Color Basics

Technical Foundation I I Color Basics

Color Basics

Eye sees two types of process colors Additive Color

Transmitted Light Subtractive Color

Reflected Light

Purpose of Color

Convey Emotion

Symbolization

Create Reactions

Additive Process Colors

RGB/Red, Green, Blue Various brightness of red, green, blue Can use all painting/editing tools

in RGB images New documents default to RGB

Additive -RGB

Used in all electronic delivery CD or DVD delivery Web/Internet delivery Desktop presentation delivery

Subtractive Process Colors

CMYK/Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black Various brightness of cyan, magenta, yellow Black used to add depth/detail

Subtractive - CMYK

Used in all print delivery Computer printers Production printers

Offset, Gravure, Relief, Screen

Color Modes for Viewing Images Files

RGB

CYMK

Grayscale

Indexed Color

Grayscale Color Mode

256 shades of gray

Images produced using grayscale mode on scanners

Can use all painting/editing tools in grayscale images

Design Color Schemes

Monotone

Monochromatics

Analogous

Complimentary

Color Wheel

Monotone

Calm, quiet, understated class

Single neutral color Grays Beiges Taupes Off-whites

Monochromatics

Enhanced richness, emphasize subtle nuance

One color

Saturation or Brightness of color

Analogous

Harmony

3 neighboring colors on color wheel

Complimentary

Exuberance, attention

Balance, color enhancement, contrast

Cool and warm colors

Opposite colors on color wheel Primary and secondary

Digital Color Storage

Color depth: number of bits to pixel For monitors, scanners, printers, digital press

8 bit color = 256 colors or shades of gray

16 bit color = 65.5 thousands colors

24 bit color = 16.7 million colors

32 bit color = 4.3 billion colors