Basic Color Theory

1. COLOR THEORY 101

2. COLOR THEORY 101

3. Light: the Visible Spectrum

4. The Color Wheel
The color wheel is a way to visualize and organize the
entire color spectrum of light. The ends of the spectrum
are bent around a circle to form a color wheel

5. Types of Color Theories
Subtractive Color (CMYK)
The subtractive (pigment) theory
deals with how white light is absorbed
and reflected off of colored surfaces.
Additive Color (RBG)
The additive (light) theory deals
with radiated and filtered light.

6. Additive Theory
• White (sunlight) radiates ALL light
• Black radiates no light
• Light-emitting media use the process
of capturing and radiating light,
therefore they use Additive (Light)
Theory
• Primary colors in Additive Theory:
• Red ( R )
• Green ( G )
• Blue ( B )
• All the primaries mixed together to
make WHITE
• Additive (Light) Theory is used in
computer monitors, television,
theater lighting, and video
production.

7. Subtractive Theory
• Black absorbs most light
• White reflects most light
• Colored Pigments absorb light and
reflect only the frequency of the
pigment color.
• All colors other than the pigment
colors are absorbed, so this is called
subtractive color theory.
• Primary colors in Subtractive Theory:
– Cyan ( C )
– Magenta ( M )
– Yellow ( Y )
– Black ( K )
• Subtractive or Pigment Theory is
used in desktop and commercial
printing.

8. Subtractive Color: RYB Color Model
• Traditional “Painter’s
Color Wheel”
• Primary Colors (RYB)
are pure pigments
that cannot be mixed:
o Red
o Yellow
o Blue
• RYB is used primarily
with traditional
pigment-based art
media (like painting)

9. The Color Wheel
Colors on the wheel can
be described using three
elements:
1. Hue: pure color
2. Saturation:
brightness or dullness
3. Value: lightness or
darkness

10. Color Theory 101
• The technical name for color
• Describes the position of a color on a classic color wheel
• Used to name the color (Yellow, Orange, Red, etc.)
Hue

11. Color Theory 101
• Saturation refers to how vivid and intense a color is
Saturation

12. Tone = Shade + Tint

13. Color Theory 101
• Painter’s Color Wheel
Secondary Colors
Primary Colors

14. Color Theory 101
Warm / Cool Colors
• Color Temperature

15. Color Schemes: Warm
• Warm Colors: Right half
of the color wheel contains
colors associated with fire,
heat
Artist: Jan Vermeer
Title: Girl Asleep at a Table
Year: 1657

16. Paul Cezanne
The Basket of Apples, 1894
Color Schemes: Warm

17. Henri Matisse
The Dessert, Harmony in Red, 1908
Color Schemes: Warm

18. Color Schemes: Cool
Cool: Left half of the wheel
has cooler colors
associated with ice, water
Artist: Pablo Picasso
Title: Femme Allongée Lisant
Year: 1939

19. Pablo Picasso
The Old Guitarist, 1903

20. Monochromatic uses different values of the same hue,
including tints and shades
Color Theory 101
Color Schemes: Monochromatic

21. Color Schemes: Monochromatic
• Monochromatic uses
different values of the same
hue, including tints and
shades
Artist: Georges Braque
Title: Le Portugais
Year: 1911

22. Color Schemes: Monochromatic
Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937

23. Color Schemes: Monochromatic
• Monochromatic color
palettes in interior design

24. Color Schemes: Monochromatic

25. Color Theory 101
• Color Schemes: Analagous
• Analogous: A selection of
colors that are adjacent on
the color wheel

26. Color Schemes: Analogous
• Analogous: A selection of
colors that are adjacent on
the color wheel
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Title: The Iris
Year: 1889

27. Color Schemes: Analogous

28. Color Schemes: Analogous

29. Color Schemes: Analogous

30. Color Schemes: Analogous

31. Color Theory 101
• Color Schemes: Complementary
• Complementary: Colors
that are opposite on the
wheel. High Contrast

32. Color Schemes: Complementary
• Complementary: Colors
that are opposite on the
wheel. High Contrast
Vincent Van Gogh
The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night
1888

33. Complementary Colors in Art
Georges Seurat, Le Chahut, 1889-90

34. Eugène Delacroix, Women of Algiers, 1834
Complementary Colors in Art

35. Complementary Colors in Graphic Design

36. Complementary Colors in Fashion

37. Color Theory 101
Triadic
• Color Schemes: Triadic

38. Triadic Color Schemes in Design

39. Triadic Color Schemes in Design

40. Triadic Color Schemes in Art
Andy Warhol Piet Mondrian

41. HINT: Choosing ONE common color can help
tie random color schemes together