Color Theory Basics

(or)How to follow the color theory posts and do the awesome exercises with me on my blog!

Kate Townley Smithhttp://www.katetownleysmith.com

Color Theory Basics_____________________________________________________________________

Color Theory Basics

I’m compiling this list of color theory basic concepts and vocabulary in

the way I would really

like to see it if I didn’t know any of it at all. But, that’s pretty hard it turns out, since I do alreadyknow some of it. So, if you’re one of those folks who

are new to thinking about color in anorganized way, and you think I could go about this a little differently, let me know(katetownleysmith@gmail.com)! My other, much more selfish goal in writing this is to give you enough info to follow my color theory chat on my blog:http://www.katetownleysmith.com/wordpress/

,which I think you’re

already reading since

you’ve gotten your hands on this

e-booklet!

What is color theory?

Color theory is the study and organization of colors

–

their properties, their combinations, andtheir effects. Now, there are certainly multiple ways to describe color, but for our purposes,w

e’re talking about pigment color theory.

This is a different from light color theory(RGB), whichis used for digital screens, or printing color theory(CMYK), which is used by (of course) printers.

If you’re interested in those types of color discussions, the general concepts reviewed below

will apply, although the approaches will be different.

Why do you care?

Heck, maybe you don’t. But really, if you went to the

trouble to download this document, I

hope you do. I can’t exactly answer why you care, and I hate the idea of telling you that you

should care. But, I can tell you why I care (and you can feel free to use this reason or make upanother one).

I care because human beings respond to color.

And isn’t that what we, as artists, are looking for? A

response

from a human being.

We’re trying to communicate something, and part of that communication is

the reaction, theresponse, the acknowledgement from the viewer. Whether you want to tell the world about

the cutest puppies you’ve ever seen or about the trouble

that pelicans in the Gulf of Mexico arehaving right now, you want someone to get that message. Color can help out with that.

Am I saying that if you learn which colors are complementary you’ll be guaranteed to get your

point across? I wish. But, if you learn the vocabulary and basics, you can then have those as

Color Theory Basics_____________________________________________________________________

tools to draw from when you’re searching for a way to approa

ch a subject.

You’ll also be ready

to start practicing some of these color ideas.

Luckily for you, I’m selecting (at least) three color theory books and working through all the exercises

,and you can practice along with me and become a color theory expert!

Color Wheel

Here’s a basic pigment color

wheel. You can find better onesout on the web

–

I made this onewith a photo editing program, anddid my best with the colors. Onmy monitor, it looks pretty darnedgood. But on yours, who knows?The colors are set out around acircle. There is an equal stepbetween each color, meaning thatblue-green is a color that is exactlyhalf blue and half green, equallydistant from blue and from green.Interesting note for painters

–

you’re not going to find these

exact colors in good quality paints.This is because the pigments thatmake up the color in the paints

aren’t these exact colors.

And,these colors certainly

are not the only colors in the color wheel. The colors are not discrete, but instead continuouslyflow from one into the next. Artist Stephen Quiller(http://www.quillergallery.com/)has put together a very helpful tool for painters that maps out actual paint colors like rose madder andpermanent yellow green on a wheel.The colors on the color wheel above are categorized in the following way:

Primary Colors:

The primary colors are

red

,

yellow

, and

blue

. These are the building blocks of the pigmentcolor wheel from which the other colors are mixed.