Using Color CMPS 233

The Color Wheel Primary colors are the only colors you cannot create: yellow, red, and blue Mixing adjacent colors in a color wheel create secondary colors. Ex: – yellow + blue = green – blue + red = purple – red + yellow = orange

The Color Wheel Tertiary (third) colors are the mixing of colors to fill in the empty spots in the color wheel. They are created by mixing primary and secondary colors. Example: red + yellow = yellow-orange

Color Relationships Color wheel has the basic twelve colors based on RYB (Red, Yellow, Blue) CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), black is the combination of all colors and white is an absence of all colors

Complementary Colors directly across from each other, exact opposites, are complements.

Triads A set of three colors equidistant (halfway) from each other always creates a triad of pleasing colors. Example: red, yellow, blue (primary triad) Secondary Triad (green, orange and purple)

Split Complement Triads Choose a color from one side of the wheel, find its complement directly across the wheel, but use the colors on each side of the complement instead of the complement itself. Example: – yellow, violet, purple – green, red-orange, violet

Analogous Colors Composed of those colors that are next to each other on the wheel They share a undertone of the same color A harmonious combination Example: – Aqua, green, lime-green – Yellow-orange,, orange red-orange

Shades and Tints The pure color is the hue Add black to a hue to create a shade Add white to a hue to crate a tint The are located in the middle circle of the wheel

Monochromatic colors Composed of one hue with any number of its corresponding tints and shades. Monochromatic colors are all the colors (tints, tones and shades) of a single hue. (This background is considered a monochromatic color with shades of the color orange.) Black and white photographs are examples

Shades and Tints & Tones Shades and Tints can be used instead of using hues. – Example: The primary colors red, blue and yellow are popular for children’s products. If you add shades of these complementary colors to the mix, then these colors can be used for other purposes (page 101) Tone refers to the particular quality of brightness, deepness, or hue of any color Important to use contrast colors so that the project does not look muddy. (Page 102)

Warm & Cool Colors The color circle can be divided into warm and cool colors. Warm colors are vivid and energetic, and tend to advance in space. They tend to “shout” the message. Cool colors give an impression of calm, and create a soothing impression. They tend to “whisper” the message. White, black and gray are considered to be neutral.

Cool Colors Contain blue Cool colors recede into the background Since cool colors recede, sometimes you have to use more of a cool color to make an impact or to contrast effectively.

Warm Colors Contain red and yellow Warm colors come to the foreground Takes very little “hot” color to make an impact (reds and yellows jump right into your eyes), so use less hot color if combined with cool colors

How to begin to choose? Is your project seasonal? – Hot reds and yellows for summer – Cool blues for winter – Shades of oranges and browns for autumn – Bright greens for spring

How to begin to choose? Are there official company colors to work with? Are you working with a logo that has specific colors in it? Does it include a photograph or other image? – Choose colors that are already within the artwork, logo, photo, etc. – Example: Use a color in the artwork for the font color

How to begin to choose? If beginning a new project that’s composed of a number of different pieces, or that recur often (i.e., every year), try choosing a color palette before you being. It will make a lot of decisions easier for you along the way.

CMYK vs. RGB; print vs. web CMYK Model Cyan (blue) Magenta (red/pink) Yellow Black (key color) Called a four-color process CMYK is the color model used for projects that will be printed (ex: blue+yellow = green) Book, magazines, poster, boxes, etc. are printed with CMYK RGB Model Red Green Blue RGB is what you see on your computer monitor, television, Iphone, etc. Composed of beams of colored light that are not reflected off any physical object—it goes straight from the monitor into your eyes. (Spectrum of visible light hits objects and objects absorb or subtract most of the spectrum— what they don’t absorb reflects back to our eyes as color).

CMYK vs. RGB; print vs. web CMYK Model For print only Less vibrant color RGB Model Viewed on a screen Makes smaller file sizes Some techniques work only or better and faster in Photoshop Work on images in RGB first, then switch to CMYK as the last thing you do, but remember you will loose some of that brilliance and range of color once that is done.