Basic color theory for 1 ESO students

1. COLOR THEORY
Arts and visual education
1º ESO
gabriela-teacher.blogspot.com

2. The colors we use for painting are
called “pigment colors”
Pigments are natural or
synthetic powders that
change the color of the
light they reflect.
Paint is made out of
pigments.

3. We normally call dyes
to the substances we
use to change a
textile’s color.

4. When working with
pigments, the primary
colors are:
MAGENTA REDCYAN BLUE
CADMIUM YELLOW
PRIMARY COLORS are the ones that can’t
be generated by mixing other colors. They
can be mixed to make all colors.

5. SECONDARY COLORS are created by mixing
the primaries in equal parts.
Yellow + cyan
=
GREEN
Cyan + magenta
=
PURPLE
Yellow + magenta
=
ORANGE

7. TERTIARY COLORS are created by mixing a
secondary color with a primary color.
Yellow + green =
YELLOWISH GREEN
Green + cyan =
BLUEISH GREEN
Yellow + orange =
YELLOWISH ORANGE
Magenta + orange =
REDDISH ORANGE
Magenta + purple =
REDDISH PURPLE
Purple + cyan=
BLUEISH PURPLE

8. The COLOR WHEEL is a figure that represents
the relations between the colors.
CADMIUM
YELLOW
CYAN
BLUE
MAGENTA
RED
GREEN
PURPLE
ORANGE
YELLOWISH
GREEN
BLUEISH
GREEN
BLUEISH
PURPLE
REDDISH
PURPLE
REDDISH
ORANGE
YELLOWISH
ORANGE

10. COMPLEMENTARY COLORS are pairs of colors that
are opposite each other in the color wheel.
CADMIUM
YELLOW
CYAN
BLUE
MAGENTA
RED
GREEN
PURPLE
ORANGE
YELLOWISH
GREEN
BLUEISH
GREEN
BLUEISH
PURPLE
REDDISH
PURPLE
REDDISH
ORANGE
YELLOWISH
ORANGE

11. Complementary colors look their most
vibrant when placed next to each other.
Complementary colors cancel each other
out and form greyish hues when mixed.

12. Two colors create contrast
when they crash. Colors that
are separated in the color
wheel, are contrasting colors.
Color harmony is a
combination of colors that is
pleasant (nice) for the eye.
Normally it two colors that are
close in the color wheel, are
harmonic.

13. Look at the color
wheel:
· Are red and green
contrasting or
harmonic colors?
· Are blue and
green contrasting
or harmonic colors?

14. If we divide the color wheel in halves, we
can see the WARM and COLD colors.
ColdWarm

15. Cold and warm colors
transmit different
feelings.

16. The three main characteristics of color are:
• HUE  It’s the
variety of a color
(blue, orange…).
• SATURATION  It’s
the intensity or
vividness of a color.
• VALUE  It’s how
light or dark a color
is in terms of a
black and white
scale.

18. Value gradation

19. The application of this to landscapes…

20. The application of this to landscapes…