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We often take color selection for granted.
After all, how easy is it to choose a hue from the color picker in Photoshop?
Although we might think nothing of it now, mankind didnt always have thecolor wheelat its fingertips.
Color Circle from 1708, based on the primary colors blue, red, and yellow (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
It was the exploration by some of the worlds great thinkers and scientific advancement that lead to its development.
Scroll down to learn more about the color wheel and its history.
What is a Color Wheel?
Photo: arseniuk_oleksii/Depositphotos
In an RYB color wheel, for instance, red, yellow, and blue are theprimary colors.
They are arranged evenly in different parts of the circle.
Correspondingsecondary colorsgreen, purple, and orange are then placed between the primary colors they are mixed from.
Aron Sigfrid Forsius [Public domain]
For example, teal is a tertiary color created from primary blue and secondary green.
Color Harmony
Photo: arseniuk_oleksii/Depositphotos
The color wheel is a practical tool for artists and designers.
As artists continued to experiment with color, they evolved the pigments created by those before them.
Isaak Newton (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain])
With these new hues did not come a formalcolor theory, however.
His system usedfive main colorssandwiched between white and black.
They were: red, yellow, green, blue, and gray.
Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain]
Each was graded as being closer to white or to black.
As a creative person, its important that you understandhow colors interact with and influence one another.
(It will help you in yourcolor mixing!)
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain])
If youre interested in learning more, pick up a copy ofColor ProblemsbyEmily Noyes Vanderpoel.
She succeeded, and the text has recently been republished in collaboration with The Circadian Press and Sacred Bones.
More Books on Color Theory
Online Classes on Color Theory
Prefer the online class setting?
Philipp Otto Runge (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain])
Richard Mehl teaches acolor theory classthrough CreativeLive.
Blake Rudis also has a course on color theory, but gears his class towardsphotographers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a color wheel?
What are monochromatic color schemes?
This color scheme allows for cohesion and relies on contrasting tones to attract attention or create focus.
What do analogous colors mean?
Analogous color schemes can often be found in nature; and when used, typically one color dominates.
The second color supports the dominant color, while the third is used primarily as an accent.
