Color Wheel
Color Values
Color Schemes
The color wheel fits together like a puzzle - each
color in a specific place.
Being familiar with the color
wheel not only
helps you mix colors
when painting, but in
adding color to
all your art
creations.
Primary Colors
Primary colors are not mixed from other
elements, and they generate all other colors.
• Red
• Yellow
• Blue
Secondary Colors
By mixing two primary colors, a secondary
color is created.
• Red + Yellow = Orange
• Yellow + Blue = Green
• Blue + Red = Purple
Intermediate Colors
Intermediate, or Tertiary, colors are created by
mixing a primary and a secondary.
•red-orange •blue-green
•yellow-orange •blue-purple
•yellow-green •red-purple
Neutral Colors
The principles of color mixing let us describe a variety
of colors, but there are still many colors to explore.
The neutral colors contain equal parts of each of
the three primary colors. Black, white, gray and
sometimes brown are considered "neutral”.
Color values are the lights and darks of a color
you create by using black and white
(‘neutrals”) with a color. This makes
hundreds of more colors from the basic 12
colors of the wheel.
• white + color = tint
• color + black = shade
Tints
Tints are lightened colors. Always begin with
white and add a bit of color to the white until
the desired tint is obtained. This is an
example of a value scale for the tints
of blue.
Tint
• Tint is made by adding white to pure or original color.
• By adding white the color becomes lighter than the original color.
• A tint is lighter and has higher reflective value than original
color.
• For example, we can make red lighter by mixing with various
traces of white.
• To remember shade easily you can start with hue (ex. Red as
shown) and slowly lighten by adding small amounts of white.
A color TINT is a hue blended with
white.
Shades
Shades are darkened colors. Always begin
with the color and add just a bit of black at a
time to get the desired shade of a color. This
is an example of a value scale for the shades
of blue.
Shade
▪ Shade is made by adding black to pure or original color.
▪ By adding black the color becomes darker than the original
color.
▪ A shade is darker and has lower reflective value than original
color.
▪ For example, we can make red darker by mixing with various
traces of black.
▪ To remember shade easily you can start with hue (ex. Red as
shown) and slowly darken by adding small amounts of black.
A color SHADE is a hue blended
with black.
Tone
• Tone is made by adding gray to a pure color or original
color.
• By adding grey, the color becomes softer than the
original color.
• Tone can be lighter or darker depending on the traces of
grey.
A color TONE is a hue blended with
gray.
Why is black or white not on the
color wheel?
• Black is the complete absence of colors and
white is the presence of all colors
simultaneously. The full answer is more
complicated – are black and white colors,
are they generated by light, or do they exist
as pigments or as molecular coloring agents?
So we’ll stick with the simplified answer and
conclude that white and black are not
included in the color wheel.
Color Schemes are a systematic way of using
the color wheel to put colors together… in
your art work, putting together the clothes
you wear, deciding what colors to paint your
room…..
monochromatic, complementary,
analogous, warm and cool.
Monochromatic
“Mono” means “one”, “chroma” means “color”…
monochromatic color schemes have only one
color and its values. The following slide
shows a painting done in a monochromatic
color scheme.
This non-objective
painting has a
monochromatic
color scheme - blue
and the values (tints
and shades) of blue.
Complementary
Complementary colors are opposite on the
color wheel provided a high contrast - if you
want to be noticed wear complementary
colors!
This painting has
complementary
colors and their values
- blues and oranges.
Analogous
The analogous color scheme is 3-5 colors
adjacent to each other on the color wheel.
This combination of colors provides very little
contrast.
Analogous colors are
illustrated here: yellow,
yellow-green, green
and blue-green.
Warm
Warm colors are found on the right side of the
color wheel. They are colors found in fire and
the sun. Warm colors make objects look
closer in a painting or drawing.
This is an illustration of
the use of warm
colors - reds, oranges
and yellows.
Cool
Cool colors are found on the left side of the
color wheel. They are the colors found in
snow and ice and tend to recede in a
composition.
Note the cool color
scheme in this
painting (greens,
purples and blues).
