color Flashcards
Hue
Another name for color, the next color in a wheel, blue, red, green, purple
Chroma
The purity of a hue. Maximum chroma is pure, brilliant, bright and true
Primary Colors
The theoretical root of every other hue. Hues that can’t be mixed. Theoretically found in nature. can’t create by mixing together. Historically the most expensive.
Secondary
the result of blending two primary hues. Mix blue and yellow, you get green, etc. Take on the aspects of the colors that mix them when it comes to their attributes. Orange is more powerful than yellow, but softer than red.
Tertiary Colors
the result of blending a primary with a secondary hue. If you take blue and violet, you get blue violet. If you take violet and red, you get red-violet. They are equally in-between the colors that make them up. Always named of the two hues they are made of: blue-green, red-orange, blue-violent, Primary-secondary.
Neutral Colors
a hue plus its complement. aka, the color opposite on the color wheel. if you mix equal amounts of green and red. Neutral colors are the best for realistic shadows
Neutral gray
a combination of black and white with no other hue
Tint
a hue PLUS WHITE
Pink is a tint of red
light blue is a tint of blue
softens them up, reduces purity of color
tints of colors don’t equally tint
There is no white ink, so in printing, it allows paper to show through
Tone
a hue plus gray
Shade
any hue plus black
Saturation
the degree of chroma or purity of a hue
Intensity
the brightness or dullness of a hue
intensity varies based on color saturation and surroundings. Lighter hues (orange, yellow) are more intense than darker hues (blue and purple). Brighter colors advance, duller colors recede.`
Value
The lightness or darkness of a hue
black is the darkest value, white is the lightest value
Lighter colors advance, darker colors recede. Effects the balance of a piece.
If you print yellow on a black and white printer, it won’t show up
Key Color
The dominant hue in a color scheme or layout
(you’d describe your house as yellow, for ex)
Color Spaces
The range of colors that can be reproduced by a certain device (screen, printer, etc) A screen vs. a printer has a different space than our eyes
Additive (RGB)
Color as it relates to light
THE PRIMARY COLORS ARE RED, GREEN, AND BLUE. SECONDARY COLORS IN THE ADDITIVE MODEL ARE CYAN, MAGENTA AND YELLOW. ADDITIVE COLOR SYSTEMS START WITHOUT LIGHT (BLACK)
as you add light, you add color. If you mix blue and green, you get cyan, red and green make yellow, blue and red make magenta, all of them make white
Subtractive method
CMYK
color system based on mixing color pigments. The primary colors in this model are cyan, magenta, and yellow. the secondary colors are red, green, and blue. Subtractive color systems start with light white paper, for instance. cyan and magenta make blue, magenta and yellow make red, cyan and yellow make green. altogether they make black.
K. Pigments aren’t pure. If you mix them together you get a muddy brown, so they add a final color: black
“K” stands for Key: back in the day, it was a dark color called a key
Spot
a non-process color ink (CMYK + a spot)
Pantone Matching System is the most common form
For doing a color that can’t be produced (glow in the dark, flourescent), or when trying to match a very specific color`
Gamut
The greatest possible reproducible range of colors for a device or system, you’ll be warned that someting is out of gamut before printing
Temperature
perception of a color as being warm or cool
Warm colors
red orange yellow
cool colors
blue green purple
Neutral colors
black white gray and brown
Monochromatic Color Schemes
using any shades, tints, or tones of one hue
serene and harmonious
can have low contrast
can feel boring
Analogous color Schemes
any three colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, serene and harmonious, can have low contrast, choose a dominant color, and use less of the other colors
complementary color schemes
two colors that are opposite of each other on the color wheel, complementary are the boldest, highest contrasting combination, great for getting attention, use in small doses or with tints/desaturations, can become jarring or tense quickly, terrible for text
split complementary
cheat
a specific color and color on either side of its complement
strong visual contrast, like complementary scheme) but less tension
reliable go-to scheme
Triadic color schemes
any three colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel
quite vibrant
pay attention to balance, let one color dominate
Square Color Schemes
Any four colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel
Very Bold
good variety but can get busy
works best when you use a dominant color
Rectangular/Tetradic Color Schemes
4 colors arranged into two complementary pairs
good variety, but can get busy
Works best when you use a dominant color
pay attention to balance
color definition
Color is the perception of the
visual spectrum of light.
visible spectrum
The seven colors of the
rainbow: red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo, violet
(Roy G. Biv).
color wheel
A tool that depicts a
circular arrangement of
hues based on the visible
color spectrum.
