sensation created in the mind in response to certain wavelengths of electromagnetic energy that comprise the visible spectrum of light. Human perception of and response to those wavelengths is conditioned by many factors including physiology, psychology, culture and language

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Color halftone

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is the Reprographic technique that simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size or in spacing.

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Color model

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A color model is a way to describe all visible colors with a simple to understand and use system

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Color wheel

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A circular two-dimensional model showing color relationships, originating from Isaac Newton’s “bending” of the linear array of the spectral hues into a circle. Twelve (The full range of visible hues: Red. Orange. Yellow. Green, Blue, and Violet; expandable to include any and all hues in between them.

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Complementary colors

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colors Colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. Combined additively they complete each other; placed adjacently, they heighten or intensify each other.

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Continuous tone

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describes gradual changes of tones of color or shades of gray in printing in particular referring to photographs.

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Complementary colors

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Colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. Combined additively they complete each other; placed adjacently, they heighten or intensify each other.

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Continuous tone

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describes gradual changes of tones of color or shades of gray in printing in particular referring to photographs.

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Dpi or dots per inch

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regular paper dpi:___
newspaper dpi:___

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Ground:

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The area surrounding the”figure” in a composition. The context or backdrop against which a color is seen.

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Harmony

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arrangement of hues

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Analgous colors

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Hues adjacent to each other on the color wheel.

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Complementary hues

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Hues directly across from each other on the color wheel.
Triadic hues Any three hues that are equidistant from each other on the color wheel

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Triadic hues

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Any three hues that are equidistant from each other on the color wheel
Tetrad or split complement: two pairs of complements joined by a square or rectangle.

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Hue

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The identification or name of a color.
The most basic color attribute, e.g. its redness, blueness, etc. The name of a color.

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Inherent value

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(When you squint borders between the grey and the hue will disappear.)

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Josef Ittens seven color contrasts

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The seven visual effects described by Johannes Itten: Hue, Value, Chroma, Warm-Cool, Complementary, Simultaneous and Extension.

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Key Plate

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In traditional preparation of color separations, the key plate contains the detail in the art. This is normally the black printing plate. Because the black printing plate was often the key plate, the K in CMYK represents the key plate or black.

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Medium

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material(s) and/or technology(ies) with which an (art or other) object is made.

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Metamerism

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The phenomenon that occurs when two colors which appear to match under one set of light conditions do not match under another set of light conditions

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Monochromatic

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Containing only one hue

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Moire pattern

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halftone screens are positioned at the wrong angles and then printed, the rosette pattern will not be correct and a moiré pattern appears, which results in an image that no longer has a smooth gradation of color. An example of a moiré pattern is shown below.

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Munsell matching system

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(TEN principle hues from 0-10 R, YR, Y, GY, G, BG, B, PB, P, RP ) •Value( O is Black on bottom of central axis- 10 white is at the top) •Chroma (Saturation can get as intense as 30 (neon) 0 is at core –lowest intensity goes outwards towards higher intensity)

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Optical Color Mixing

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Color perception that results from the combination of adjacent color areas by the eye/brain. Pointillism is an example. Also called Retinal Mixing or Partitive Color

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Non spectral color

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or extra-spectral color, meaning it cannot be generated by a single wavelength of light.
The names “yellow” and “orange”are used only for colors of those hues with high brightness. Darker colors of the same hue and saturation are called“olive”and“brown”.

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Palette

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A group of colors used by an artist or designer or in a specific design, work of art or body of work.

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Primary color

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Those hues from which all the others can be produced and that be obtained by mixing.

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Primary color... in additive/ in subractive mixing

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Primary color....
In additive (light): Red, Green, Blue;
In subtractive mixing (pigments, etc): Blue, Yellow, Red.

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Artists or painters primaries

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Artists continue to incorrectly define primary colors as red, yellow and blue according to the color wheel despite the fact that such technologies as offset printing and photography, each almost a century old, are based on a three-dimensional system of color using the true primaries cyan, magenta and yellow.

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Process color

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In printing and other graphic arts media, yellow (Y), cyan (C), (blue-green)
Magenta (M) (red-violet), colorants that when mixed or laid over one another result in nearly all possible colors on the printed page. Used with the addition of Black (K) in four-color printing.

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Secondary color Colors formed by combining two primary colors

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In subtractive mixtures: orange (red and yellow), green (blue and yellow). And violet (red and blue); •In additive mixtures: cyan (blue and green), yellow (red and green, and magenta (red and blue).

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Shade

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A pure color mixed with black.