Learning Colors

What is your favorite color? What colors make that color? Color theory is a complex subject that intrigues many. Color is present in our lives just as much as design. Every day we make decisions on why we choose one color over the other, and why one attracts us more than the other. But where do all these colors come from? Color is a property of light, and when we flash a light into a prism, we get a rainbow of colors. Because of this, objects possess no color of their own, but can reflect certain rays of white light, which contain all the colors. The basic color wheel consists of three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, and three secondary colors, orange, green, and purple. Some color wheels also include the six tertiary colors blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange. This color wheel is one of the best for artists to refer to when trying to mix colors. Light can be a factor that affects what color may be produced. When see things go from light to dark, they may be orange in the light and completely grey in the dark. This array of how colors can change from one to the next, or even sit next to each other creates a visual appeal, something helpful in adding aesthetics to a design. The hue of a design can also be something to consider when placing color. Although the term hue is used interchangeably with color, hue actually represents the underlying tone of colors, such as red is the hue of pink, scarlet, and maroon. Using similar hues can help emphasize and create tones on the image. Color theory is a study that allows us to visually perceive how colors work against each other, together, how they change with light, and how they can be used to emphasize. Color theory is something still studied my many artists today and allows them to find many colors out of just a few, making more vibrant colors to use in art and even everyday life