color theory

CMYK

subtractive color mode using cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink or toner - used for printing

RGB

an additive color mode using red, green and blue light - used on screen

grayscale

intensity of black - uses only black intensity to create shade

primary colors

red, yellow, blue

secondary colors

green, orange, violet

tertiary colors

created by mixing a primary color with a neighboring secondary color

monochromatic colors

all the hues (tints and shades) of a single color

complimentary colors

colors opposite each other on the color wheel

analogous colors

three or more colors that are side by side on a color wheel

triad colors

Colors that are separated equal distantly on the color wheel.

tetrad colors

4 colors equally spaced on the color wheel

split complimentary

a color scheme using one color with the two colors on either side of its compliment

double split complimentary

a color scheme using 4 colors, made up of the two colors adjacent to both colors in a complimentary pair

munsell color system

a method for organizing and specifying colors based on three main attributes: hue, value, and chroma

hue

pure color or base color

saturation/chroma

the intensity of a color relative to its own brightness (it describes how vivid or bright a color is)

value

refers to how light or dark a color is

tints

color plus white

tones

color plus gray

shades

color plus black