Colour Theory

* These are the family of twelve purest and

brightest colours. With just these twelve
colours, you can mix an infinite number of
colour schemes. Most of the time you will
modify these twelve hues by mixing in other
colours.
 Colour wheel

Colours come from the visible spectrum of light which is the part of the
electromagnetic spectrum (Shown above). Our eyes perceive these
visible wavelengths according to their frequencies, which our brain
relates as various hues or colours.
When light hits an object some wavelengths are absorbed and others
are reflected. We see the reflected wavelengths of light as colour. When
all the wavelengths in the visual spectrum are absorbed we see black
and when all are reflected we see white. When some are absorbed and
some are reflected we see different colours of the spectrum.
Colour can be described in three ways. By purity, by value or
lightness.
We have several terms to help us describe colours in those
three ways.
Hue: When someone is talking about hue they are talking
about the actual colour of say an object or landscape, etc.
Green is a hue as are red, yellow, blue, purple, etc.
Other terms which we will learn about later on are chroma,
saturation, intensity, value/luminance, shade, tint and tone.
Colour wheel

The colour wheel is a visual representation and it was first credited to

Sir Isaac Newton who joined the red and violet ends of the visual
spectrum into a circle.
In the following presentation you will see how a colour wheel is
created.
 Primary colours in the colour wheel

Primary colours are the 3 pigment colours that cannot be mixed or formed by any combination of
other colours. All other colours are derived from these 3 hues. The primary colours are red, yellow
and blue.
 Secondary colours in the colour wheel

To create a secondary colour you need to mix two primary colours together. Blue + Red = Purple,
Blue + Yellow = Green & Yellow + Red = Orange.
The secondary colours are green, orange and purple.
 Tertiary colours in the colour wheel

To create a tertiary colour you need to mix a secondary colour and a primary colour together.
Blue + Violet = Blue-Violet, Blue + Green = Blue-Green, Green + Yellow = Yellow-Green,
Yellow + Orange = Yellow-Orange, Orange + Red = Red-Orange, Red + Violet = Red-Violet.
Thats why the tertiary hues have hyphenated two word names.
The complete colour wheel
 Warm and cool colours

Warm colours such as red, yellow, and orange evoke warmth because
they remind us of things like the sun or fire.
Cool colours such as blue, green, and purple (violet) evoke a cool
feeling because they remind us of things like water or grass.
COLOUR MIXING FORMULA:
1) Secondary colour = Primary + Primary colour
2) Tertiary colour = Secondary + Primary (choose the primary that has the primary colour in the tertiary
colour).

Examples:
Blue (Primary) + Yellow (Primary) = Green (Secondary)

Blue-Green (Tertiary) = Green (Secondary) + Blue (Primary)

TODAYS TASKS
Fill in your colour wheel.
Paste your colour wheel into your visual art diary

Equipment you will need:

- Blue, red and yellow acrylic paint.
- 2 paintbrushes
- Palette
- Visual art diary
- Apron

Learning intentions: To develop your knowledge of colour theory in relation to colour mixing. You will learn
how to create the different shades within the colour wheel

If you finish early: Commence filling in your colour-mixing equations in pencil.