Color Theory

Color
Color Theory
Element of Art
7 Elements of Art
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Used in line project……..
Line
Shape
Value
• Color
* Texture
* Space
• Form
* Also used in line project
Color
• Color is an element of art that is derived from
reflected light.
• Color = light
• Color = darkness
• You see color because light waves are reflected
from objects to your eyes.
• White light is all colors.
• Darkness is absence of color
Color Spectrum
• When light passes through a wedge of
shapes glass, called a prism, the beam of
white light is bent and separated into
bands of color, called the color spectrum.
• The colors always appear in the same
order – red, orange, yellow, green, blue
and violet.
• Rainbows - light bent by water.
Why is an apple red….
• An apple is red because all of the other
colors are absorbed and red is reflected
back to your eyes. Special color detectors
in your eyes detect the color of the
reflected light waves.
Hue
• The name of a color
Let’s make a color wheel….
Primary Hue
• Pure color
• Red, yellow, blue
• Place a swatch of each on
your paper….label
• You can not make the primary hues
• Try it now…..
• Primary hues make all other colors.
• Piet Mondrian
“Tableau”
“Composition with yellow, red and blue”
Color Wheel
Secondary hues
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Made by mixing two primary hues
Green
Yellow + Blue
Orange
Yellow + Red
Violet
Red + Blue
Place a swatch of each on your paper….label
Tertiary/Intermediate Hues
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Made by mixing a primary and secondary hue
Red-orange = Red + Orange
Orange-yellow
Yellow-green
Green-blue
Blue-violet
Violet-Red
Make one now…….label
Value
• The element of art that describes the darkness
or lightness of a color.
• The amount of light a color reflects determines
its value.
• Yellow is the lightest hue because it reflects the
most light.
• Yellow is the lightest hue because it reflects the
most light.
• Violet is the darkest hue because it reflects the
least light.
Value web site…
• http://www.ficml.org/jemimap/style/color/w
heel.html
Neutral Colors
• Black, white and grey are neutral colors.
• Paint a swatch of black, white and grey….label
• White = all colors
• Object does not absorb any colors – all reflected
back.
• Black = no colors – absence of all colors.
• Object absorbs all colors – none are reflected
back.
• Grey in the middle
Neutral Painting
Tint, Tone, Shade
• Tint – light value of a hue, add white
• Make a tint
• Shade – a dark value of a hue, add black
• Make a shade
• Tone – add grey
• Make a tone
Earth tones…….
Browns……
Intensity
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The brightness or dullness of a hue.
Pure colors are most intense.
High intensity - pure
Low intensity - mixed
• Make an intense hue
• Make a dull hue
Low
High
What hue is the most intense?
Color schemes
Understanding color
Let’s make a color cube!!!!
Warm color scheme
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Red, orange and yellow.
Associated with warm things
Tend to come forward
Make a warm color scheme…
Cool color scheme
• Blue, green, violet
• Associated with cool
things
• Tend to recede
• Note – complimentary color schemes
consist of one warm and one cool color.
Complimentary
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Complimentary colors…
Colors opposite each other on the color wheel.
Red and green
Blue and orange
Yellow and Violet
Place each next to each other on your page…..
Tend to vibrate, stand out
Difficult to focus on the point where the colors touch
Can cause seizures and headaches , grab attentionelectricity.
• Mix two complimentary colors and they appear grey –
absorb/neutralize each other….try it.
Pablo Picasso
“The Death of Casagemas”
Mondrian “View from the dunes”
Monochromatic Color Scheme
• One hue, various tints, tones and shades.
• Can be boring
• Make swatches of a monochromatic color
scheme, choose one hue, make a tint,
tone and shade.
• Pablo Picasso
• “The Tragedy”
Pablo Picasso – Blue Period
Analogous Color Scheme
• Colors that sit side by side on the color
wheel and share a common hue.
• Red
• Red-orange
• Orange
• Orange-yellow
• Limit it to three hues
• Make one….
• Georgia O'Keeffe
• “Feel the awesome
• fire goddess”
Color Triads
• Composed of three colors spaced out
equally on the color wheel.
• Red, yellow and blue. (Primary colors)
• Green, orange and violet (Secondary triad)
• Make a triad swatch….
• A high intensity triad (primary) is very
difficult to work with, the hues are so
intense that viewer may feel very
uncomfortable.
• Piet Mondrian
Split Compliments
• The combination of one hue plus the hues
on either side of it’s compliment.
• Red, blue and green. (Red and green are
compliments…blue is next to green.)
• More variety than a complimentary color
scheme. Because you have three vs. two
colors to work with.
• Make a split compliment color scheme…
Pablo Picasso
“The Death of Casagemas”
Arbitrary Color Scheme
• Artists use color to
express feelings.
Make their color
choice by personal
preference. Express
meaning.
• Wassily Kandinsky
• “Synaesthetic
Experience”
Tonality
• Sometimes artists let
one color dominate
the work of art. The
painting does have
other colors present.
• Childe Hassam
• “Jellyfish”
Color Schemes
Choose one color scheme
• 1. Primary color scheme
• 2. Secondary color scheme
• 3. Tertiary color scheme
• 4. Neutral color scheme
• 5. Complimentary color scheme
• 6. Analogous color scheme
• 7. Monochromatic color scheme
• 8. Split compliment color scheme
• 9. Color triad color scheme
• 10. Warm color scheme
• 11. Cool color scheme
• 12. High intensity color scheme
• 13. Low intensity color scheme
• 14.Tonality
• 15. Arbitrary color
• 16. Earth tones
Water color project
• Choose a color scheme
• Draw a squiggly line with thick black
sharpie
• Paint
• Teach watercolor techniques
Computer color project….
• Computer design Project due next class
• Execute your abstract watercolor study on the
following computer program. You must do your
project in the opposite color scheme. For example, if
you used warm colors for your painting, then use
cool for the computer project.....then print.
• Download The program is available for free.
Download it here and execute the downloaded file
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Drawing for Children version 2.2 (1.2M)
http://www.smartdraw.com/downloads/index.htm?WT.svl=link01
http://artbiangazzo.subnet1.de/index.html
Homework
• Make a color wheel
• Take this piece of paper, make a color wheel
using water colors
• Label everything.
• Must include
• Primary, secondary and all tertiary colors.
• Use these web sites to help you….
• http://teachvu.vu.msu.edu/public/contentAnalysis
/color/color2000.htm
• http://www.suzannecooper.com/classroom/color
wheel.html
Homework…Counts as three!
• Go on line…..
• Find and print an example of each in
a art work – must label and list web
site.
• List title, artist, name of painting and
web site.
1. Primary color scheme
2. Secondary color scheme
3. Tertiary color scheme
4. Neutral color scheme
5. Complimentary color scheme
Extra Credit
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Watch Paul Klee DVD
Relates to color
Answer questions while taking the test
Three points on your average!!!