THE BASICS OF COLOUR THEORY
HUE:
Hue is another word for colour, such as blue, red, yellow-green
VALUE: Distinguishes between the lightness (tint) and darkness (shade) of Colours. (TONE)
CHROMA: The vibrancy or dullness of Colours. (Intensity or Saturation)
HUE
It is the quality that distinguishes one colour from another. It is, for example, what differentiates blue from yellow.
Different hues are caused by different wavelengths of light. When light is broken up, as in the rainbow or in a
glass prism; a wide variety of Colours are seen. Each recognisable colour within this band is called a hue. The
band of the rainbow (ray of light) being a continuous blend can be said to contain an almost infinite number of
hues.
PRIMARY COLOURS
The PRIMARY Colours are:
o Red (Scarlet)
Red (Process Magenta)
o Blue (Ultramarine)
Blue (Process Cyan)
o Yellow (Brilliant Yellow)
Yellow (Process Yellow)
Primary Colours cannot be mixed from any other Colours.
The definition of a Primary colour “properly” refers to the fundamental light Rays of additive synthesis. It is
customary, however, to use the term in reference to the three fundamental pigments of subtractive mixing, which
ought ideally to be called Basic Colours.
Choosing a palette of Primary Colours for Colour Mixing
In theory secondary Colours can be mixed from primaries, this will only work perfectly if true primary Colours are
used. In practice it is not easy to find a red, for example, that will make both a good orange (when mixed with
yellow) and a good violet (when mixed with blue). This is because the red may not be a true primary red but may
in fact have a bias towards either orange or violet. For example a red that has an orange bias will mix a good
orange, but will not mix a bright violet.
Traditionally paints have been made from naturally occurring pigments, which has meant that you were limited
to what was available. Today with many modern chemically produced Colours there is a much wider choice
available. However it is still not an easy choice to find the right colour as a primary colour.
One way to overcome this problem is to have a palette that consists of two of each of the primary Colours.
For example you could have a red with an orange bias for mixing orange and a red with a violet bias for mixing
violet. Such a palette might be as follows: red with violet bias (e.g. ‘Process Magenta’), red with orange bias (e.g.
Scarlet), yellow with orange bias (e.g. ‘Brilliant Yellow’), yellow with green bias (e.g. ‘Process Yellow’), blue with
green bias (e.g. ‘Process Cyan’) and blue with a violet bias (e.g. ‘Ultramarine’).
SECONDARY COLOURS
They result from the mixing of two of the primary Colours.
The SECONDARY Colours are:
o Warm Orange (Brilliant Yellow and Scarlet)
o Cool Orange (Process Yellow and Red Magenta)
o Warm Green (Brilliant Yellow and Ultramarine)
o Cool Green (Process yellow and Process Cyan)
o Warm Purple (Scarlet and Ultramarine)
o Cool Purple (Red Magenta and Blue Cyan)
Secondary
ColourMid Green
Secondary
ColourMid Purple
Secondary
ColourMid Orange
TERTIARY COLOURS / INTERMEDIATE COLOURS
Tertiary Colour is an extension of the basic Colour or Hue System. It is one of the most complex, yet more
common and yet the least understood colour pallets.
MIXING TERTIARY COLOURS
To create tertiary Colours a mix one primary, and one secondary colour- (Related Tertiary). Or made by mixing 3
Primary Colours together (or Two Secondary colours) - (Complementary Tertiary), they are known as the “Earth”
Colours (Browns and Greys) and include a wide range from caramels to terracotta’s to slates.
PRIMARIES
RED……………..YELLOW……………..BLUE
MIXED WITH
SECONDARIES
MID ORANGE…………….MID PURPLE……………MID GREEN
Look at man made, as well as Everyday Natural Objects in our Environment to see the vast array of Tertiary
Colours come alive?
Food
Metals
Wood
Stone
Fabrics
INTERMIXED TERTIARY COLOURS (Secondary /Secondary)
1.
2.
3.
WOODLAND PALLETE
(Orange and Green) Caramel Range (R + Y + Y + B)
SAND PALLETE
(Purple and Orange) Terracotta Range (B + R + R + Y)
MINERAL PALLETE
(Green and Purple) Slate Range (Y + B + B + R)
RELATED TERTIARY COLOURS (Primary / Secondary)
1.Yellow
2.Yellow
3.Blue
4.Blue
5.Red
6.Red
/ Orange (Yellow & Red)
/ Green (Yellow & Blue)
/ Green (Yellow & Blue)
/ Purple (Blue & Red)-(Violet)
/ Purple (Violet)- (Red & Blue)
/ orange (Yellow & Red)
RELATED TERTIARY PALETTE
COLOUR WHEEL PAINTED WITH GOAUCHE