UNDERSTANDING COLOR RELATIONSHIPS
فهم العلاقات بين الألوان
Many systems have been devised to categorize all the shades of color we see around us. Although terminology may differ, most agree in defining color by three qualities-hue (the actual color wavelength), saturation (intensity or chroma), and brightness (luminance or value). Saturation and brightness produce different tones of a hue. In general, colors which differ greatly in hue,
saturation or brightness provoke contrast when placed together, while those that are similar pro- duce harmony. Pictures limited in tonal range or hue can be very effective-as in high or low key subjects, or predominant or isolated color scenes. False or unusual colors can suggest unreality.
The range of hues
The visible spectrum contains seven hues, but these can all be produced by mixing light of three colors red, green and blue. These are the primary colors of light. Added two at a time they produce three new hues - the complementary colors, magenta, cyan and yellow. Cyan, for example, contains green and blue and is complementary to (forms white light with) red. Red, blue and green only serve as primaries when mixing lights. To mix pig- ments, red, blue and yellow are used; while the complementary colors, called subtractive pri- maries, are used in most color printing and films. The major hues can be arranged in a color circle
where adjacent hues are closest in wavelength. The circle shows how hues interact-which provide harmony, which contrast, which are warm or cold.
Saturation and brightness
The pure hues of the color circle are fully satur- ated (undiluted). Each hue can also appear in a range of tones, which can be shown as a triangle projected from the circle. The hue is desaturated (diluted) as it moves down the triangle, and changes in brightness across the triangle. The more desaturated a hue becomes, the more black (shadow or pigment), white (light or pigment), or gray is intermingled with it.
Color circle
Color relationships can be shown simply on a color circle. A conventional circle is formed by bending the spectrum band, above, so the red and violet ends meet. The circle shown right is stylized, and limited to six hues - primaries (red, blue, green), and complementaries (cyan, yellow, magenta). The center of the circle represents white light.
Contrast and harmony
The circle contains only pure saturated hues, giving strong color, below. As you can see, the circle has a warm half (red, yellow, magenta) and a cool half (blue, green, cyan). Colors from opposite halves of the circle produce color contrast when placed together, far right. A primary and its comple- mentary, lying opposite each other on the circle, give the strongest contrast. Colors from the same segment of the circle produce harmony, below right.
Tonal triangle
The tonal range of a single hue from the color circle can be displayed as a triangle, with saturation changing vertically and bright- ness changing horizontally. The hue is pro- gressively desaturated as it moves down the triangle, from strong color at the top, through muted color, to absence of hue. Moving across the triangle, the tones increase in brightness from left to right, going from black (no light) to white (maximum light).
Defining hue and tonal range
Color effects can be defined by their range of hue or tone. Predominant color images are dominated by a single hue. Isolated color images are small, saturated color areas on a muted background. High key images use only pale, bright tones from the right half of the triangle; low key only deep, dark tones from the left side. Muted color scenes use only the desaturated hues in the lower part of the triangle.
False color
A subject which appears in hues different from its original coloring is said to show false color. Such effects can arise naturally in lighting with a strong color cast, or be induced deliberately. The objects below were originally a red apple, a green hat and a blue mask. The false colors arose from using infra- red slide film, given negative processing.
فهم العلاقات بين الألوان
Many systems have been devised to categorize all the shades of color we see around us. Although terminology may differ, most agree in defining color by three qualities-hue (the actual color wavelength), saturation (intensity or chroma), and brightness (luminance or value). Saturation and brightness produce different tones of a hue. In general, colors which differ greatly in hue,
saturation or brightness provoke contrast when placed together, while those that are similar pro- duce harmony. Pictures limited in tonal range or hue can be very effective-as in high or low key subjects, or predominant or isolated color scenes. False or unusual colors can suggest unreality.
The range of hues
The visible spectrum contains seven hues, but these can all be produced by mixing light of three colors red, green and blue. These are the primary colors of light. Added two at a time they produce three new hues - the complementary colors, magenta, cyan and yellow. Cyan, for example, contains green and blue and is complementary to (forms white light with) red. Red, blue and green only serve as primaries when mixing lights. To mix pig- ments, red, blue and yellow are used; while the complementary colors, called subtractive pri- maries, are used in most color printing and films. The major hues can be arranged in a color circle
where adjacent hues are closest in wavelength. The circle shows how hues interact-which provide harmony, which contrast, which are warm or cold.
Saturation and brightness
The pure hues of the color circle are fully satur- ated (undiluted). Each hue can also appear in a range of tones, which can be shown as a triangle projected from the circle. The hue is desaturated (diluted) as it moves down the triangle, and changes in brightness across the triangle. The more desaturated a hue becomes, the more black (shadow or pigment), white (light or pigment), or gray is intermingled with it.
Color circle
Color relationships can be shown simply on a color circle. A conventional circle is formed by bending the spectrum band, above, so the red and violet ends meet. The circle shown right is stylized, and limited to six hues - primaries (red, blue, green), and complementaries (cyan, yellow, magenta). The center of the circle represents white light.
Contrast and harmony
The circle contains only pure saturated hues, giving strong color, below. As you can see, the circle has a warm half (red, yellow, magenta) and a cool half (blue, green, cyan). Colors from opposite halves of the circle produce color contrast when placed together, far right. A primary and its comple- mentary, lying opposite each other on the circle, give the strongest contrast. Colors from the same segment of the circle produce harmony, below right.
Tonal triangle
The tonal range of a single hue from the color circle can be displayed as a triangle, with saturation changing vertically and bright- ness changing horizontally. The hue is pro- gressively desaturated as it moves down the triangle, from strong color at the top, through muted color, to absence of hue. Moving across the triangle, the tones increase in brightness from left to right, going from black (no light) to white (maximum light).
Defining hue and tonal range
Color effects can be defined by their range of hue or tone. Predominant color images are dominated by a single hue. Isolated color images are small, saturated color areas on a muted background. High key images use only pale, bright tones from the right half of the triangle; low key only deep, dark tones from the left side. Muted color scenes use only the desaturated hues in the lower part of the triangle.
False color
A subject which appears in hues different from its original coloring is said to show false color. Such effects can arise naturally in lighting with a strong color cast, or be induced deliberately. The objects below were originally a red apple, a green hat and a blue mask. The false colors arose from using infra- red slide film, given negative processing.
تعليق