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Color

Color is how light is reflected off objects. 

A video about color

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Color has 3 main characteristics:

1. Hue: The specific name of a color. 

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This is a Color Wheel

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2. Intensity: How bright or dull a color is. 

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A HUE + Gray = A Less Intense HUE

3. Value: How light or dark a color is.  Value is also an element of art. 

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ADD WHITE OR BLACK TO A HUE

TO CHANGE THE VALUE

Color Families

Primary: Red, Yellow, Blue

Primary colors are the three basic colors. All other colors are made by mixing primary colors.

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Tertiary: Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Red-Violet, Blue-Violet, Blue-Green, Yellow-Green

Tertiary colors are made by mixing a secondary color with a primary color. 

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Tertiary colors have other names too: 

Amber 

Vermillion

Magenta

Turquoise 

Teal

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Warm Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow 

  

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Analogous: Analogous colors are neighbors on the color wheel. 

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Secondary: Orange, Green, Violet

Secondary colors are made by mixing primary colors.

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Red + Yellow = Orange 

Yellow + Blue = Green

Red + Blue = Violet (or Purple)

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Complementary Colors: 

Complementary colors are opposites on the color wheel. 

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When placed next to each other, complementary colors make each other stand out. This is also called "contrast."

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Red & Green 

Yellow & Violet 

Blue & Orange 

 

 

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Cool Colors: Blue, Green, Violet 

  

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Monochromatic: Monochromatic colors are all of the colors of a single hue. A monochromatic color scheme uses different values of a hue. 

"Mono" = one & "Chrome" = color 

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Color & Emotion

Artists use color to convey different emotions in their artwork.  Color can also evoke different emotions from the viewer of an artwork.  

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It is important to note that the same color can represent different emotions.

For example: Red can represent both anger and love. 

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Artists Using Color

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Jacob Lawrence, Workshop (Builders #1), 1972
Retrieved from https://artclasscurator.com/elements-of-art-examples/#color

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André Derain, Charing Cross Bridge, 1906
Retrieved from https://artclasscurator.com/elements-of-art-examples/#color

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Helen Frankenthaler, The Bay, 1963
Retrieved from https://www.frankenthalerfoundation.org/artworks/the-bay/details/all

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