Basic Color Theory

Hello Students, remember your Color Wheel assignment is due on Monday the 20th. If you need extra time to work or practice, the class room is open 30 minutes before it begins, and is open during lunch. I am available then to give individual tutoring. See me to schedule a time.

Today we discussed basic color theory:

- In traditional color theory all color is derived from 3 primary colors, yellow, blue and red. This is different than the modern digital model we use in Illustrator... it uses red, green and blue. The difference is color that is created with paint pigment (traditional) versus color that is created with light (modern)

- From the 3 primary colors we can derive easily 6 secondary colors. Yellow and red makes orange, yellow and blue create cyan, and red and blue create purple.

- As the color spectrum grows we begin to see tertiary colors, these are colors formed by mixing a primary and secondary color. yellow-orange, red-orange, blue green, yellow-green etc...

There are traditional ways to see color harmony. Analogous colors are any 3 colors and are next to each other on the color wheel.

Complementary colors are any two colors that are directly opposite each other on a color wheel.

There are also unconventional color schemes found in nature, that may break some rules but can still be pleasing to the eye.






Have fun with your color wheel assignments!