COLOR/COLOUR

What is colour?• It is one of the basic elements of visual languages (together with dots, lines, shapes, texture and light)

• DEFINITION: Colour is a quality of matter• that depends on the elements of which it is• made of, and the light that illuminates it.

The same tomatoes illuminated by different kinds of light show different colours

HOW DO WE PERCEIVE COLOURS?In the perception of colours several factors are involved:

The light (quality and quantity)The surface of the objectsThe sense of sight

How can we classify colours?We can classify colours according to if we can get them from mixing another colours:

PRIMARY COLOURS: They are the ones which CAN NOT be obtained by mixing other colours. They are only three:

MAGENTA

CIAN

YELLOW

By mixing this three primary colours plus black and white we can get ANY COLOUR we want.

We can see this is true looking with a magnifying glass any picture of a magazine

SECONDARY COLOURS

We can get them by mixing to equal parts of two primary colours:

MAGENTA + CIAN =

MAGENTA + YELLOW =

CIAN + YELLOW =

PURPLE

RED

GREEN

How can we order the colours?COLOUR WHEEL

How do we create the colour wheel?

YELLOW1

MAGENTA1

CIAN BLUE1

First we have the three primay colours

How do we create the colour wheel?

YELLOW1

MAGENTA1

CIAN BLUE1

Secondly we have to add the secondary colours in the middle of the space between two primary colours

RED2

PURPLE2

GREEN2

How do we create the colour wheel?

YELLOW1

MAGENTA1

CIAN BLUE1

Then by mixing one secondary colour with the primary which is beside it we obtain thr terciary colours!!

RED2

GREEN2

3

3 3

33

BLUE PURPLE2

Mixing any colour of the colourwheel with black or white we can get an infinite number of colours

We can get also infinite colours by mixing colours which are not together in the colour-wheel

COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS• They are pair of colours that when they • are together they look brighter

Where the central blue look brighter?

Where the pink look brighter?

Where the central blue look brighter?

Where the central blue look brighter?

Where the central blue look brighter?

COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS• How can we find the complementary colour of any

colour?We have to look for it just at the opposite side of the colour wheel!

Warm and cool coloursThe color wheel can be divided into warm and cool colors.Warm colors are vivid and energetic, and tend to advance in space.Cool colors give an impression of calm, and create a soothing impression.White, black and gray are considered to be neutral.

• That is because this is the way we usually see them in nature...

http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-theory-intro.htm#complementary