Tutorial 78 - Color Definitions
Added 2016-03-19 07:37:01 +0000 UTCColor definitions can get really messy, and on top of a tough subject, this makes applying color more difficult for the student.
For now, let's make some distinctions and define what we mean when we talk about these particular aspects of color. Later on, we will talk about how to apply our understandings.
There are many ways to talk about color. I've given an example here based on the Munsell color system, which describes color in three dimensions: hue, chroma and value.
We'll explore these definitions (and others) in much more detail in later tutorials but for now here are a few basics.
The following words are used interchangeably by most artists and teachers, though they aren't strictly the same.
Hue - is commonly interchangeable with the word 'color'.
Chroma - is commonly interchangeable with the word 'saturation'.
Value - is commonly interchangeable with the word 'brightness'.
Color temperature.
Warm colors are colors that lean towards the red end of the spectrum. Cool colors lean towards blue.
We can apply a fairly neutral yellow, for example, but add a little red to make it appear warmer. If instead we add a little blue it will appear cooler.
Color temperature helps with mood, more on that later.
Tints and Shades.
Start with a pure (full chroma) color. By adding varying amounts of white we produce a range of tints that are higher in value.
Adding black will give us a range of shades that are lower in value.
Tones.
When we have a color and add any shade of grey in varying amounts we produce a range of tones.
