Intro to Color Theory

1. introduction
to color
ART
251

2. Physical and
Chemical Aspect of
Color
Color is the visual effect that is caused by
the spectral composition of the light
emitted, transmitted, absorbed, and
reflected by objects.

3. S i r I s a a c N e w t o n
( 1 6 4 3 - 1 7 2 7 ) , E n g l i s h
mathematician and physicist
observed the phenomenon
of light refracted by a glass
prism and concluded that
white light is a mixture of
varied color rays.

12. Color Perception
• SCATTERING
• INCANDESCENCE
• SUBTRACTION

13. Scattering
Why is the sky blue?

14. Incandescence

15. Absorption

16. 1. All the" invisible" colors of sunlight shine on the apple.
2. The surface of a red apple absorbs all the colored light rays, except for
those corresponding to red, and reflects this color to the human eye.
Environment & Perception also play into our interpretation of this
color.
3. The eye receives the reflected red light and sends a message to the
brain.

17. When light hits the surface, the
BLUE paint ABSORBS all the light
EXCEPT the blue part of the
spectrum.

20. The Garden, by Brecht Evens

21. Color Constancy

23. Additive Color System

25. Iphone 5 home screen
magnified 500x, 326
ppi

26. Subtractive Color System

27. Jacob Christoph Le Blon

35. “Color obtains in the light”
-Thomas Lovell