1. COLOR THEORY An introduction to the color
wheel and working with color.

2. What is Color?
Color is what we see when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye
Learning color mixing and relationships will allow you to utilize color in your work effectively
Color can be used to create specific visual effects or to assign a mood to a piece
Color has three properties: Hue, Intensity, and Value
Hue – simply the name we assign to a color, i.e. Red, Blue, etc.
Intensity – How bright or dull a color is, sometimes referred to as saturation
Value – The lightness or darkness of a color

3. Primary Colors The primary colors are Red, Yellow, and Blue.
These colors can be mixed to make any other color (along with white and black) but can’t be mixed themselves (they are natural)
Primary colors are the origin of all of the colors on the color wheel

4. Secondary Colors The secondary colors are Green, Orange and Violet.
These colors are made by mixing one primary color with another

5. Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are made by mixing one primary color with one secondary color
Red + Orange = Red-Orange
Red + Violet = Red-Violet
Yellow + Green = Yellow-Green
Yellow + Orange = Yellow-Orange
Blue + Green = Blue-Green
Blue + Violet = Blue-Violet

6. Warm Colors & Cool Colors
Warm colors are reds, oranges, and yellows. These colors suggest heat, love, anger, violence, etc.
Cool colors are blues, greens and violets. These colors suggest sadness, night, the ocean, winter, etc.

7. Georgia O'Keeffe
Warm Color Scheme
Cool Color Scheme

8. Complementary Colors
Complementary colors are high contrast colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel.
Complementary colors appear stronger and more vivid when placed next to each other in a work of art.
Complementary colors can be mixed to create neutral tones.

9. Vincent van Gogh uses a complementary color scheme in this painting titled La Berceuse (1889; Oil on canvas).

10. Color Schemes Color Scheme defintion
a group of colors that work together visually
Artists choose color schemes for their work to:
heighten the emotional content of the work
achieve a specific desired visual effect
Create visual unity within their piece

11. Monochromatic Color Scheme
Monochromatic – a color scheme with multiple values of a single color
Monochromatic color schemes are often used in place of black and white work or to establish a mood.
Tint = color + white (to make the color lighter)
Shade = color + black (to make the color darker)

12. Analogous Color Scheme
Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel. They are naturally harmonious but lack contrast.

13. Triadic Color Scheme
A triadic color scheme uses colors at the points of an equilateral triangle (three colors spaced equally on the color wheel).
Sometimes referred to as a balanced color scheme
i.e. yellow-green, red-orange, and blue-violet

14. Color Wheel Mandalas