Brush Up
on Color Vocabulary
If
your knowledge of color terminology is confined to "red," "green"
and "yellow," it may pay to brush up on your vocabulary before
your next trip to the paint store. According
to the Paint Quality Institute, the very first thing to know
is that experts refer to colors as "hues." In the language
of the color expert, light blue, medium blue and dark blue
are all the same hue -- which is blue.
When
you look through the color cards at the paint store, you're
really looking at many variations of the basic hues. These
variations are achieved by adding white, gray or black to
a hue, which changes its "value," its lightness or darkness.
When
white is added to a hue, the result is a "tint" of that hue,
which is lighter in value than a pure hue. When black is added
to a hue, the result is a "shade" of the hue, which is darker
in value than the pure hue. And when gray is added, the result
is a "tone," which is a muted version of a pure hue.
To
graduate to a more advanced color vocabulary, take a look
at the color wheel.
The
color wheel was developed by Sir Isaac Newton, and shows how
colors relate to one another. The color wheel makes it relatively
easy to create attractive paint color schemes. It also makes
it easy to understand color scheme terminology.
A
"monochromatic" color scheme is one that uses only a single
hue, but in more than one value -- for example, two different
tints and a dark shade of green.
An
"adjacent" or "analogous" color scheme employs two or more
hues that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel --
such as blue-green, blue and blue-violet, for example.
A
very popular color treatment is what is known as a "complementary"
color scheme. This combines two hues that are opposite each
other on the color wheel, such as blue and orange.
More
visually complex are "split-complementary" and "double split-complementary"
color treatments. Instead of combining two opposing hues on
the color wheel, such as blue and orange, for example, a split-complementary
scheme would combine, say blue, with the two hues adjacent
to orange. A double split-complementary treatment would combine
the two hues adjacent to blue with the two hues adjacent to
orange.
Another
popular color scheme is called "triadic." This one combines
three hues that are equidistant on the color wheel -- such
as yellow-orange, blue-green and red-violet.
Black,
white and gray do not appear on the color wheel. That's because
they are not technically regarded as hues. These three "neutrals,"
as they are called, help to create contrast in various color
schemes, and also serve the important role of modifying hues
to create tints, shades and tones.
To
learn more about color, paints or painting, visit www.paintquality.com
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