What Are Color Wheels?

The understanding of color wheels is essential to the understanding of complimentary colors. As children most of us were taught red plus yellow equals orange. Well, this is correct if you're dealing with a medium such as paint. But what if you're working with light or a print document? When working with light the primary colors are Red, Green, and Blue. This is more commonly referred to as RGB. In print the primary colors are Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. This is commonly referred to as CMYK. The K represents black. Of course with paint the primaries are Red, Blue and Yellow.

Perception of Color

Possibly the most interesting and unexplored aspect of design is the interaction of color. Sure, there have been plenty of studies, but there's very little conclusive scientific evidence about the way we see color. There is one indisputable fact: We all see color differently. If given the opportunity to pick a true hue out a series of swatches, several different choices will arise.

There are many other factors that determine the way we see color besides our own physical and physiological differences. In order to see color we need there must be light. It's reasonable then to suggest that the amount of light present will factor in the observation of color. Lack of light will result in colors of lower values while intense light will result in higher values. Too much light can cause loss of color as well. This is otherwise known as reflection.

What Is the Difference Between Tints, Shades, and Tones?

Although the terms tint, shade, and tone fall within the elementary level of color theory, the terms tend to be used carelessly and without regard to their proper definition. It's amazing how often I've heard someone say something along the lines of, "That is my favorite shade of red." More often than not it's not a shade at all. A proper understanding of tint, shade, and tone is essential to development of quality artwork. The ability to properly evaluate art with a common understanding of terms is a trait of any good artist. Miscommunication could be costly.