Color Theory & Symbolism

in Art & Design

ColorWhat the eye sees when light is

reflected off of an object

LIGHT – Subtractive

WHITE = ALL COLORS PRESENT

BLACK = NO COLOR PRESENT

PAINTS – Additive

WHITE = No Color

BLACK = ALL COLORS

HUE

Any colors name. Hue is the quality that differentiates colors from one another.

RED BLUE YELLOW

ORANGE GREEN VIOLET

COLOR WHEEL

Visual representation of the primary, secondary and intermediate colors.

Primary Colors

• RED

• BLUE

• YELLOW

Primary colors CANNOT by mixing any other colors – but by mixing the primary colors together in different amounts, you can make every other color.

You cannot MAKE the primary colors, but you can make everything FROM them.

Secondary Colors

• Orange

• Violet

• Green

Secondary colors are made by mixing equal parts of 2 primary colors together. They lie in-between primary colors on the color wheel.

Intermediate Colors

• Yellow-Orange

• Red-Orange

• Red-Violet

• Blue-Violet

• Blue-Green

• Yellow-Green

Intermediate colors are created by mixing secondary colors together – they go in-between secondary and primary colors on the color wheel.

VALUE• SHADES

- When a color

has BLACK

added to it

- Darker

- Low Value

• TINTS

- When a color

has WHITE

added to it

- Lighter

- High Value

CHROMA• Level of SATURATION in a color• Saturation is the INTENSITY of a color• TONE – Made by adding GRAY to a color

HIGH CHROMA

(Pure Hue – Very Intense Color)

LOW CHROMA

(Gray added, Duller Intensity)

Color SchemeA Planned Combination of Colors

Color schemes are harmonious color combinations.

Traditionally, there are 6 different kinds of color schemes:

- Monochromatic - Analagous

- Complimentary - Split-Complimentary

- Triad - Tetrad

Complimentary Colors

• Red & Green

• Blue & Orange

• Yellow & Violet

Complimentary colors lie directly ACROSS from each other on the color wheel.

Complimentary colors really do compliment each other – placing complimentary colors next to each other helps to make areas of emphasis and make things “pop.”

Monochromatic

Using ONE HUE in varying tints, tones & shades

Life, Pablo Picasso, 1903

Part of his Blue Period where he painted everything in tints, tones & shades of blue

Warm Colors POP

COOL COLORS RECEDE BACKWARDS

Yellows, Oranges, Reds Red-Violets

Greens Blues Blue-Violets

You can use all warm colors or all cool colors as a color scheme

Analagous Colors

Red through Yellow

Yellow through Blue-Green

Red through Blue-Violet

Red-Violet through Blue-Green

Any 3-5 colors that are next to each other on the color wheel

Split Complimentary Red, Blue-Green and Yellow-Green

Blue, Red-Orange and Yellow-Orange

Yellow, Red-Violet and Blue-Violet

Etc…..

TriadAny 3 colors that form a triangle on the color wheel

Ex. Primary Colors: Red, Yellow & Blue

OR

Secondary Colors: Violet, Green & Orange

TetradAny 4 colors that form a triangle on the color wheel

Ex. Red-Violet, Red-Orange, Blue-Green & Yellow-Green

Colors can also symbolize emotions or behaviors:

Red – anger, wrath, lust, passion

Green – envy

Purple – royalty, decadence

Yellow – coward

Pink – love

Blue – sadness, tranquility, peace

Good vs. Evil• Abstitence• Chastity• Temperance• Diligence• Patience• Kindness• Humility• Truthfulness• Pursuit of Knowledge• Honesty• Integrity

• Lust• Wrath• Gluttony• Greed• Sloth• Pride• Wrath• Betrayal• Decadence / Excess

You can use color as way to create EMPHASIS

OR

You can use color to convey an emotion / behavior

The Old Guitarist, Pablo Picasso, 1903

You can use color as way to create EMPHASIS

OR

You can use color to convey an emotion / behavior

Anger / Wrath

Sadness / Longing / Betrayal

Sadness

Assignment: Create a short series of photographs which have specific color choices to produce

desired results.

Example 1: using a warm, highly saturated colored object to be emphasized to the viewer.

Example 2: Create a specific mood - like blue tones or dull tones (low saturation) for sadness

Example 3: compose a photograph that has a specific olor scheme (cool colors, warm colors, complimentary colors, etc.)30 Photographs, Due Tuesday December 15th.