Sir Isaac Newton's 1666 color wheel maps the visible spectrum into a circle, revealing the relationships between hues.
The pure spectrum color (what we name - red, blue, etc.). Position on the wheel from 0° to 360°.
The intensity or purity of a color. High saturation = vivid; low saturation = muted/grayish.
How light or dark a color is. Adding white = tint, adding black = shade, adding gray = tone.
Pick two colors in A and B, save the blend to your palette, and keep mixing.
Pleasing arrangements of color based on geometric relationships on the color wheel. Used by artists and designers for centuries.
Colors evoke temperature. Warm colors advance and energize; cool colors recede and calm. Master this to create depth and mood.
Red, Orange, Yellow, Gold
Energizing · Stimulating ·
Approachable
Advance in space · Command attention
Blue, Green, Purple, Teal
Calming · Professional ·
Distant
Recede in space · Create depth
Colors influence perception, emotion, and behavior. Understanding this is essential for effective design and communication.
Passion, urgency, excitement, appetite
Light bounces off every surface and carries its color. See how a colored platform and sky affect the ball's shadows and reflections.
Two fundamental color models: additive (light) and subtractive (pigment). Each has its own set of primaries and mixing behaviors.
Mixing light. Adding all primaries creates white. Black is the absence of light.
Primaries: Red · Green · Blue
Secondaries: Yellow · Cyan · Magenta
All combined: Black → White
Mixing pigments. Adding all primaries creates dark brown. White is the paper.
Primaries: Cyan · Magenta · Yellow
Secondaries: Blue · Red · Green
All combined: White → Dark Brown