Color Theory (Concept)

Color Theory

CONCEPT

The science behind colors.

Overview

Color theory is the science behind colors. It primarily focuses on mixing colors to create new colors as well as the visual aesthetics of certain combinations of colors.

Color Wheel

One of the primary tools used in color theory is the color wheel; a ring of colors that are being mixed together in a rainbow and looping back around to the first color. There are main two different types of color wheels.

Additive Color Wheel

The additive color wheel is based around starting with black and adding colors to it. This is the wheel that computers displays use. The primary colors are:

Red
Green
Blue

Subtractive Color Wheel

The subtractive color wheel is based around starting with white (which contains all colors) and removing colors from it. This is the wheel that printers use. The primary colors are:

Cyan
Magenta
Yellow

RYB Color Model

An alternative to the CMY color wheel is the RYB color wheel that a lot of people learn about in art class. This wheel dates back to the 1600's and is very similar to the CMY one. The differences being that the shades are darker and hues are slightly off. This results in the cyan and magenta to be represented by blue and red.

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