8/26/23, 3:11 PM Hue, Tint, Tone, and Shade — What's the difference?

- Integrity Painting & Decorating Winnipeg

What’s the Difference Between Hue, Tint, Tone, and Shade?

Hue
A hue is essentially the three primary colours (red, blue, and yellow) as well as the three secondary colours
(orange, green, and purple). These colours are pure, meaning that white or black have not been mixed in with
them. Black, white, and grey are considered neutral colours.

A good way to think about the colour wheel is breaking the colours down by using familial relationships. Primary
colours are the parents, from which all of the colours can be created. To make secondary colours, the children,
two primary colours are mixed together. The grandchildren are tertiary colours, which is a mixture of one primary
colour plus its closest secondary colour.

Tint
When you’re looking for a colour that is lighter than a pure hue, this is achieved by adding white. When white is
added to a hue, it is known as a tint. When you take red, for example, adding white will make the colour a lighter
version of red. Many refer to this as reducing a colour’s brightness, but the brightness of the actually remains the
same.

Tone
A tone is when just a neutral
grey has been added to any hue.
A neutral grey is when just black
and white are mixed and not any
other colour. The tone of a colour
will reduce its intensity. Toned
colours are often considered to
be less brilliant, but also more
sophisticated and visually
pleasing.

Shade
The opposite of tint, a shade is
when just black is added to a
pure hue. This makes the
original colour darker. Adding
black will create a more intense
colour. So when you’re painting
your home, if you want to create
a welcoming and relaxing
atmosphere, you may want to avoid shades of colours.

The Takeaway
When you’re selecting paint colours for your home, there are endless variations in tints, tones, and shades. The
amount of white or black that you add to a hue, or the amount of white and black used to create a grey will all
have an impact on the lightness or darkness of the final colour. Overall, you’re starting with an original hue, or a
pure pigment, then adding either white, black, or grey.

Hue: A pure pigment.

Tone: A pure pigment with just grey added.

Tint: A pure pigment with just white added.

Shade: a pure pigment with just black added.

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