Color Review Notes:

The Color Wheel

There are 12 colors on the basic color wheel.

Primary colors
Are pure colorsthat cannot be made from any other colors.
You can make all other colors by mixing together combinations of primary colors .
Example: The primary colors are: Red, Yellow & Blue.

Secondary colors
Are colors created by mixing two primary colors.
Example: The secondary colors are Orange, Green & Violet.
Yellow + Red = Orange
Yellow + Blue = Green
Red + Blue = Violet

Intermediate colors
Are colors created by mixing a primary and a secondary color.
Memory Cue: Intermediate colors have two colors in their name, the primary and secondary color you mix
to create the intermediate color. The primary color is always used first. The intermediate colors are:
Yellow-orange, Red-orange, Red-violet, Blue-violet, Blue-Green & Yellow-green.
Colors have three characteristics:
o Hue: the name of the color.
o Value: the lightness or darkness of a color.
A color made lighter by adding white is called a Tint.
A color made darker by adding black is called a Shade.
o Intensity: brightness or dullness of a color. There are four ways to make a color dull:
1. Tint the color by adding white. Adding white makes the color lighter, and also decreases its
intensity or brightness.
2. Shade the color by adding black. Adding black makes the value darker and also decreases its
intensity.
3. A color made duller by adding grey is called a Tone.
4. Another way to tone down, dull, or neutralize a color is to add its opposite, or complementary
color.

o Black, White, and Grey are Values (sometimes called Neutrals). They are not colors and are not
included on the color wheel. Value is the lightness or darkness of an area or an object .

A Tint is a lighter value of a color made by adding white.

A Shade is a darker value of a color made by adding black.

A Tone is a color with grey added to it.

2. A Tone can also be created by mixing two complements, or opposite colors.

Color Schemes are groups of colors that are related to each other. Understanding how various color
schemes affect most people can help you make decisions about which colors to use in your paintings.

A Monochromatic color scheme is 1 color plus its tints, shades, or tones. Example: Sky Blue, Blue &
Navy Blue. Or Pink, Red & Burgundy.
Monochromatic colors can be used to
make a composition appear calm or
organized and also can be used to
create value.

A Triadic color scheme is 3 colors equally spaced apart on the color wheel. Example: Red, Yellow, & Blue.
Or Blue-violet, Red-orange, & Yellow-green.
Triadic colors have a lot of contrast and
create a sense of action/youth/energy.
 An Analogous color scheme is 3 or 4 colors located next to one another on the color wheel. Example:
Green, Blue-green, & Blue. Or Yellow-orange, Orange & Red-orange.
Analogous colors (similar to
monochromatic) are low contrast, and
can be used to create value, have a
strong sense of unity, and can be used
in cool and warm color groups.

A Complementary scheme is 2 colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. Example: Yellow &
Violet. Or Red-orange & Blue-green.
Complementary colors used next to each other are the
highest contrast color group and draw attention to each
other.
Mixed together, the colors neutralize, or dull each other.

A Split-complementary scheme is 1 color plus the 2 colors on each side of the first colors complement.
Example: Red, Yellow-green, & Blue-green. Or Red-violet, Yellow, & Green.
Not as high-contrast as the
complementary colors, a split
complementary group will still draw
attention with its contrast, but in a
slightly less dramatic fashion.

3. A Warm color scheme includes 3 or more colors from the yellow side of the color wheel to violet including:
yellow, yellow-orange, orange, red-orange, red and red-violet.

4. A Cool color scheme includes 3 or more colors from the yellow-green side of the color wheel to violet
including: yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue, blue-violet, and violet.

Color and The Illusion of Depth:

o Atmospheric Perspective is how the appearance of color and value change with distance.
o Color:
Color is brighter in the foreground (near) and duller in the background (far).
o Value:
Value is high contrast (values 0-10) in the foreground (near) and low contrast (values 4-8) in the
background (far).