THEORY OF

COLOR

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO COLOR THEORY 5

Color models 5
Ostwald theory 5
RGB color model 6
The color wheel 6
Color attributes 8
Theories of color use 9
Color harmonies 9
Color spaces 9
RGB space 10
CMYK space 11
YIQ Space 11
HSV space 12
Color perception 14
Interpretation of colors 14
COLOR PSYCHOLOGY 16
Precursors 17
Basics of color psychology 17
Goethe's color theory 18
Color theory by Eva Heller (from Goethe's study) 20
psychological colors 22
CHROMATIC CIRCLE 31
Traditional color wheel 32
Natural color wheel 34
Traditional coloring (RYB) 36
CMYK subtractive modelhttps://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK 36
RGB additive modelhttps://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB 36
Color harmonies 37

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 Harmony of colors in equidistant triad 37
Basic-tertiary harmony 37
Painting according to Matisse 37
Color can be used symbolically 38
Color and communication 38
PRIMARY COLORS 44
Biological basis 45
Primary colors in light (RGB) 45
Reciprocity between CMY and RGB 47
History 47
Traditional coloring model (RYB) 48
SECONDARY COLOURS 49
Color models 49
Secondary colors according to the additive color model (red, green and blue) 51
Secondary colors according to the color model, RYB (Blue, Yellow and Red) 52
INTERMEDIATE AND/OR TERTIARY COLORS 54
TERTIARY COLOR 54
earth color 56
QUATERNARY COLORS 58
COMPLEMENTARY COLORS 59
Traditional coloring model. 61
SUMMARY 63
CHROMATIC CIRCLE 63
PRIMARY COLORS 63
SECONDARY COLORS (S) 64
INTERMEDIATE COLORS 65
TERTIARY COLORS 65
QUATERNARY COLORS 66
GREY 68
Properties 69
As psychological color: cold 69
ACHROMATIC GRAY 69

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 CHROMATIC GRAY 69
Complementarity 69
BRIGHTNESS 71
Descriptive nominal notation 71
SATURATION 72
TONE 73
in the arts 75

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 INTRODUCTION TO COLOR THEORY

In the art of painting, graphic design, visual design, photography, printing and television,
color theory is a group of basic rules in mixing colors to achieve the desired effect by
combining colors of light or pigment. White light can be produced by combining red,
green □ and blue □, while combining cyan, magenta □ and yellow pigments produces the
color black.

Color models

In his book Theory of Colors , the German poet and scientist Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe proposed a symmetrical color circle, which includes the one established by the
English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton and complementary spectra. In
contrast, Newton's color circle, with seven unequal and subtended color angles, did not
exhibit the symmetry and complementarity that Goethe considered an essential
characteristic of color. For Newton, only spectral colors could be considered
fundamental. Goethe's more empirical approach allowed him to admit the essential role
of the non-spectral color magenta in a color circle. Subsequently, studies of color
perception defined the CIE 1931 standard, which is a perceptual model that allows
primary colors to be represented accurately and converted to each color model
appropriately.

Ostwald theory

The theory of color proposed by the German chemist and philosopher Wilhelm Ostwald
consists of four elementary chromatic sensations (yellow, red, blue and green) and two
intermediate achromatic sensations.

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 CMY color wheel

RGB color model

Mixing the primary colors of light, which are red, green and blue (RGB), is done using the
additive color system , also known as the RGB model or RGB color space. . All possible
colors that can be created by mixing these three colored lights are referred to as the
color spectrum of these particular lights. When no light color is present, black is
perceived. Primary colors of light are applied to computer monitors , televisions, video
projectors and all those systems that use combinations of materials that phosphorize in
red, green and blue.

It must be taken into account that only with fictitious "primary" colors can all possible
colors be achieved. These primary colors are idealized concepts used in mathematical
color models that do not represent actual color sensations or even actual nerve impulses
or brain processes. In other words, all perfect "primary" colors are completely imaginary,
which implies that all primary colors used in mixtures are incomplete or imperfect.

The color wheel

The color wheel is usually presented as a wheel divided into twelve parts. The primary
colors are placed so that one of them is in the upper central portion and the other two in
the fourth portion from this, so that if we join the three with some imaginary lines they
would form an equilateral triangle with a horizontal base. Between two primary colors,
three secondary tones are placed so that the central portion between them would
correspond to a mixture of equal amounts of both primaries and the color closest to each
primary would be the mixture of the central secondary plus the adjacent primary.

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The current color wheels used by artists are based on the CMYK model, although the
primary colors used in painting differ from the printing process inks in their intensity. The
pigments used in painting, both in oil and acrylic and other painting techniques, are
usually phthalocyanine blue (PB15 in Color Index notation) and cyan, quinacridone
magenta (PV19 in Color Index notation) and some arylide or cadmium yellow. that has a
neutral yellow tone (there are several valid pigments or mixtures of them that can be
used as yellow primaries). Several houses have sets of recommended primary colors
that are often sold together and given special names in catalogs, such as "primary blue"
or "primary red" along with "primary yellow", although neither blue nor red themselves
are actually primary colors according to the CMYK model used today.

However, as the names given by the manufacturers to their primary colors show, there is
a tradition still anchored in the RGB model and that is occasionally still found in books
and in courses aimed at painting enthusiasts. But formal education, both in art schools
and universities, and important reference texts have already abandoned such a model
decades ago. We have the proof in the colors

oriented to artistic teaching from different manufacturers, which without exception use a
color model based on CMYK, which in addition to the three primary CMYK colors
includes black and white as a basic set for the student.

RGB color model

Mixing the primary colors of light, which are red, green and blue (RGB), is done using the
additive color system , also known as the RGB model or RGB color space. . All possible
colors that can be created by mixing these three colored lights are referred to as the
color spectrum of these particular lights. When no light color is present, black is
perceived. Primary colors of light are applied to computer monitors , televisions, video
projectors and all those systems that use combinations of materials that phosphorize in
red, green and blue.

It must be taken into account that only with fictitious "primary" colors can all possible

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colors be achieved. These primary colors are idealized concepts used in mathematical
color models that do not represent actual color sensations or even actual nerve impulses
or brain processes. In other words, all perfect "primary" colors are completely imaginary,
which implies that all primary colors used in mixtures are incomplete or imperfect.

Color attributes

All the shades or colors that we perceive have three basic attributes:

• Hue. Also called by some chroma , it is the color itself, it is the attribute that allows us
to differentiate one color from another, so we can designate when a shade is green,
violet or orange.

• Luminosity or value. It is the light intensity of a color (lightness/darkness). It is the

greater or lesser proximity to white or black of a given color . We often give the name
light red to that shade of red close to white, or dark red when the red is close to
black.

• Saturation. It is basically purity of a color , the concentration of gray that a color

contains at a given time. The higher the percentage of gray present in a color, the
lower its saturation or purity and therefore it will look as if the color was "dirty" or
opaque; On the other hand, when a color is presented to us as pure as possible (with
the least amount of gray present), the greater its saturation. If opposite colors are
mixed on the Chromatic Wheel, grays opposite saturation are obtained, which is
called Neutralization.

The degree to which one or two of the three primary RGB colors (this classification refers
to the basic colors in the luminous composition of a computer screen R=Red, G=Green,
B=Blue, with which they are composed by means of luminous addition, different from the
classification of the basic or primary colors of paint, in which they are mixed by adding
material or physical pigments) predominate in a color. As the amounts of RGB equalize,
the color loses saturation until it becomes gray or white.

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Theories of color use

Modern theories of the use of color determine that its properties are two: hue and
luminosity.

The hue has to do with the type of color: burnt sienna, green, titanium black, ivory white,
pink, etc.

Luminosity is the amount of light that each color has and can be differentiated from other
colors, for example, a yellow is lighter than a blue or a green is lighter than a brown.

Saturation, properly understood, has to do with the amount of matter that is applied to a
surface, therefore saturating means filling a surface with pigment. Adding gray to colors
as a way of saturating does nothing other than obtain a new color as a result of the
mixture. It can be proven by experiment. Therefore, a color, even to which gray is added,
can saturate a surface with greater or lesser effectiveness depending on the technique
used and the quality of the materials with which it has been manufactured. For example,
the watercolor technique has a lower capacity to saturate than acrylic.

Color harmonies

Harmonious colors are those that work well together, that is, they produce a color
scheme sensitive to the same sense (harmony is born from the perception of the senses
and, at the same time, this harmony feeds back to the sense, making it achieve
maximum balance which is making sense felt). The color wheel is a useful tool for
determining color harmonies. Complementary colors are those that contrast in said circle
and that produce a strong contrast. Thus, for example, in the RGB model green is
complementary to red, while in the CMY model green is complementary to magenta.

Color spaces

A color space defines a color composition model. Generally, a color space is defined by
a base of N vectors (for example, the RGB space is made up of 3 vectors: red, green
and blue), whose linear combination generates the entire color space. The most general
color spaces try to encompass as many of the colors visible to the human eye as
possible,

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although there are color spaces that try to isolate only a subset of them.

There are color spaces of:

• One dimension: gray scale, jet scale, etc.

• Two dimensions: rg subspace, xy subspace, etc.
• Three dimensions: RGB space, HSV, YCbCr, YUV, YI'Q', etc.
• Four dimensions: CMYK space.

Of which, three-dimensional color spaces are the most widespread and most used. A
color is then specified using three coordinates, or attributes, that represent its position
within a specific color space. These coordinates do not tell us what the color is, but
rather they show where a color is located within a particular color space.

RGB space
R e R255

GGG?55

RGB color cube

RGB is known as an additive color space (primary colors) because when light of two
different frequencies travels together, from the observer's point of view, these colors are
added to create new types of colors. The colors red, green , and blue were chosen
because each roughly corresponds to one of the three types of color-sensitive cones in
the human eye (65% sensitive to red, 33% sensitive to green, and 2% sensitive to blue).
With the appropriate combination of red, green and blue can be
reproduce many of the colors that humans can perceive. By • • • 9
For example, pure red and light green produce yellow, red and blue produce magenta,
green and blue combined create cyan and the three together, mixed at maximum
intensity, create intense white.

There is also the derived space RGBA , which adds the alpha channel (from
transparency) to the original RGB space.

CMYK space

Representation of CMYK colors

CMY works by absorbing light (secondary colors).

The colors that are seen are the part of light that is not absorbed. In CMY, magenta plus
yellow produce red, magenta plus cyan produce blue, cyan plus yellow produce green,
and the combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow forms black. The black generated by
mixing subtractive primary colors is not as dense as pure black (one that absorbs the
entire visible spectrum). This is why a key channel has been added to the original CMY,
which is normally the black channel, to form the CMYK or CMYB space. Currently four-
color printers use a black cartridge in addition to the primary colors in this space, which
generates better contrast. However, the color that a person sees on a computer screen
differs from the same color on a printer, because the RGB and CMY models are
different. The color in RGB is made by the reflection or emission of light, while CMY, by
absorbing it.

YIQ Space

It was a color recoding carried out for the American NTSC chromatic television standard,
which was to be compatible with black and white television. The names of the

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components of this model are Y for luminance ( luminance ), I phase ( in-phase ) and Q
quadrature ( quadrature ). The first is the monochrome signal from black and white
television and the last two generate the color tint and saturation. The I and Q parameters
are named in relation to the modulation method used to encode the carrier signal. The
values of the RGB signals are summed to produce a single Y' signal that represents the
overall illumination or brightness of a particular point. The I signal is created by
subtracting the Y' of the blue signal from the original RGB values and then the Q is made
by subtracting the Y' signal from the red.

HSV space

HSV axles

It is a cylindrical space, but usually associated with a cone or hexagonal cone, because it
is a visible subset of the original space with valid RGB values.

• Hue ( Hue ) : refers to the dominant frequency of color within the visible spectrum. It
is the perception of a type of color, normally the one that one distinguishes in a
rainbow, that is, it is the human sensation according to which one area appears
similar to another or when there is a dominant type of wavelength. It increases in
value as we move counterclockwise on the cone, with red at angle 0.

• Saturation : refers to the amount of color or its "purity. " It goes from a “light” color to a
more vivid color (sky blue – dark blue). It can also be considered as the mixture of a
color with white or gray.

• Value ( V alue ): is the light intensity of a color. In other words, it is the amount of
white or black that a color has.

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RYB color model

RYB color wheel

In the RYB color model, red, yellow and blue are considered primary colors , and in
theory, the rest of the pure colors (matter color) can be created by mixing red, yellow and
blue paint. Despite its obsolescence and imprecision, many people learn something
about this model in primary education studies, mixing paint or colored pencils with these
primary colors.

The model R AND B It is still generally used in concepts of

art and painting
traditional, but it has been totally left aside in the industrial mixing of pigments of
paint. Even being used as a guide for The mixture of
pigments, the RYB model does not accurately represent the colors that result from
mixing the three primary RYB colors, since blue and red are truly secondary hues.
Despite the imprecision of this model – its correction is the CMYK model – it continues to
be used in the visual arts , graphic design and other related disciplines, in the tradition of
Goethe's original model of 1810.

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Color perception

In the retina of the eye there are millions of cells specialized in detecting wavelengths
from our environment. These photoreceptor cells, cones and rods, collect part of the light
spectrum and, thanks to the photoelectric effect, transform it into electrical impulses,
which are sent to the brain through the optic nerves, to create the sensation of color.

There are groups of cones specialized in detecting and processing a specific color, with
the total number dedicated to one color being different from another. For example, there
are more cells specialized in working with the wavelengths corresponding to red than any
other color, so when the environment in which we find ourselves sends us too much red,
there is a saturation of information in the brain of this color.

When a person's rod and cone system is not correct, a series of irregularities can occur
in the appreciation of color, as well as when the parts of the brain responsible for
processing this data are damaged. This is the explanation of phenomena such as color
blindness. A colorblind person does not appreciate the ranges of colors in their proper
measure, confusing reds with greens.

Because the color identification process depends on the brain and ocular system of each
specific person, we can accurately measure the spectrum of a given color, but the
concept of the color produced is totally subjective, depending on the person
themselves. . Two different people can interpret a given color differently, and there can
be as many interpretations of a color as there are people.

The mechanism of mixing and producing colors produced by the reflection of light on a
body is not the same as that of obtaining colors by direct mixing of light rays.

Interpretation of colors

Blue : Represents the depth of feeling and is a concentric, passive, associative,

perceptive, unifying color. Its affective aspects are tranquility, satisfaction, tenderness,
love and affection.

Green : Represents constancy of will and is a concentric, passive, defensive,

autonomous, cautious, possessive, immutable color. Its affective aspects are

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persistence, self-affirmation, leadership and self-esteem.

Red : Represents willpower, autonomous, locomotive, competitive, efficient. Its affective

aspects are desire, excitability, authority and sexuality.

Orange : Stimulates appetite, is associated with youth

Yellow : Represents spontaneity and is eccentric, active, planning, heteronomous,

expansive, ambitious and inquisitive. Its affective aspects are expectation, originality,
security.

Gray : Represents neutrality and is separating, impartial, isolating, absent of

commitment.

Coffee :It represents passive sensory receptivity and is physical, wisdom,

dependency, security, lack of adaptation.

Black : Represents the absolute limit and is denial, renunciation, abandonment, extreme,

rejection, extinction, fear.

Purple : Represents the fulfillment of desires and is irresponsible, intuitive, sensitive,

immature, emotional, magical.

Pink : Represents dependence

Gray : Represents elegance, boredom, despair, old age, helps to emphasize values.

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 COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

Light and Color , oil painting by Joseph Mallord William Turner, inspired by the theory of
Goethe color.

Color psychology is a field of study that is aimed at analyzing the effect of color on human

perception and behavior. From a strictly medical point of view, it is still an "immature"
science in the mainstream of contemporary psychology , taking into account that many
techniques ascribed to this field can be categorized within the scope of alternative medicine.
However, in a broader sense, the study of color perception is a common consideration in
disciplines such as design, architecture, fashion, signage, advertising and art.

origins

Color psychology had an impact on human psychology since ancient times, a circumstance
that was expressed and synthesized symbolically. Among many examples, in ancient China
1
the cardinal points were represented by the colors blue, red, white and black , reserving

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yellow for the center (therefore, yellow was traditionally the color of the Chinese empire).
Of equal shape, the mayans of America central
They related East, South, West and North with the colors red, yellow, black and white
respectively. In Europe, alchemists related colors to characteristics of the materials they
used, for example red for sulfur, white for mercury and green for acids or solvents.

Precursors

One of the first scholars to analyze the properties of color was Aristotle, who described the
"basic colors" related to earth, water, sky and fire.
Pliny the Elder also addresses the topic of color in the penultimate of the last three books,
more specifically in book 35 of the Historia Naturalis. They constitute a group whose main
interest lies in the fact that they can be considered the oldest treatise on the history of art
that has survived to us.
In the 13th century, Sir Roger Bacon recorded his observations of the colors of a prism
passed through by light, attributing the phenomenon to properties of matter.
After this, between the 14th and 15th centuries, Cennino Cennini wrote what would be the
most famous treatise on artistic techniques in which he made careful observations about
colors.
Later Leonardo da Vinci classified yellow, green, blue and red as basic colors according to
those categories of Aristotle, adding white as the receptor of all other colors and black -
darkness - as their absence.
Only at the beginning of the 18th century, Isaac Newton would lay out the foundations of
the luminous theory of color, the basis of subsequent scientific development.

Basics of color psychology

The precursor of color psychology was the German poet and scientist Johann Wolfgang
opposed
von Goethe (1749-1832) who in his treatise Color Theory 2 Newton's purely
physical vision, proposing that color actually also depends on our perception, in which
the brain and the mechanisms of the sense of sight are involved. According to Goethe's

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theory, what we see of an object does not depend only on the matter; nor light according
to Newton, but also involves a third condition which is our perception of the object. From
now on, the main problem became the subjectivity implicit in this novel concept.
Colors have different interpretations and meanings in each culture, but we must know
that color has an amazing influence on mood. Hence, the psychology of color is in
continuous development and art creatives vitally dominate this field. Some companies,
when they design their logos, take into account the colors they are going to use, and
when they decorate a store they have to value the colors since this will make people
want to use a certain brand or buy from that store. Our brain is capable of associating
and processing shapes and colors in our memory, so it is possible that when we see
countless pink or red objects in department stores or on the streets we think that
Valentine's Day is approaching. (From the Key,2018)
However, such subjectivity does not lie in Goethe's postulates, but in the same physical
basis of the concept of color, which is our subjective perception of the different wave
frequencies of light, within the visible spectrum , affecting matter.
Goethe's color theory

Goethe attempted to deduce laws of color harmony, including the physiological aspects
of the subject, that is, how colors affect us, and—in general—the subjective
phenomenon of vision. In this field, he analyzed, for example, the effects of post-vision,
and its consequence on the concept of complementary colors, deducing that
complementarity is a sensation that, as such, does not originate in physical issues
related to the incidence of light on an object. , but because of the functioning of our
visual system.
Johann Eckermann refers to a quote from Goethe's last years showing the importance
he assigned to the issue:
"From everything I have done as a poet, I do not derive any vanity. I have had good
poets as contemporaries, they have lived even better before me and others will live after
me. But having been the only one in my century who has seen clearly in this difficult
science of colors, I boast of this, and I am conscious of being superior to many wise
men . " 3

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 Farbenleherer was widely fought and discredited by the scientific community of the time,
especially for his attack on Newton's optics regarding the generation of color through the
4
refraction of a ray of white light incident on a prism . From the point of view of optical
theory, some of Goethe's observations have proven to be not so wrong, but for a long
time discredit prevailed over what was seen as an off-topic 5 of the famous poet.
According to Deane B. Jud d 6 there are three reasons for a current reading of Goethe's
color theory:

• Due to the beauty and breadth of his conjectures relating color to philosophy, which
although in many cases represent only fantasies that must be evaluated in the light of
19th century knowledge, in others they lead the reader to

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 become aware of harmony, aesthetics and the importance and meaning of art.

• As a guide for the study of the chromatic phenomenon, since in Farbenleherer a master
of prose describes with clarity and abundance of details the production of color by all the
means available at that time, including the necessary equipment, how to use it and
anticipating the results that will be obtained. Goethe had a passion for careful
observation, a possibly unexpected characteristic in a famous theater director and fiction
author.

• As preparation for a vision free of prejudices in the search for new solutions to the
enigma of color. Anyone who reads Goethe's explanations and compares them with the
logic of current knowledge on the subject will be convinced that at least part of his
theories were discredited too soon.
Ludwig Wittgenstein would review Goethe's theories in his Observations on Colors .
A mention of the Encyclopedia Britannica possibly allows us to round out the context of
the problem:
Artists and designers have studied the effects of color for centuries, and have developed
a multitude of theories about the use of color. The number and variety of such theories
demonstrates that no universal rules can be applied: color perception depends on
individual experience.

Color theory by Eva Heller (from Goethe's study)

Eva Heller (1948-2008) was a sociologist, psychologist and professor of communication

theory and color psychology. His works include various publications for children: The
true story of colors (2006), as well as novels: Third time lucky (1990).
According to Heller's study, the relationship of colors on feelings and reason
demonstrates how both are not combined accidentally, since • • • 20
Their associations are not a mere matter of taste, but universal experiences that are
deeply rooted in our language and our thinking. It provides a large amount and variety of
information about colors, such as popular sayings and knowledge, their use in product
design, the different 'tests' that are based on colors, healing through them, the
manipulation of people, names and surnames related to colors, (the degree of erosion,
corruption or deterioration due to natural or artificial factors) etc. This diversity becomes
a fundamental tool for all those people who work with colors: artists, therapists, graphic
and industrial designers, interior designers, architects, fashion designers, publicists,
among others. It is not the methods or the healing possibilities of the means used that
interest us here, even taking into account 'therapies' with colors, knowing that these can
compensate for the deficiencies felt from their use.
Color therapies have no side effect, but they have the effect of not producing any
results, no effects, and the more 'Magical' their supposed effects are, the more likely
their ineffectiveness is. Subjectively, 'color' must allow not only through its symbolism to
understand, understand or communicate better within the artificial framework or reduce
fear of both the non-artificial and the artificial. Especially because not only many people
but also 'artists' find it difficult to express 'feelings' in their works, through the language
of “color”, where 'distraction' has no lasting effect.
Just as a favorite 'color' or 'color mixture', which is just a criterion, cannot be associated
with the idea of 'beauty' since the concept 'favorite' is subjective.
Color is a useful communication tool for the functional, for example aesthetics, and
'beauty' is a cultural ideal whose tool can be aesthetics. Whoever chooses a color for:
'beauty' does not necessarily think about the 'color'.
You only see what you know there is. This psychological interpretation based on Eva
Heller's study not only explains to us that the act of painting in general favors
concentration; since whoever paints has to organize his ideas about what he paints,
distinguishing the essential from the superfluous, it must first be known (for example:
through the effect of a 'color' it is understood that it depends on previous 'knowledge').
Often you know more than you see, because you can imagine, reconstruct and
reinterpret. This is because 'color' has been, is and will be a language that responds to a

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need through a message and therefore creates functionality. That: 'yes' you like it or 'you
don't' like it, but it affects everyone (sender-medium-receiver) and it is not just about
interpreting the medium.

psychological colors

This psychological interpretation based on Heller's study not only explains to us that the
act of painting in general favors concentration; since whoever paints has to organize his
ideas about what he paints, distinguishing the essential from the superfluous, it must
first be known (for example: through the effect of a 'color' it is understood that it depends
on previous 'knowledge' ). Normally, those who propose to use 'colors' creatively, most
of the time combine the qualities of a color with 'things' that have those same qualities.
While in a creative design 'color' is superfluous since functionality must prevail or when it
is repeated as a concept and presented in different solutions. It is not the abundance of
different 'tones' that creates the work but the limitation to a few colors.

Important note:

Method: In this study certain aspects are 'speculative', that is, not 'contrasted' but

transcribed.
Reason: This 'palette' of -psychological colors- has been constructed from the analyzes

carried out by Eva Heller and published in her work: "Color Psychology" (See
Bibliographic). The purpose is to determine more or more accurately the psychological
interpretation determined and explained (but not exposed) by the author in this work.
This analysis is 'objective' in order to provide the necessary information for the possible
construction of a useful tool for the interpretation of color as a 'sign' of language (just as
a word in a sentence is) within frameworks such as : sensitivity, culture, art, nature,
religion, ocular vision, etc. Obviously looking to a certain extent for a concrete use and
application to the artistic. We take into account that through color vision information is
interpreted accordingly to various frames (referring to the use of color naturally or
artificially). That is why it is desirable to serve in an 'objective' way for studies mainly

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coded towards standards. To get to the concrete in the inter-cultural, that is, to the
'subjective'. Where to serve 'individual' issues from the 'general' through your knowledge
and useful study with education.
Application: This psychological interpretation based on Eva Heller's study not only

explains to us that the act of painting in general favors concentration; since whoever
paints has to organize his ideas about what he paints, distinguishing the essential from
the superfluous, it must first be known (for example: through the effect of a 'color' it is
understood that it depends on previous 'knowledge'). Normally, those who propose to
use 'colors' creatively, most of the time combine the qualities of a color with 'things' that
have those same qualities. While in a creative design 'color' is superfluous since
functionality must prevail or when it is repeated as a concept and presented in different
solutions. It is not the abundance of different 'tones' that creates the work but the
limitation to a few colors.
Images that generate hope:
1/ Study images as a result of a healing process of 'hopelessness'.
2/ In 'Color', positive representations emerge in the face of passive 'hopelessness'.

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psychological colors

Blues

Name Sample Cod. Hex. RGB HSV

Jairi #A17E5E 161 126 94 29° 42% 63%
hug me #9FA3A2 159 163 162 165° 2% 64%
Friendship #989993 152 152 147 70° 4% 60%
Trust #88A394 136 163 148 147° 17% 64%
Happiness #929DA1 146 157 161 196° 9% 63%
Fidelity #929da1 159 163 162 165° 2% 64%
Vast Remoteness #9098BC 144 152 188 229° 23% 74%
Eternity #C1C0D2 193 192 210 243° 9% 82%
Big #a89899 168 152 153 356° 10% 66%
Fancy #aca8b7 172 168 183 256° 8% 72%
Cold #a9accd 169 172 205 235° 18% 80%
Intelligence #d0d1e6 208 209 230 237° 10% 90%
Science #C5C6DB 197 198 219 237° 10% 86%
Concentration #B1B3C0 177 179 192 232° 8% 75%

Independence #9CA9A0 156 169 160 138° 8% 66%

Sportsmanship #B3C0D1 179 192 209 214° 14% 82%

Male #7D758A 125 127 138 263° 15% 54%
Practical #AFC0C7 175 192 199 198° 12% 78%
Technical and
#B8B9CE 184 185 206 237° 11% 81%
Functional
Rest #B46F72 165 190 186 170° 13% 75%
Passivity #ACBCC9 172 188 201 207° 14% 79%
I long #A698B1 166 152 177 274° 14% 69%
Merit #CCA9AF 204 169 175 350° 17% 80%

Reds

Name Sample Cod. Hex. RGB HSV

Communism
#F93f42 250 63 66 320° 75%100%
Hate #ED9482 237 143 13010° 45%93%
Force
#B6848F 182 132 143347° 27%71%
and

••
•
24
 Worth #A08481 160 132 129 6° 19% 63%
Attractive #CC9C9A 204 156 154 2° 25% 80%
Heat #FB7C5B 251 124 91 12° 64% 98%
Energy #e48871 228 136 113 12° 50% 89%
Passion #f25850 242 88 80 3° 67% 95%
Desire #B1B3C0 238 110 99 5° 58% 93%
Closeness #E3A78B 227 167 139 19° 53% 89%
Shout (raise
voice) #E2906A 226 144 106 19° 39% 89%
Extraversion #EF9976 239 153 118 17° 51% 94%
Gonna #BD5E5A 189 94 90 2° 52% 74%
ss #CE7F7B 206 127 123 3° 40% 81%
Excitement #F08679 240 134 121 7° 50% 94%
Danger #CB7262 203 114 98 9° 52% 80%
Forbidden #B46F72 180 111 114 357° 38% 71%
Seductive #D47F84 212 127 132 356° 40% 83%
Sexuality #E26B6F 226 107 111 358° 53% 89%
Erotic #D0575E 208 87 98 357° 58% 82%
Immoral #BF7D8B 191 125 139 347° 35% 75%
Dynamism #C47568 196 117 104 8° 47% 77%
Activity #D6A47F 214 164 127 26° 41% 84%

Yellows

Name Sample Cod. Hex. RGB HSV

Fun #FBB67D 251 182 125 27° 50% 98%
Pleasure #C7A889 199 168 137 30° 31% 78%
Kindness #BEBFAD 190 191 173 63° 9% 75%
Optimism #B0C493 176 196 147 84° 25% 77%
Summer #B7CE77 183 195 119 69° 39% 76%
Envy #B2CE84 178 206 132 83° 36% 81%
Energy #E48871 228 136 113 12° 50% 89%
Jealousy #B2BF87 178 191 135 74° 29% 75%
Avarice #B0B889 176 184 137 70° 26% 72%
Selfishness #C49E8B 196 158 139 20° 29% 77%
Acid #99D476 153 212 118 98° 44% 83%
Spontaneous
and impulsive #BBC097 187 192 151 67° 21% 75%
Impertinent #E8A393 232 163 147 11° 37% 91%
Presumptuous #ECC395 236 195 149 32° 37% 91%
Triangular #C9D9B4 201 217 180 86° 17% 85%
Round #FABB92 250 187 146 24° 42% 98%
Oval #EFD5C6 239 213 198 22° 17% 94%

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•
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 Lie #ACA89C 172 168 15645° 9% 67%
Angular #ABA9AC 171 169 172280° 2% 67%

Green

Name Sample Cod. RGB HSV

Hex.
Pleasant #A5AE9B 165 174 155 88° 11% 68%
Tolerance #B1BBC7 177 187 199 213° 11% 78%
Natural #BEBFAD 140 195 166 148° 28% 76%
Vivacious #B0C493 153 174 117 82° 33% 68%
Healthy #B9907E 137 144 126 83° 13% 56%
Spring #B2CE84 139 49 71 92° 182% 121%
Refreshing and
fresh #B2CE84 149 171 133 95° 22% 67%
Youth #CBDEBE 203 222 190 96° 14% 87%
Selfishness #C49E8B 196 158 139 20° 29% 77%
#70B18F 112 177 143 149° 37% 69%
Hope in trust
Poisonous #87C68F 135 198 143 128° 32% 78%
Tranquilizer #86B4AA 134 180 170 167° 26% 71%
Recollection #97A399 151 163 153 130° 7% 64%
Triangular #86B4AA 201 217 180 86° 17% 85%
Confidence in
what is safe #9DB9AD 157 185 173 154° 15% 73%
Spring #5DB779 93 183 121 139° 49% 72%
cool, summer #B7C377 183 195 119 69° 39% 76%
Autumn #C2A853 194 168 83 46° 57% 76%
Winter #D5D5E1 213 213 225 240° 5% 88%

Blacks

Name Sample Cod. Hex. RGB HSV

Finalized #8B898A 139 137 138 330° 1% 55%
Duel #544F53 84 79 83 312° 6% 33%
Selfishness #C49E8B 196 158 139 20° 29% 77%
Infidelity #B3A48F 179 164 143 35° 20% 70%
Mysterious #9E8598 158 133 152 314° 16% 62%
Magic #8A7E80 138 126 128 350° 9% 54%
introversion #9E99AD 158 153 173 255° 12% 68%
Evil #7D7A75 125 122 117 37° 6% 49%
Conservative #A6A39C 166 163 156 42° 6% 65%
Elegance #B9B6AD 185 182 173 45° 6% 73%

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 Violence
#8D706C 141 112 108 7° 23% 55%
and
Can #A98472 169 132 114 20° 33% 66%
Narrowness
#7F7B78 127 123 120 26° 6% 50%
and
Angular #ABA9AC 171 169 172 280° 2% 67%
Hard #85848A 133 132 138 250° 4% 543%
Heavy #787469 120 116 105 44° 13% 47%

Whites

Name Sample Cod. Hex. RGB HSV

Beginning #C8EAD9 200 234 217 150° 15% 92%
New/New #B0CEB6 176 206 182 132° 15% 81%
Good #D3D2D0 211 210 208 40° 1% 83%
TRUE #C8C5C0 200 197 192 38° 4% 78%
Ideal and perfect #D6D2C9 214 210 201 42° 6% 84%
Honesty #CCCACB 204 202 203 330° 1% 80%
Univocality #B2A1A9 178 161 169 332° 10% 7O%
Accuracy #7D7A75 125 122 117 37° 6% 49%
Whisper #D9C8DB 217 200 219 294° 9% 86%
Purity #EDEDF5 237 237 245 240° 3% 96%
Innocence #FDE9F2 253 233 242 333° 8% 99%
Neutral objectivity #C7CAD3 199 202 211 225° 6% 83%
Light #E8D8C1 232 216 193 35° 17% 91%

Oranges

Name Sample Cod. Hex. RGB HSV

Taste #BFAB86 191 171 134 39° 30% 75%
Aromatic #B9BB89 185 187 137 62° 27% 73%
Fun #CAAC8A 202 172 138 32° 32% 79%
Sociability #BEBB91 190 189 145 59° 24% 75%
Cheerful #FCB77E 252 183 126 27° 50% 99%
Striking #E8A393 232 163 147 11° 37% 91%
Inadequate/Subjective #D09FA3 208 159 163 355° 24% 82%
Frivolous/Conventional #DFAEA7 223 174 167 7° 25% 87%
Original #D9A6AB 217 166 171 354° 24% 85%
Extraversion #EF9976 239 153 118 17° 51% 94%
Activity #D6A57D 214 165 125 27° 42% 84%
Closeness #E3A78B 227 167 139 19° 39% 89%

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Violet
Gol
d
Name Name Sample
Sample Cod.
Cod.Hex.
Hex. RGB
RGB HSV
HSV
Devotion and faith
Happiness #BCB0BA
#D0BF91 188 176 186 310°
208 191 145 44° 30%6% 82%
74%
Extraversion
Pride #D3B7C3
#D8BCAE 211
216 183
188 195
174 334° 13% 85%
20° 19% 83%
Singular
Merit #CBAEAA
#D7B2AA 203
215 174
178 170
170 7° 16% 84%
11° 21% 80%
Vanity #DAA99B 218 169 155 13° 29% 85%
Magic Pomp (funeral) #8A7E80
#E4C5A9 138
228 126
197 128
169 350° 9% 89%
28° 26% 54%
HiddenBeauty #9A8594
#E6BF94 154
230 133
191 148
148 317° 14% 90%
31° 36% 60%
Fancy Solemnity #AB9DAC
#D1CCAF 171
209 157
204 172
175 296° 9% 82%
51° 16% 67%
Frivolous/Conventional
Luxury #E3B7AC
#CFA889 227
207 183
168 172
137 12° 24% 81%
27° 34% 89%
Original
Presumptuousnes #DFB3A8
#E4C38E 223
228 179
195 168
142 12° 25% 89%
37° 38% 87%
s
Fashion #B59B9A 181 155 154 2° 15% 71%
Artificial
Silver
#D5A8AF 213 168 175 351° 21% 84%
Ambiguity #CAA2AD 202 162 173 343° 20% 79%
Inappropriate
Name Sample Cod. Hex. RGB HSV
Speed #D0A2A4
#D7AB9E 208 162 164 357° 27%
215 171 158 14° 22% 84%
82%
and
Dynamism #C993A0 201 147 160 346° 27% 79%
Roses Modern #C7C1C5 199 193 197 320° 3% 78%
Technical
Name Sample Cod. Hex.
#AEAFC1 RGB
174 175 193HSV
237° 10% 76%
and
Romanticism #DA889E 218
Elegance #B8B4A8 184 180 168 45° 38%
136 158 344° 9% 85%
72%
Illusion and dream
Singular #D7AECE
#CAACAA 215 174 206 313°
202 172 170 4° 19% 84%
16% 79%
Female
Extravagant #F3AFBC
#D2B8C1 243
210 184 193 339° 12%95%
175 188 349° 28% 82
Little #F6DBC6 246 219 198 26° 20% 96%
Tender, docile and
Brown
gentle #F9DDDC 249 219 198 26° 20% 96%
Childhood
Name Sample #F9DDDC
Cod. Hex. 248
RGB179 184 356°
HSV28% 97%
Seductive
Ugly #CA909E
#A59C96 202
165144
156158
150356°
24° 29%
9% 79%
65%
Eroticism
Unfriendly #D0575E
#B5A1A1 208 87 94 357°
181 161 161 0° 58% 82%
11% 71%
Vanity
Antierotic #DBA79A
#C4C7B4 219
196167
199154
18012°
69° 30%
10%86%
78%
Delicacy
Disgusting #DA95B1
#9EA29B 218 149 177 336° 32% 85%
158 162 155 94° 4% 64%
Sensitivity
Laziness #EFE0DB
#ADA08F 239
173224
160219
14315°
34° 8%
17%239%
68%
Courtesy
Foolishness #D1D2D4
#C2ACA9 209 210 212 220°
194 172 169 7° 1% 83%
13% 76%
Ambiguity
Cozy #CAA2AD
#A0AE8D 202
160 174 141 85° 19%79%
162 173 343° 20% 68%
Charm
Rough #C6ACB5
#ABB1A2 198 172 181 339° 13% 78%
171 177 162 84° 8% 69%
Bitter #B4CAA1 180 202 161 92° 20% 79%
Sweet and delicate
Current #EDAA90
#BF6A7F 237
191170
106144
12717°
345°39%
45%93%
75%
Benign
Outdated #DDC4BD 221 196 189 13° 14% 87%
#BFB9A5 191 185 165 46° 14% 75%
Artificial
#D5A6AE 213 166 174 350° 22% 84%
Gre
and
y Cheap #E2B6B3 226 182 179 4° 21% 898%
Name Sample Cod. Hex. RGB HSV
Bored #ADAAA5 173 170 16537° 5% 68%

••
•
28
••
•
29
loneliness and #A8A7AD 168 167 173 250° 3% 68%
emptiness
Bleak #A7A49B 167 164 155 45° 7% 65%
Ugly #A59C97 165 156 151 21° 8% 65%
Thoughtful #B2B1B9 178 177 185 247° 4% 73%
Insecure #D5C5AE 213 197 174 35° 18% 84%
Insensitive
#C0BEBF 192 190 191 330° 1% 75%
and
Old age #ABA8A1 171 168 161 42° 6% 67%
Modesty #DCCECD 220 206 205 4° 7% 86%
Honesty, probity

and #C6C2B6 198 194 182 45° 8% 78%

Current #C9BCAB 201 188 171 34° 15% 79%
Conservative #A6A39C 166 163 156 42° 6% 65%
Practical #B0C3C9 176 195 201 194° 12% 79%

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30
 CHROMATIC CIRCLE

The chromatic circle , or color wheel , is an ordered and circular representation of colors
according to their hue or tone, where the primary colors and their derivatives are
represented. Its use is compatible with both subtractive color models (artistic, pictorial) and
additive models (luminous).

Gradient natural color wheel.

The color circles can be represented staggered or in gradient (as in the image). The
staggered ones can have any number of colors depending on the author, usually there are
12, 24, 48 or even more. He
Called hexagram, for example, is a star that is placed in the center of the color wheel,
where the number of peaks corresponds to each color and the opposite or complementary
ones can be shown.

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31
Traditional color wheel

7 and 12 color wheels from 1708.

Color wheels are ancient, Alberti in his De Pictura (1436), using the color wheel, but also
the rectangle and the rhombus, represented the system of four primary colors of his
time: yellow, green, blue and red.
The traditional coloring model with the three primary colors red, yellow and blue was
discovered in the 17th century and since then many works have been developed, such
as that of Moses Harris who in 1766 developed a color wheel of 18 colors based on this
model and including a greater range of colors by adding light and dark derivatives.

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32
 Schiffermüller's color wheel, 1772.

This traditional model, also called RYB ( red-yellow-blue ), was popularized with
Goethe's book, Theory of Colors of 1810, which developed a color wheel with six colors:
yellow, orange, red, violet, blue and green, which continues to be taught in the plastic
2
arts and graphic arts , despite the fact that its empirical use can present serious
drawbacks or inaccuracies in color composition.
According to the traditional model, the opposite pigment colors are:

• Blue is the opposite color to orange.

• Red is the opposite color of green.
• Yellow is the opposite color of violet.
And so on with all the colors, such as blue-green (sea green) or red-orange.
Important fact to know: warm colors such as red, orange, among others, are usually

located on the right side of the color wheel, while • • •

33
Cool colors (blue, green, teal, etc.) are located on the left side of the circle.

Natural color wheel

Stepped color wheel of 6 colors.

12 color circle.

24 color circle.

The result of distributing the colors that make up the segment of natural light around a
circle is called a natural color circle, so most of its components are spectral colors. A
more accurate model emerged after the appearance of color photography and was
based on Newton 's studies on light, which is used in industrial color production, with
greater precision in color representation, and from which RGB models are derived. and

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34
 CMYK, in which the colors are: yellow, red, magenta, blue, cyan and green. The most
common mixture of these colors is represented in a 12-color wheel, but any number of
mixtures can be made and create a color wheel with thousands of colors.
According to the additive model of color, opposite light colors in the circle
chromatic or 2 are those that are opposite each other.

• Yellow is the opposite color to blue.

• Magenta is the color opposite green.
• Cian is the opposite colour to red.
According to the modern model of pigment mixtures (subtractive color model) there is
approximate reciprocity between the RGB color model and the CMY Color Model;
therefore, the opposite colors are:

• Red is the opposite color of cyan.

• Green is the opposite color of magenta.
• Blue is the opposite color to yellow.
White and black are opposite colors, but like gray they do not have color (they are
neutral colors) and therefore do not appear on a color wheel, white is the presence of all
colors and black is their total absence .
However, black and white when combined form gray, which is also marked on scales.
This forms a circle of its own called the "grayscale color wheel" or "gray circle."
This triad of colors is the generator of the infinity of all colors possible to be perceived by
the eye or feasible to be used in graphic arts, since it allows a finite number of
subdivisions. From this triad, for example, the colors called "pastels" cannot be
obtained, which are those that have white added in different proportions.

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35
 Natural color wheel
Traditional coloring. CMYK subtractive model.
(RGB) .
The names of the primary colors and their derivatives are approximately the following:

Traditional coloring (RYB)

• Primary: red, yellow and blue.
• Secondary: orange, green and purple or purple.
• Tertiary: red orange, amber or yellow Orange Green
yellow or chartreuse, blue green or turquoise blue, blue purple or violet and red
purple.

CMYK subtractive modelhttps://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK

• Primary: yellow, cyan and magenta.
• Secondary: red, green and blue.
• Tertiary: orange, yellow-green, green-blue, ultramarine blue, purple and crimson.

RGB additive modelhttps://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB

• Primary: red, green and blue.
• Secondary: yellow, cyan and magenta.
• Tertiary: orange, lime, green
light cyan or emerald , cerulean or azure, violet and fuchsia.
•••
36
Color harmonies

The color wheel is very often used to assemble or determine the color harmonies to be
used in a certain artistic work. In this sense, there are several kinds of color harmonies,
including the following:

Harmony of colors in equidistant triad

It is when it is a color composition using those shades of the color wheel that are
arranged in the shape of an equilateral triangle, equidistant from each other and from the
center of the circle, such as, for example, the Yellow-Cyan-Magenta triad or the Green
triad. -Red Blue.
Basic-tertiary harmony

This is the color palette designed by the painter Carlos Benítez Campos with basic and
tertiary colors in the following way: first we choose three basic colors for our palette
(primary or secondary without distinction), and then we add two or three colors to it. that
result from mixing two by two, the primaries and secondary ones of the chromatic circle
not chosen in the first place. In total we will obtain five or six colors to paint a painting in
perfect chromatic harmony.

Painting according to Matisse

Like other painters of his time, Matisse used color and shapes to express emotions and
feelings. In this fragment of a radio interview, conducted in 1942, he expressed his
opinion:
Interviewer: Mr. Matisse, why do you paint?

Matisse:-To translate my emotions, my feelings and the reactions of my sensitivity in

terms of color and form, something that neither the most perfected camera, even in
color, nor cinema can do.
Henri Matisse, Reflections on art , Buenos Aires, Emecé, 1977

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•
37
Color can be used symbolically

Color, like words, can be given symbolic meanings. Many times these symbols are
specific to a culture. This means that they can be interpreted by those who know them.
In our culture, mourning is symbolized by the color black. In some Eastern cultures,
however, the color of mourning is white. For Hindus, orange is the mystical color,
however in the West, we would be amazed to see a priest in an orange cassock.

Color and communication

In daily life we perceive reality "in color", that is, color gives us information about the
objects and situations that surround us. It is then understandable that it seems to us, in
principle, that color in the images has a naturalistic and documentary description. But
color also has an aesthetic dimension: there is a high degree of subjectivism in its use.
Color also has symbolic values: meanings
culturally accepted that expand and modify the value of the image. Certain colors seem
more appropriate than others to achieve certain communication purposes. For all these
reasons, the conscious use of color in images expands and enriches the range of
creative resources.
Gallery

••
•
38
 Newton's Spectral Circle, 1704

• Goethe's color wheel, 1810

RJB wheel Merimee, 1830

••
•
39
Küppers RGB dodecagram, with stepped light-dark

••
•
40
W. von Bezhold, 1874, with light and dark derivatives

••
•
41
 TEXT BOOKS OF ART EDUCATION

COLOR CHART

Froehlich & Snow wheel, 1904

'The Colorist'
By J. TO. H. Httl
Nomtnclature Charl No. 2

Showing proposed names for hues 15° apart.

Colon opposite each other art complimentary.

d. NO STRAND co.
Publtahera, N. AND.

Hatt's circle, 1908, 24 colors introducing cyan and magenta

••
•
42
Munsell Color System Wheel, 1915

RYB wheel by Johannes Itten, 1961

••
•
43
RYB wheel with CMYK values for 108 colors
PRIMARY COLORS

Color that cannot be obtained by mixing any other.

A primary color , previously called primitive color , is considered a color that cannot be
obtained by mixing any other color. This is an idealized model, based on the biological
response of the receptor cells of the human eye (cones) to the presence of certain light
frequencies and their interferences.

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•
44
Biological basis

Primary colors are not a fundamental property of light, but a biological concept, based on
the physiological response of the human eye. Fundamentally, white light is a continuous
spectrum of wavelengths , meaning that an indefinite number of colors can actually exist,
only limited by the sensitivity of the eye. However, a normal human eye only contains
three types of receptors, called L, M, and S cones. These respond to specific
wavelengths of red, green and blue light. People and members of other species who
have these three types of receptors are called trichromats. Although the maximum
sensitivity of the cones does not occur exactly at the RVA frequencies, these colors are
chosen as primary colors since with them it is possible to stimulate the three color
receptors. of manner almost independent, providing
a particularly wide range .

Primary colors in light (RGB)

Additive mix using 3 reflectors for each primary color.

An additive color system involves emitting light of different colors. Televisions, monitors
and screens are the most common practical applications of additive synthesis. The red -
green - blue triad, also known as RGB ( Red , Green , Blue ) or RVA (in Spanish) is ideally

considered the set of primary colors of light, since with it, a very wide range of visible
colors and the mixture of the three in equal intensities (addition) results in light grays,
which ideally tend to white.
In additive synthesis, mixing the ideal primary colors gives the following results:

••
•
45
• Green + blue = Cyan
• Red + blue = Magenta
• Red + green = Yellow
• Red + blue + green = white
Primary colors in the pigment (CMYK)

Primary and secondary colors according to the subtractive mixing model

The synthesis subtractive explains the theory of the mix

of pigments (paints, dyes, inks and colorants natural) for
create colors that absorb certain wavelengths and reflect others. The color a given object
appears to have depends on what parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are reflected by
it, or, conversely, what parts of the spectrum are not absorbed.
In subtractive synthesis, the three primary colors are the cyan - magenta - yellow triad,
known likewise by their acronym CMYK

(from
English Cyan , M agenta , Y ellow and Blac K ); Its mixture in equal parts (subtraction)
gives rise to dark gray tones, which tend - in the ideal model - to black. The mixture of
primary colors gives the following ideal results in subtractive synthesis:

• Magenta + yellow = Red

• Cyan + yellow = Green

••
•
46
• Cyan + magenta = Blue
• Cyan + magenta + yellow = Black

Reciprocity between CMY and RGB

According to the two ideal models, both color schemes have a clear correspondence: the
secondary colors of the RGB model are the primary colors of CMYK, and vice versa.
Although this is true on a theoretical level and can be considered valid to a certain
extent, in practice it is impossible to achieve, since color perception is a biological
function and not a physical property of light; Furthermore, it is practically impossible in
reality to obtain completely pure pigments and lights, and any mixture, regardless of
whether it is subtractive or additive, is really an interference phenomenon perceived as a
false tone by the eye, and not a real change in frequency. of the light. For this reason, it
is very unlikely to obtain an absolute correspondence for each color between both
models, and if this becomes necessary, methods that simulate visual perception must be
used to approximate a response between both models, which is the field of study of
colorimetry.

History

The idea of mixing colors existed since ancient Greece; However, the theory of the
existence of primary colors and their derivatives was developed by Isaac Newton and
published in his book Opticks in 1704. Newton proposed that - like musical notes - there
were seven basic colors in light, giving total relevance to the tones that stood out the
most in the spectrum of a prism, which idealized the model without taking into account
that in the phenomenon of dispersion of light there is a tonal gradation, corresponding to
a uniform distribution of frequency ranges.

Later, the French School of painting in the 18th century, supported by the model - more
romantic than scientific - studied by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and described in his
book Theory of Colors of 1810, created the RYB Model.

For Goethe, colors should represent basic sensations, and therefore he represented a

••
•
47
card of six colors, between primary and secondary.

Later, after the development of impressionism in the 19th century, research on the wave
nature of light and human visual perception, studied during the 19th and 20th centuries,
found clues to more precisely determine a group closer to the ideal. of primary colors ,
finding that in the subtractive mixture blue and red are quite imprecise approximations,
since these can be obtained through the mixture of several dyes and their mixtures
generate low luminosity tones, considered impure or dirty . In this way, cyan was
determined as a better substitute for blue, and magenta replacing red, giving rise to the
current subtractive color synthesis model, which replaces the RYB model. In addition,
with James Clerk Maxwell 's research on color synthesis, knowledge about additive color
synthesis is perfected, and it is discovered that the subtractive and additive mixing
models are approximately reciprocal, giving way to the full adoption of both in the
industrial environment, in which they continue to be used to this day for all techniques
that require color representation, among which are television, photography, printing,
offset lithography and in general the graphic arts industry. .

Finally, and for practical reasons (among which is the economy of inks) the black
pigment is added to the subtractive mixture (cyan-magenta-yellow), normally cheaper to
produce and ideal for text printing, arriving at the model of CMYK color. Additionally, to
provide a more faithful registration of the color in some critical tones (such as the light
blue sky in some images), variations of the cyan and magenta inks of lower intensity are
also added, composed directly in the ink, which allows gradations to be made. more
delicate tones of these two colors; This variation is known as CcMmYK, and is used in
photographic quality printers and in some lithographic processes prior to semitone
separation.

••
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48
Traditional coloring model (RYB)

Approximation of primary and secondary colors according to the RYB model.

Also called the RYB Color Model (from the English Red , Y ellow , B lue , red, yellow,
blue) is a traditional model of subtractive color synthesis, precursor of the CMY(K)
model, and which dates back to the 16th century. In it, the colors red, yellow and blue
are considered primary. In turn, this model describes orange, green and purple as
secondary colors.
Thanks to the development of synthetic pigments, this model has been completely
displaced in the industry by the CMYK model (which is its correction), although it
continues to be applied—by tradition—in fine arts schools (visual arts, graphic design).
and it also frequently appears within basic education.
The adoption of the CMYK model accelerated in the industry thanks to computing and
the lithographic industry; computer software is already corresponding to the most
modern model, and it is very difficult to find references to the RYB model in digital
publishing; despite this, many professionals in fine arts or its derivatives do not recognize
this change, and rather do so. They consider a dilemma only to be taken into account
when applied industrially.

SECONDARY COLOURS

Secondary colors are perceptual shades of color, which are obtained by mixing the

unequal parts of the primary colors, 2 at a time. Secondary colors are an idealized model

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, fully dependent on the source that represents the color, the nature of the material that
generates it and the subjective characteristics of the authors' visual and auditory
perception.

Color models

In a substance that does not emit light (pigment), white light falls from the environment
onto the pigment, which absorbs certain wavelengths and reflects others, resulting in the
apparent color of the substance. If dyes are mixed in such a way that all wavelengths are
absorbed, the result will be black. This color representation model is known as a
subtractive model, since the pigment subtracts wavelengths to generate color. If colored
light sources are used instead, each color of light contains a mixture of wavelengths,
which are perceived by the eye as color information; The mixing of all wavelengths ,
unlike in the subtractive model, results in white. This model, consisting of the addition of
wavelengths to obtain colors, is known as the additive color model .

Secondary colors according to the subtractive color model (cyan, magenta and yellow)

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 Primary and secondary colors according to the subtractive mixing model

• magenta + yellow = red

• yellow + cyan = green
• cyan + magenta = blue
• cyan + magenta + yellow = black

Secondary colors according to the additive color model (red, green and blue)

Primary and secondary colors according to the additive mixing model

• red + green = yellow

• red + blue = magenta

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• green + blue = cyan

It is important to keep in mind that no color model can perfectly represent all the colors of
another , 1 since it is impossible to obtain pigments of absolute purity (true primaries) and
totally concentrated, and that also reflect all of the colored light. that affects them (there
will always be a percentage of absorption in the material). In the same way, it is
impossible in practice to obtain completely pure colored light, since this is generally
obtained through the filtering of white light, which is not close to the ideal model in most
cases. On the other hand, it is really impossible to obtain a true color from the mixture of
others, since what is really obtained is an interference between two reflected
wavelengths, which stimulate the retinal receptors (LMS cells) approximately similar to
how a legitimate intermediate wavelength of light does.

Secondary colors according to the color model, RYB (Blue, Yellow and Red)

Approximate representation of primary and secondary

colors according to the traditional model

• red + yellow = orange

• yellow + blue = green
• blue + red = purple

In the second mixture, the green generated has a more or less impure tone depending
on the type of blue pigment used as primary; Of the same • • •
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In this way, the purple obtained in the third mixture can be dulled. This is the reason why
the RYB model generates dirty and dark tones, generating a rather limited tonal range .
Seen practically, fuchsia, apple green, lemon green and other bright or colorful tones are
colors that are impossible to obtain through this representation. For this reason, although
the RYB model continues to be taught in visual arts practice, it is an obsolete and
imprecise description of color, which has been completely neglected in industrial and
scientific practice.

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 INTERMEDIATE AND/OR TERTIARY COLORS

An intermediate color is one that is obtained by mixing two defined colors . It is usually
synonymous with tertiary color , in this sense, it is achieved by mixing equal parts of a
primary color and a secondary color . However, they are also usually considered
intermediate colors to other combinations, such as earth colors (gray), pastel colors
(lightened with white), dark colors, etc.
 purple
Red Orange
red Red

Purple Orange

purple yellow
blue orange

Blue Yellow

Blue Green
green yellow
Green

Primary, secondary and tertiary colors on the traditional color wheel (RYB).
TERTIARY COLOR

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It is an intermediate color between a primary and a secondary, so there are six. In the
traditional coloring model they are : 2

• orange red or orange red

• orange yellow or orange yellow or amber
• yellow green or greenish yellow or lime or chartreuse
• green blue or greenish blue or turquoise blue
• violet blue or violet blue or violet
• violet red or violet red or scarlet

In the combination of colors according to the CMYK or RGB models, other tertiary colors
are obtained analogously.

earth color

VIVID
COLORS

green Magenta Fuchsia

DARK

Garnet Mahogany Brown Brown or Blue Purple Wine purple

Indian red or golden brown or virician or or purple
blue

Waxing Copper Cinnamon Golden Chartreuse Green Green Green Turquoise Blue Sapphire Amethyst Purple Fandango
mar steel
or forest apple
CLEAR ocher

Intermediate colors of the RGB model. In the first row the primary, secondary and tertiary colors, in the
second row the dark colors (intermediate with black) , third row colors • • • 56
earth (intermediate with gray) , fourth row light or pastel colors (intermediate with white) and last row

neutral or achromatic colors .

When mixing a primary with its complementary (a secondary that does not contain it) broken
colors (or earth colors) are created, these are: yellow earth (T) with 50% yellow + 25% red +
25% blue, earth red (T) with 50% red + 25% yellow + 25% blue, and blue earth (T) with 50%
blue + 25% yellow + 25% red.

Earth colors are infinite and are formed by mixing together, in different proportions, the three
basic colors (subtractive primaries).

If the proportions of the mixture of the three colors were exact, we would obtain black. As
the mixing proportions can vary enormously, the amount of earth colors (broken hues) that
we can obtain is very numerous.

Ochres, siennas and shadows, yellow ocher, red ocher, natural shadow, toasted shadow,
etc., are common names for these earth colors according to the predominance of one basic
color or another.

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 QUATERNARY COLORS

Quaternary colors are those that are created by mixing tertiary colors with each other. It
is very difficult to obtain an exact tone in this type of color because they affect the
amount of mixture and not only the amount of tertiary color since the amount of a
primary or secondary color can affect its tonality. Unless you use exact measurements in
the combination of colors, it is almost impossible to repeat the tone of a quaternary color,
which, unlike secondary and tertiary colors, has a greater variety of colors. It is said that
there are two types of quaternary colors:

-The Browns: They are quaternary colors to which black is added.

-Pastels: They are quaternary colors to which white is added.
The most common quaternary colors are:
-Tertiary Red + Tertiary Yellow = Neutralized Orange.
-Tertiary Yellow + Tertiary Blue = Neutralized Green (Olive Green).
-Tertiary Blue + Tertiary Red = Neutralized Violet.

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 COMPLEMENTARY COLORS

green fuchsia vermilion blue green

RGB model
Model
traditional

Mixing colors on the RGB color wheel (left) and the traditional color wheel (right).
Diametrically opposite colors are called 'complementary colors'.
Colors opposite or complementary are those colors that

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 HE
They are in an opposable position within the color wheel. As there are several types of
color wheel, the complementary name depends largely on the RGB, CMYK or
traditional model used. It is obtained, for example, by contrasting a primary color with a
secondary color formed by the other two primaries.

In the theory of the color says that two colors are

called complementary, if when mixed in a given proportion, the result of the mixture is a
neutral color (gray, white or black). From a perceptual perspective of color models, the
neutral colors: white, gray and black fall on a central axis of the color space, and
complementary colors would be on one side or the other of this axis, opposite one
another. For example, in the HSV color space, complementary colors (as defined in
HSV) fall opposite each other in the vertical sections.

In most complementary colors, only the saturated, brightest colors are considered.
However, under formal definitions, brightness and saturation are factors to take into
account, as well. In CIE 1931 space, a color of one "dominant" wavelength can be
mixed with another particular amount of "complementary" wavelength to produce a
neutral color (gray or white). In modern color theory , which HE detach
the Models (approximately
complementary) RGB and CMY(K) (as well as derived models such as HSV ), the
primary colors, as well as the secondary colors, are paired as follows:

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It is currently considered that the additive mixture of two exactly opposite colors gives
gray, so black is the opposite of white.

red and cyan ( red cyan) (where cyan is understood as an optical mixture
between blue and green)
green and magenta ( green magenta ) (where magenta is a mixture of
Red and blue)
blue and yellow ( blue yellow ) (where yellow is a mixture between
green and red)

Art and Design

Traditional coloring model.

Due to the limited range of colors that is available in the history of art,
the influence of Goethe with his book Theory of Colors of 1810 (Model of
color RYB) , many artists traditionally use pairs of colors
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complementary to create color harmonies. The most important pairs, according to this
model (between primary color and a secondary RYB), are:
• yellow and violet
• blue and orange
• Red and green

The colors green, orange and violet arise from the mixture of the remaining subtractive
colors (yellow + blue = green, yellow + red = orange, blue + red = violet). When two
complementary colors are mixed in equal proportions they produce a neutral gray or
brown color. The use of complementary colors is important in the aesthetic development
of colors as well as in the graphic design of company and retailer logos . When two
complementary colors are placed together, the contrast between them makes them
appear brighter.

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 SUMMARY

CHROMATIC CIRCLE

It is the practical representation of all colors, in it the combinations are expressed to form
new colors from the three primaries.

For practical purposes this is the simplest organization of colors.

PRIMARY COLORS

They are those colors that cannot be obtained by mixing any other colors, which is why
they are considered absolute, unique.

They are the basic or fundamental colors, by mixing them you can obtain the other
colors.

There are three colors that meet this characteristic: yellow, red and blue. By mixing
pigments of these colors, all other colors can be obtained.

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We can also affirm that primary colors are those established as the
originators of the most extensive and satisfactory
scientifically as chromatic combinations:

LEMON YELLOW
BLUE - CYAN
RED - MAGENTA

SECONDARY COLORS (S)

They are those obtained by mixing two primary colors at 50% %,

getting:

YELLOW + BLUE = GREEN

BLUE + RED = VIOLET

RED + YELLOW = ORANGE

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INTERMEDIATE COLORS

Mixing a primary and a secondary color produces the so-called intermediate colors (I),
which, as their name indicates, are "between" a primary color (P) and a secondary color
(S) or vice versa.

Another characteristic of these colors is that they are named with the colors that are
involved in their composition, first citing the primary color and then the secondary one:

• greenish yellow,
• oranged Red,
• greenish blue,
• blue-violet, red-violet and
• yellow orange.

TERTIARY COLORS

Tertiary colors are the most abundant in nature and therefore the most used in painting,
since the most exalted ones shine through them and those of medium intensity come to
life.

Tertiary colors are achieved by mixing equal parts of a primary and the secondary that
does NOT contain it and are these:

Yellow earth (T) with 50% Yellow + 25% Red + 25% Blue,

Red earth (T) with 50% red + 25% Yellow + 25% Blue, and
Blue Earth (T) with 50% Blue + 25% Yellow + 25% Red.

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There are an infinite number of earth colors and they are formed by mixing together, in
different proportions, the three basic colors; red, blue and yellow.

If the proportions of the mixture of the three colors were exact, we would obtain black.

As the mixing proportions can vary enormously, the amount of earth colors (broken
hues) that we can obtain is very numerous.

Ochers, siennas and shadows, yellow ocher, red ocher, natural shadow, burnt shadow,
etc. etc They are common names for these earth colors according to the predominance
of one basic color or another.

In reality they are nothing more than shades of a color.

YELLOW + GREEN = YELLOWISH GREEN

GREEN + BLUE = TEAL
BLUE + VIOLET = BLUE VIOLET
VIOLET + RED = REDdish VIOLET
RED + ORANGE = REDdish ORANGE
ORANGE + YELLOW = YELLOWISH ORANGE

The limit at which a color stops being YELLOWISH GREEN and becomes YELLOW

GREENISH is quite subtle and will depend on what will be the dominant color in the mix.

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QUATERNARY COLORS

They are those obtained by mixing the tertiaries with each other:

Tertiary red + tertiary yellow = neutralized orange,

Tertiary yellow + tertiary blue = very neutral green (olive green) and

Red and tertiary blue = plum-like neutral violet .

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 GREY

• jet / silver / dark gray

• slate / gray HTML/ lead
• ash / gray cold /standard gray

Gray is the common name for achromatic colors whose luminosity is between maximum

(corresponding to white) and zero (corresponding to black) , although it is especially

applied to those of medium luminosity. Gray is perceived as a consequence of the
photoreception of light of moderate intensity made up of all wavelengths of the visible
spectrum, three wavelengths (long, medium and short) or two complementary
wavelengths. It resembles the color of cumulonimbus clouds when they are dense, low
and gloomy, the color of fog and the color of ash . 2

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The color name "gray" covers slightly chromatic colorations Similar to
the gray neutral,
called grayish , grayish or grayish . Brown colorations are also called "gray", and
especially those that are light . 2

The color gray that is standardized in color catalogs and chromatic inventories, serving
as a general reference for gray, is achromatic and of medium luminosity.

Properties

As psychological color: cold

Gray tends to be considered cool rather than neutral.

ACHROMATIC GRAY

When working with pigments or dyes it is easy to create achromatic gray by adding black
and white, or by partially diluting the black color on a white support.

In the CMYK printing system, which obtains all colors by mixing cyan, magenta, yellow
and black inks , to obtain an achromatic medium gray , it is enough to print a 50% screen
in black, ignoring the other colors . 2

CHROMATIC GRAY

Chromatic gray is the gray created from the primary colors of the CMY printing system, a

procedure similar to CMYK but which does not use color. black: the colors
HE believe mixing
cyan, magenta and yellow inks only. In this printing technique, gray is created by printing
overlapping screens of 30% cyan, 10% magenta, and 15% yellow . 2

Complementarity

Gray is its own complement. because of its black and white color
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Gray samples
Cod.
Name Sample Hex. RGB HSV
Platinum14 #e5e4e2 229 228 226 40° 1% 90%
Ash grey #cdcdcd 205 205 205 EIT 0% 80%
HE
Linen #d7d0b7 215 208 183 47° 15% 84%
Silver #babybe 190 190 190 EIT 0% 75%
HE
white smoke #b4bcc0 180 188 192 200° 6% 75%
Aluminum #b9b8b5 185 184 181 45° 2% 73%
Alice blue #91A3B0 145 163 176 205° 18% 69%
Smoke or gray smoke #91A3B0 145 163 176 205° 18% 69%
Gray (standard) #96989A 150 152 154 210° 3% 60%
Gray (automotive) #909090 144 144 144 EIT 0% 56%
HE
Elephant #9B8F79 155 143 121 39° 22% 51%
Zinc or zinc #91888B 145 136 139 340° 6% 57%
Steel #8b8589 139 133 137 320° 4% 65%
cadet gray #81878B 129 135 139 204° 7% 55%
Battleship Gray #848482 132 132 130 60° 2% 52%
Nickel #8f817f 143 129 127 8° 11% 56%
Xanadu #738678 115 134 120 136° 14% 53%
Gray (HTLM) #808080 128 128 128 EIT 0% 50%
HE
Bistre #877D60 135 125 96 45° 29% 53%
Torcaza or taupe
(brown-gray) #87794E 135 121 78 45° 42% 53%

■
Payne gray or slate blue #536878 83 104 120 206° 31% 47%
Board #5D6770 93 103 112 208° 17% 44%
Lead #666666 102 102 102 EIT 0% 40%
HE
campaign gray #59646A 89 100 106 201° 16% 42%
cold gray #496063 73 96 99 187° 26% 39%
Grey of David EIT
either HE
lead
#555555 85 85 85 0% 33%
R
EIT
Asphalt or slate #555555 85 85 85 0% 33%
Jet #343434 52 52 52 HE
EIT 0% 20%
HE

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 BRIGHTNESS

CIE clarity as a function of luminance

Luminosity , also called clarity , is a property of colors. It gives an indication of the

luminous aspect of the color studied: the darker the color, the weaker the luminosity. This
term is sometimes associated with the concept of value, luminance, brightness, light...
the vocabulary used in this area is very rich.

The definition used in photometry and colorimetry describes the non-linear perception we
have of the amount of light received. It is often defined from the luminance of the source
studied.

Lightness is used in colorimetry to define certain colorimetric systems called uniform

chromatic systems such as CIE L*u*v*, CIE L*a*b*, and others.

Descriptive nominal notation

A color can be rated according to its luminosity. In the following example you can see the
following adjectivizations:

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 100% : white
90%: whitish
80% : very clear
70% : clear
60% : semi-light
50% : half
40%: semidark
30%: dark
20%: Very dark
10%: blackish
0% : black

In the case of primary sources, the reference white is the brightest white (generally the
D65 illuminant) that the source (television, projector,...) can produce. For secondary
sources, they are compared to magnesium oxide (MgO) which has a reflectance factor of
97.5%.

A gray with a reflectance of 18% (photometrically as well as energetically or

radiometrically) will have a lightness of around 50%.

Lightness scale for a neutral color

0% 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 % 70 % 80 % 90 % 100 %
SATURATION

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 Different levels of saturation of an image.

In color theory, saturation , colorfulness , or purity is the intensity of a specific hue . It is

based on the purity of the color; A highly saturated color has a vivid, intense color, while
a less saturated color appears more faded and gray. Without saturation, a color becomes
a shade of gray.

The saturation of a color is determined by a combination of its luminous intensity and the
distribution of its different wavelengths in the color spectrum . The purest color is
achieved by using a single wavelength at a very high intensity, such as with a laser. If the
light intensity decreases, so does the saturation. To desaturate a color in a system
subtractive (like in gouache) , can
Add white, black, gray, or its complementary color.

Example :

100%: lively or intense (saturated)

75%: strong or deep
50%: moderate, earthy or grayish (semi-saturated)
25%: weak or semi-neutral
0% : neutral or achromatic (unsaturated)
TONE

Or 60 120 180 240 300 360

Tone in HSL /HSV RGB encoding color space .

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 An image with the tones slightly changed in HSL space.

The tone , hue or hue (in English Hue) is one of the fundamental properties or qualities in
the property of a color, technically defined (in the CIECAM02 model), as "the degree to
which a stimulus can be described as similar or different from stimuli such as red, yellow
1
and blue . It refers to the property in the qualitatively different aspects of color
experience that are related to differences in wavelengths or to mixtures of different
2
wavelengths. It is the pure state of color, without a mixture of white or black and, along
with luminosity and saturation, one of the three psychophysical characteristics of color . 3

There is a high correlation between wavelength and hue, just as it appears in the
rainbow. These colors are part of the group of spectral colors, those related to a specific
wavelength. While non-spectral colors would be those not related to a specific
wavelength (such as purples and violets) . They can only be obtained by mixing two or
more monochromatic lights.

Chromatic colors are both spectral and non-spectral colors, but the tone is important to
understand them, while in achromatic colors, their visualization or perception is better
understood in relation to the dimension of luminosity than to that of tone. Colors descend
from dark to defined color (for example from black to blue).

Usually, colors with the same tone are differentiated with adjectives that refer to their

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luminosity and/or saturation, light blue, pastel blue, vivid blue.

in the arts

In painting, a tone refers to a pure color; that is, one without added white or black
pigment. A hue is an element of the color wheel and are the first to be processed in the
brain.

In a comic strip made in ink and, therefore, in black and white, the regular juxtaposition of
4
more or less close lines allows the illusion of tone to be created . Enrique Lipszyc
distinguishes "flat" and "graduated" tones by relating them to three technical concepts:

• Color
• Texture
• Volume due to light and shadow.

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