Color Theory/ Color Schemes

Color is the last element of art we will be covering. Color is produced when light hits and object and is reflected back to the eyes. Color is absolutely fascinating. The study of light and color makes us appreciate the magnificence of our Creator God!

The Color Wheel was developed by Sir Isaac Newton by bending the color spectrum into a circle. You may have heard it referred to as ROY G BIV, a simple acronym for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.

The color wheel is made up of 3 different types of color- Primary, Secondary and Tertiary.
Primary colors: Red, Yellow and Blue- simplest of colors, all colors are made from these three colors. You can not make these colors with any other colors. They are the simplest of forms.

Secondary colors: Green, Orange, Violet- these are created by mixing equal parts of 2 primary colors.
Yellow+Blue=Green, Yellow+Red=Orange, Red+Blue=Violet


Tertiary colors: Tertiary colors are created by mixing equal parts of a secondary color and a primary color together.  There are six tertiary colors- red-purple, red-orange, blue-green, yellow-green, blue-purple, and yellow-orange. They should be noted with primary color first and secondary color second.

Monochromatic Color Scheme-any one color plus white (tint) and black (shade).

Tint-Color plus white

Shade- Color plus black

Complementary Color Scheme- Colors that are straight across from each other on the color wheel. Red/Green, Blue/Orange, Yellow/Purple

When you mix complementary colors you will make different types of browns.

Split Complementary: One color plus the two that sit on either side of its complement

 

Analogous: Three-four colors side by side on color wheel.