Color

Hue Palette Saturation Value

Color is the visual perceptual property, which derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors.

Science of color - chromatics or colorimetry - studies the perception of color by the human eye and brain, the origin of color in materials, color theory in art, and the physics of light.

  • Hue

    Color Hues

    Unique hue is the degree to which color can be described in a common language as a specific color, like  red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and the way to distinguish one color group from another. Hue fuchsia (magenta) is based not on one wavelength, but on a mix from the opposite ends of the visible color spectrum.

    Light is visible to the human eye as hues in frequencies 400 - 700 nanometers, known a wavelengths. Hues are not just a physical phenomenon but are also created by our brain, so colors we see can be combinations of the hues. Light, heat, and hue are three ways to express electromagnetic radiation.

    • Cool

      Cool colors: greens, cyans, blues.

      • Blue

        Blues:

        Indigo Navy Royal Slate Purple

      • Cyan

        Cyans:

        Turquoise Teal Aqua Sky Azure

    • Magenta

      Fuchsia Pink Plum Violet

      Magentais a purplish-red or reddish-purple color. In these group of colors I include all colors close to it on the color wheel, for instance: crimson, pink, red violet, purple, violet, etc.

      On RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color wheels, it is located in the middle between red and blue:

      • Hex #f0f or #FF00FF;
      • sRGBB  (r, g, b)=(255, 0, 255) - red, green, blue.
      • CMYKH   (c, m, y, k)=(0, 100, 0, 0) - cyan, magenta, yellow, black;
      • HSV(h, s, v)=(300°, 100%, 100%) - hue, saturation, value.

      Magenta is an extra-spectral color, not a hue associated with monochromatic visible light - it is associated with perception of spectral power distributions. Violet and red, the two components of magenta, are at opposite ends of the visible spectrum and have very different wavelengths (380 to 740 nm). Magenta has no wavelength attributed to it. Our brain constructs magenta to connect the ends of the spectrum, red and violet.

      In the CMYK color model, magenta is one of the three primary colors, along with cyan and yellow. In this model, magenta is also the complementary color of green: these two colors have the highest contrast. If combined, green and magenta ink will look dark gray or black. Process magenta is one of the four colors of ink used in color printing by an inkjet printer. Combining green and magenta light on a black screen will create white. A purple hue in terms of color theory, magenta is evoked by light having less power in green wavelengths than in blue/violet and red wavelengths.

    • Warm

      Warm colors: magentas, reds, yellows.

      • Red

        Maroon Red Scarlet

        Red is the color at the end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. In these group I also include colors like scarlet and vermillion.

        Its dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometers. It is a primary color in the RGB and CMYK color models, and is the complementary color of cyan.

        Red has historically been associated with danger and courage, but in modern Europe and US red is commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love, and joy. In many Asian countries red symbolizes happiness and good fortune.

      • Yellow

        Yellow Umber Ochre Gold Lemon Orange Sienna Amber Peach

  • Palette

    Palette is a particular range, quality, or use of color.

  • Saturation

    Color Chroma

    Saturation (chroma, intensity) - resembles making tints by adding white.

    Saturated Red

    White

    Chroma expresses the purity of a color, its saturation with the main hue, its brilliance and intensity, or how much other hues are mixed into the color.

    I group all my images by saturation:

    • Bright: more vivid and saturated colors with pure bright hues.
    • Subtle: more pastel or earthy, less bright, desaturated colors that have more other hues mixed in, especially if muted by a complimentary hue.
    • Colorful: multiple saturated colors used, often with a range of chromatically intense colors.

    • Bright

      More vivid and saturated colors with pure bright hues.

    • Subtle

      More pastel or earthy, less bright, desaturated colors that have more other hues mixed in, especially if muted by a complimentary hue.

  • Value

    Value

    Value ( in HSV model - darkness, or Lightness in HSL model, or Brightness in HSB model) - resembles making tints by adding black or gray.

    The value of color is defined by its lightness or darkness, its tints and shades, quantity of light reflected, or how close it is to white or black.

    Value in art is about relative lightnessor darknessof colors that is used to create spatial illusions.

    • Dark: low key, with prevalent darker values.
    • Light: high key, with prevalent lighter values.
    • Achromatic: gray-scale, black and white.

    • Dark

      Darker-value in general or low-key depictions with prevalent darker tones can sometimes have dominant blacks, blues, and browns.

      Red

      Black

    • Light

      Light-valued as a whole or high-key images with prevalent lighter tones consists primarily of tinted to bright colors, with fewer dark shadows.

      Red

      White
All Art Tags December 1999
Analogue Hues - Form & Balance February 2022
Art December 2015
Art Design November 2020
Art Sketch November 2020
Art Studio May 2015
Black to White May 2015
Color Contrast Implementation February 2022
Color Hues and Temperature February 2022
Color of Light February 2022
Color Shades January 2016
Color Shades: Value & Proportion February 2022
Color Theory February 2020
Color Tints January 2016
Color Tones January 2016
Colors November 2016
Colors Wheel Flower: Harmony February 2022
Complementary Colors January 2016
Complimentary Hues - Emphasis, Space, Contrast February 2022
Elements of Art February 2022
Photography May 2015
Phytochemicals, Colors, Antioxidants October 2016
Principles of Art February 2022
Split Color Wheel: Shape February 2022
Style of Presenting May 2021
Swatch May 2021
Tertiaries: Texture & Pattern February 2022
Tints: Saturation & Variety February 2022
Tones: Line & Rhythm February 2022

Author

Lena Nechet, artist - Fine art, media productions, language.
San Diego, California , USA ,
Art@LenaNechet.com 323-686-1771