color theory. Basic color characteristics

Color brightness is a perception characteristic. It is determined by our speed of highlighting one tone against the background of others.

This is a relative characteristic, it can only be known in comparison. Complex shades, with an admixture of gray or brown, create the necessary contrast so that our eye highlights the most suitable tones for this definition.

Bright tones are called shades close to the pure spectrum. If the surface of the material reflects one or another wave (c) with the least distortion, then we consider that this tone is bright.

An admixture of white or black slightly affects the brightness of the color. So burgundy can be quite bright, like light yellow. Yellow-green is also a catchy tone, as an intermediate wavelength between green and yellow.

Each spectrum has its own lightness: bright yellow is the lightest; the darkest is blue and purple.
Intermediate are: blue, green, pink, red.

This statement is true if we consider a line of shades of the same color.

If, however, to highlight the brightest shade among other tones, then the color that differs in lightness from the rest as much as possible will be brighter.

Bright shades set a contrast with duller, darker or lighter ones, due to which we consider the combination to be saturated, expressive.

USEFUL ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC (click on the picture)

1. What is color?
2. Physics of color
3. Primary colors
4. Warm and cold colors

What is color?

Color is waves of a certain kind of electromagnetic energy, which, after being perceived by the human eye and brain, are converted into color sensations (see color physics).

Color is not available to all animals on Earth. Birds and primates have full color vision, the rest at best distinguish some shades, mainly red.

The appearance of color vision is associated with the way of nutrition. It is believed that in primates it appeared in the process of searching for edible leaves and ripe fruits. In further evolution, color began to help a person determine danger, remember the area, distinguish plants, and determine the impending weather by the color of the clouds.

Color as a carrier of information began to play a huge role in a person's life.

Color as a symbol. Information about objects or phenomena painted in a certain color was combined into an image that made a symbol out of color. This symbol changes its meaning from the situation, but is always understandable (it may not be realized, but accepted by the subconscious).
Example: red in the "heart" is a symbol of love. A red traffic light is a danger warning.

With the help of color images, you can convey more information to the reader. This is linguistic understanding of color.
Example: I put on black,
There is no hope in my heart
I got sick of the white light.

Color causes aesthetic pleasure or displeasure.
Example: Aesthetics is expressed in art, although it consists not only of color, but also of form and plot. You, not knowing why, will say that it is beautiful, but it cannot be called art.

Color affects our nervous system, makes the heart beat faster or slower, affects metabolism, etc.
For example: in a room painted blue it seems cooler than it really is. Because, blue slows down our heartbeat, immerses us in peace.

With each century, color carries more and more information for us, and now there is such a thing as “the color of culture”, color in political movements and societies.

Physics of color

As such, color does not exist in nature. Color is a product of the mental processing of information that comes through the eye in the form of a light wave.

A person can distinguish up to 100,000 shades: waves from 400 to 700 millimicrons. Outside the distinguishable spectra are infrared (with a wavelength of more than 700 nm) and ultraviolet (with a wavelength of less than 400 nm).

In 1676, I. Newton conducted an experiment on splitting a light beam using a prism. As a result, he received 7 clearly distinguishable colors of the spectrum.

These colors are often reduced to 3 primary colors (see Primary Colors)

Waves have not only length, but also frequency. These quantities are interrelated, so you can set a specific wave either by the length or the frequency of oscillations.

Having received a continuous spectrum, Newton passed it through a converging lens and received a white color. Thereby proving:

1 White color consists of all colors.
2 For color waves, the principle of addition applies
3 Lack of light leads to a lack of color.
4 Black is the complete absence of color.

During the experiments, it was found that the objects themselves have no color. Illuminated by light, they reflect some of the light waves and absorb some, depending on their physical properties. Reflected light waves will be the color of the object.
(For example, if a blue mug is shone with light passed through a red filter, then we will see that the mug is black, because the blue waves are blocked by the red filter, and the mug can only reflect blue waves)

It turns out that the value of paint is in its physical properties, but if you decide to mix blue, yellow and red (because the rest of the colors can be obtained from a combination of primary colors (see primary colors)), then you will get a non-white color (as if you mixed waves), but an indefinitely dark color, since in this case the principle of subtraction applies.

The principle of subtraction says: any mixing leads to reflection of a shorter wavelength.
If you mix yellow and red, you get orange, the wavelength of which is less than the wavelength of red. When red, yellow and blue are mixed, an indefinitely dark color is obtained - a reflection tending to the minimum perceived wave.

This property explains the whiteness of the white color. White color is a reflection of all color waves, the application of any substance leads to a decrease in reflection, and the color becomes not pure white.

Black is the opposite. To stand out on it, you need to increase the wavelength and the number of reflections, and mixing leads to a decrease in the wavelength.

Primary colors

Primary colors are the colors with which you can get all the others.

It's RED YELLOW BLUE

If you mix red, blue and yellow color waves together, you get white.

If you mix red, yellow and blue paints, you get a dark indefinite color (see color physics).

These colors are different in lightness, in which the brightness is at its peak. If you convert them to black and white, you will clearly see the contrast.

It is difficult to imagine a bright dark yellow color as a bright light red. Due to the brightness in different ranges of lightness, a huge range of intermediate bright colors is created.

RED+YELLOW=ORANGE
YELLOW+BLUE=GREEN
BLUE+RED=PURPLE

Hue, brightness, saturation, lightness

Hue is the main characteristic by which colors are named.

For example, red or yellow. There is an extensive palette of colors, which are based on 3 colors (blue, yellow and red), which, in turn, are an abbreviation of the 7 primary colors of the rainbow (because by mixing the primary colors you can get the missing 4)

Tones are obtained by mixing in different proportions of primary colors.

Tones and shades are synonyms.

Halftones is a slight, but perceptible change in color.

Brightness is a characteristic of perception. It is determined by our speed of highlighting one color against the background of others.

"Pure" colors are considered bright, without the admixture of white or black. For each tone, the maximum brightness is observed at different lightness: tone / lightness.

This statement is true if we consider a line of shades of the same color.

If, however, to highlight the brightest shade among other tones, then the color that differs in lightness from the rest as much as possible will be brighter.

Saturation (intensity) - is the degree of expression of a certain tone. The concept operates in the redistribution of one tone, where the degree of saturation is measured by the degree of difference from gray: saturation / lightness

This concept is also related to brightness, since the most saturated tone in its line will be the brightest.

On the lightness scale, you can see that the more saturation, the lighter the tone.

Lightness is the degree to which a color differs from white and black. If the difference between the determined color and black is greater than between it and white, then the color is light. Otherwise, dark. If the difference between black and white is equal, then the color is medium in lightness.

For a more convenient determination of the lightness of a color, without being distracted by the tone, you can convert the colors to black and white:

Lightness is an important property of color. The definition of dark and light is a very ancient mechanism, it is observed in the simplest unicellular animals, to distinguish between light and dark. It was the evolution of this ability that led to color vision, but until now the eye is more likely to cling to the contrast of light and dark than to any other.

Warm and cold colors

Warm and cold colors are associated with attributes of the seasons. Cold shades are called shades inherent in winter, and warm shades are called summer.

This is the "indefinite" that lies on the surface at the first encounter with the concept. It is true, but the real principle of separation lies much deeper.

The division into cold and warm goes along the wavelength. The shorter the wave, the colder the color, the longer the wave, the warmer the color.

Green is a border color: shades of green can be cold and warm, but at the same time they retain their middle position in their properties.

The green spectrum is the most comfortable for the eye. We distinguish the greatest number of shades in this color.

Why such a division: into cold and warm? After all, waves have no temperature.

At first, the division was intuitive, because the action of the short-wavelength spectra is soothing. The feeling of lethargy resembles the state of a person in winter. Long-wavelength spectra, on the contrary, contributed to the activity, which is similar to the state in summer. (see psychology of color)

Understandable with primary colors. But there are many complex shades that are also referred to as cold or warm.

Effect of lightness on color temperature.

To begin with, let's define: are black and white colors cold or warm?

White color is the presence of all colors at the same time, which means that it is the most balanced and neutral in temperature. According to its properties, green tends to it. (we can distinguish a huge number of white shades)

Black is the absence of colors. The shorter the wave, the colder the color. Black has reached its apogee - its wavelength is 0, but due to the absence of waves, it can also be classified as neutral.

For example, let's take red, which is definitely warm, and consider its light and dark shades.

The warmest will be a “pure wave”, rich, bright red color (which is in the middle).

How is a darker shade of red obtained?

Red is mixed with black - it takes over some of its properties. More precisely, in this case, neutral mixes with warm and cools it. The higher the degree of "dilution" of red with black, the closer the temperature of burgundy to black.

How do you get a lighter shade of red (pink)?

White with its neutrality dilutes warm red. Due to this, red loses "amount" of heat, depending on the mixing ratio.

Colors diluted with black or white will never move from the category of warm to cold: they will only approach neutral properties.

Temperature neutral colors

Neutral in temperature can be called colors that have a cold and warm hue in the same lightness. For example: tone / lightness

Color contrasts

With the ratio of two opposites, according to some quality, the properties of each of the group are multiplied. So, for example, a long stripe seems even longer next to a short one.

With the help of 7 contrasts, one or another quality can be emphasized in a color.

There are 7 contrasts:

1 built on the difference between colors. It is a combination of colors close to certain spectra.

This contrast affects the subconscious. If we consider color as a source of information about the world around us, then such a combination will carry an informational message. (and in some cases cause epilepsy).

The most expressive example is the combination of white and black.

Perfect for achieving the effect of certainty.

As mentioned in the article about color lightness: the difference between light and dark is easier to see than to correlate shades. Due to this contrast, you can achieve volume and realism of the image.

Based on the difference between "inhibiting" and exciting colors. To create a thermal contrast of colors, in their pure form, the colors are taken the same in lightness.

This contrast is good for creating images with different activities: from the “snow queen” to the “fighter for justice”.

Complementary colors are colors that, when mixed, produce gray. If you mix spectra of complementary colors, you get white.

In Itten's circle, these colors are opposite each other.

This is the most balanced contrast, since together the complementary colors reach the “golden mean” (white), but the problem is that they can neither create movement nor achieve the goal. Therefore, these combinations are rarely used in everyday life, as they create the impression of passions, and it is difficult to stay in this state for a long time.

But in painting, this tool is very appropriate.

- it does not exist outside of our perception. This contrast, more than others, confirms the striving of our consciousness towards the golden mean.

Simultaneous contrast is the creation of the illusion of an additional color on an adjacent shade.

This is most evident in the combination of black or gray with aromatic (other than black and white) colors.

If you focus on each gray rectangle in turn, waiting for the eye to get tired, then the gray will change its hue to an additional one in relation to the background.

On orange, gray will take on a bluish tint,

On red - greenish,

Purple has a yellowish tint.

This contrast is more harmful than helpful. To cancel it, you should add a shade of the main one to the changeable color. More precisely, if yellowness is added to a gray color and it is defined against an orange background, then the simultaneous contrast will be reduced to zero.

The concept of saturation can be found .

I will add that darkened, lightened, complex, not bright colors can also belong to unsaturated colors.

Pure saturation contrast is based on the difference between bright and non-bright colors in the same lightness.

This contrast gives the impression that bright colors are pushed forward against a background that is not bright. With the help of contrast in saturation, you can emphasize the detail of the wardrobe, place accents.

Based on the quantitative difference between colors. In this contrast, balance or dynamics can be achieved.

It has been noted that in order to achieve harmony, there should be less light than dark.

The lighter the spot on a dark background, the less space it takes up for balance.

With colors equal in lightness, the space occupied by spots is equal.

Color psychology, color meaning

Color combinations

color harmony

The harmony of colors lies in their consistency and strict combination. When choosing harmonious combinations, it is easier to use watercolor paints, and having certain skills in selecting tones on paints, it will not be difficult to cope with threads.

The harmony of colors obeys certain laws, and in order to better understand them, it is necessary to study the formation of colors. To do this, use the color wheel, which is a closed band of the spectrum.

At the ends of the diameters dividing the circle into 4 equal parts, there are 4 main pure colors - red, yellow, green, blue. Speaking of "pure color", they mean that it does not contain shades of other colors adjacent to it in the spectrum (for example, red, in which neither yellow nor blue shades are noticed).

Further on the circle between the pure colors are intermediate or transitional colors, which are obtained by mixing in pairs in various proportions adjacent pure colors (for example, by mixing green with yellow, several shades of green are obtained). In each spectrum, 2 or 4 intermediate colors can be arranged.

By mixing each color separately with white and black paint, light and dark tones of the same color are obtained, for example, blue, cyan, dark blue, etc. Light tones are located on the inside of the color wheel, and dark ones are on the outside. Having filled the color wheel, you will notice that warm colors (red, yellow, orange) are located in one half of the circle, and cold colors (blue, cyan, violet) are located in the other half.

Green color can be warm if it has an admixture of yellow, or cold - with an admixture of blue. Red can also be warm with a yellowish tint and cold with a blue tint. The harmonious combination of colors lies in the balance of warm and cold tones, as well as in the consistency of different colors and shades with each other. The easiest way to determine the harmonious combinations of colors is to find these colors on the color wheel.

There are 4 groups of color combinations.

monochrome- colors that have the same name, but different lightness, that is, transitional tones of the same color from dark to light (obtained by adding black or white paint to one color in different quantities). These colors are the most harmoniously combined with each other and are easy to select.

The harmony of several tones of the same color (preferably 3-4) looks more interesting, richer than a single color composition, such as white, light blue, blue and dark blue or brown, light brown, beige, white.

Monochrome combinations are often used in the embroidery of clothes (for example, on a blue background they embroider with threads of dark blue, light blue and white), decorative napkins (for example, on a harsh canvas they embroider with threads of brown, light brown, beige), as well as in artistic embroidery of leaves and flower petals to convey light and shade.

related colors are located in one quarter of the color wheel and have one common main color (for example, yellow, yellow-red, yellowish-red). There are 4 groups of related colors: yellow-red, red-blue, blue-green and green-yellow.

Transitional shades of the same color are well coordinated with each other and harmoniously combined, as they have a common main color in their composition. Harmonious combinations of related colors are calm, soft, especially if the colors are weakly saturated and close in lightness (red, purple, violet).

Related-contrasting colors are located in two adjacent quarters of the color wheel at the ends of the chords (that is, lines parallel to the diameters) and have one common color and two other color components, for example, yellow with a red tint (yolk) and blue with a red tint (violet). These colors are coordinated (combined) with each other by a common (red) tint and are harmoniously combined. There are 4 groups of related-contrasting colors: yellow-red and yellow-green; blue-red and blue-green; red-yellow and red-blue; green-yellow and green-blue.

Related-contrasting colors are harmoniously combined if they are balanced by an equal amount of the common color present in them (that is, reds and greens are equally yellowish or bluish). These color combinations look more dramatic than related ones.

Contrasting colors. Diametrically opposite colors and shades on the color wheel are the most contrasting and inconsistent with each other.

The more colors differ from each other in hue, lightness and saturation, the less they harmonize with each other. When these colors come into contact, a variegation unpleasant for the eye occurs. But there is a way to match contrasting colors. To do this, intermediate colors are added to the main contrasting colors, which harmoniously connect them.

Since ancient times, color theorists have developed their ideas and understanding of the interaction of color. The first attempts to systematize views were made during the lifetime of Aristotle (384-322 BC), but the most serious research in the theory of color began under Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Leonardo noticed that certain colors reinforce each other and discovered contrasting (opposite) and complementary colors.

The first color wheel was invented by Isaac Newton (1642-1727). He divided a beam of white light into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, and then connected the ends of the spectrum into a color wheel. He noticed that when two colors are mixed from opposite positions, a neutral color is obtained.

Thomas Young (1773-1829) proved that in reality a white light beam is decomposed into only three spectral colors: red, green and blue. These three colors are original. Based on his work, the German physiologist Hermann Helmholtz (1821-1894) showed that the human eye perceives color as a combination of red, green, and blue light waves. This theory proved that our brain "breaks down" the color of each object into different percentages of red, green and blue in it, and it is because of this that we perceive different colors in different ways.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) divided colors into two groups. He included warm colors (red-orange-yellow) in the positive group and cool colors (green-blue-violet) in the negative group. He found that the colors of the positive group evoke an uplifting mood in viewers, while the colors of the negative group are associated with feelings of unsettledness.

Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932), a Russian-German chemist, in his book The ABC of Color (1916) developed a system of color depending on psychological harmony and order.

Itten Johans (1888-1967), a Swiss color theorist, developed color schemes and modified the color wheel, which was based on the three primary colors red, yellow and blue, and included twelve hues. In his experiments, he explored the relationship between color and visual effects.

In 1936, the American artist Albert Munsell (1858-1918) created a new universal color model. It is called the "Munsell Tree", where the shades are arranged along the branches of various lengths in order of their saturation. Munsell's work has been adopted by American industry as the standard for naming colors.

Color harmony

A successful combination of colors can be referred to as "color harmony". Whether they are made up of similar colors that give a softer feel to the eye or contrasting colors that catch the eye, harmonious color combinations are a matter of personal taste. The practice of art and design puts forward theories of color, the principles of the use of color, which allow you to make a decision regarding the choice of a particular color.

A color evokes an emotional and physical response, but the nature of the response can be changed by placing the original color in combination with one or more colors. Color combinations can be varied to create combinations that are related or contrasting and thus affect the viewing experience.

Basic concepts

Complementary colors (optional)

The colors are opposite each other on the color wheel. They give the most contrasting combination. Using two opposite colors will result in a visual vibrancy and arousal to the eye.

Close colors + complimentary (contrasting)

One color is accompanied by two colors located in the immediate neighborhood of the color opposite the main one. Softening the contrast results in intricate color combinations.

Dual Complementary Colors

They are a combination of two pairs of complementary colors. Since the colors involved in such a combination enhance the apparent intensity of each of them, some pairs may be unpleasant to the eye. When using 4 colors, avoid color patches of the same area.

Close colors

These are combinations of two or more colors that are in close proximity on the color wheel. They have a similar wavelength, which makes them easy to read.

Process colors

This is a combination of any three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. Triads of primary colors are perceived more sharply, secondary and tertiary triads give a softer contrast.

monochromatic colors

These are color schemes made up of shades of the same color. Use one color, explore a variety of saturation and transparency.

Color can be admired endlessly, but discussing the topic of color is sometimes difficult. The fact is that the words we use to describe color are too imprecise and often lead to mutual misunderstanding. The confusion occurs not only with such technical terms as "brightness", "saturation" and "chroma", but even with such simple words as "light", "clear", "bright" and "dim". Even specialists have been arguing this way so far and have not approved the standard definitions of concepts.

Color is a phenomenon of light caused by our eyes' ability to detect different amounts of reflected and projected light. Science and technology has helped us understand how the human eye perceives physiologically light, measure the wavelengths of light, and find out the amount of energy they carry. And now we understand how complicated the concept of “color” is. Below we talk about how we define color properties.

We have tried to compile a glossary of terms and concepts. While we do not claim to be the sole authority on color theory, the definitions you find here are supported by other mathematical and scientific arguments. Please let us know if there are any words or concepts in this dictionary that you would like to know about.

Tone (Hue)

Other translations: color, paint, shade, tone.

This is the word we mean when we ask the question "What color is this?". We are interested in a color property called Hue. For example, when we talk about red, yellow, green, and blue, we mean "hue". Different tones are created by light with different wavelengths. Thus, this aspect of color is usually quite easy to recognize.

The contrast of tones is clearly different tones.

Tone contrast - different shades, the same tone (blue).

The term "tone" describes the main color characteristic that distinguishes red from yellow and blue. Color is largely dependent on the wavelength of light emitted or reflected by an object. For example, the range of visible light is between infrared (wavelength ~700nm) and ultraviolet (wavelength ~400nm).

The diagram shows the color spectrum that reflects these boundaries of visible light, as well as two color groups (red and blue), which are called "tone families". Any color taken from the spectrum can be mixed with white, black and gray, and get the colors of the corresponding tone family. Note that the tone family contains colors of varying brightness, chroma, and saturation.

Chromaticity (Chromaticity, Chorma)

We talk about chromaticity when we talk about the “purity” of a color. This property of a color tells us how pure it is. This means that if there are no impurities of white, black or gray in the color, the color has a high purity. These colors look vibrant and pure.

The concept of "chromaticity" is associated with saturation. And it is often confused with saturation. However, we will continue to use these terms separately, because in our opinion they refer to different situations, which will be discussed a little later.

High chromaticity - very radiant, vibrant colors.

Low chromaticity - achromatic, colorless colors.

The chromaticity is the same - the average level. The same liveliness of colors despite the different tone; the purity is less than that of the samples above.

Highly chromatic colors contain the maximum of the actual color with little or no white, black, or grey. In other words, the degree of absence of impurities of other colors in a particular color characterizes its chromaticity.

Chromaticity, often referred to as "juiciness," is the amount of hue in a color. Color without color (hue) is achromatic or monochromatic, and is seen as gray. For most colors, as brightness increases, so does chroma, except for very light colors.

Saturation

In relation to chroma, saturation tells us how a color looks in different lighting conditions. For example, a room painted in one color will look different at night than during the day. During the day, despite the fact that the color will not change, its saturation will change. Saturation has nothing to do with the words "dark", "light". Instead, use the words "pale", "weak" and "clear", "strong".

Saturation is the same - same intensity, different tones.

Saturation contrast - different levels of saturation, the tone is the same.

Saturation, also called "color intensity" (intensity), describes the strength of a color relative to its brightness (value) or lightness (luminance / lightness). In other words, color saturation refers to its difference from gray at a certain brightness of lighting. For example, colors close to gray are desaturated compared to lighter colors.

In a color, the property "lively" or "full" is nothing more than the absence of an admixture of gray or its shades. It is important to note that saturation is measured along lines of equal brightness.

Saturation / Saturation: 128

Brightness (Value/Brightness)

When we say that a color is "dark" or "light", we mean its brightness. This property tells us how light or dark the light is, in the sense that it is close to white. For example, canary yellow is considered lighter than navy blue, which is itself lighter than black. Thus, the value of canary yellow is higher than that of navy blue and black.

Low brightness, constant - the same brightness level.

Luminance contrast - gray = achromatic.

Luminance contrast is the total difference in brightness.

Brightness (the term "value" or "brightness" is used) depends on the amount of light emitted by a color. The easiest way to remember this concept is to imagine a gray scale, with black to white, that contains all the possible variations of monochromatic gray. The more light in a color, the brighter it is. Thus magenta is less bright than sky blue because it emits less light.

This gray scale can be equated to a color scale using the same equation used in television (Gray Luminance = 0.30 Red + 0.59 Green + 0.11 Blue):

The interactive demo illustrates the change in brightness in a 2D layout:

Brightness/Value: 128

Lightness (Luminance/Lightness)

Although words often use the word "brightness" instead, we prefer to use the word "lightness" (or "luminosity"). The concept of "lightness of color" is associated with many of the same variables as brightness in the sense of "value". But in this case, a different mathematical formula is used. In short, remember the color wheel. In it, the colors are arranged in a circle with the same lightness. Adding white increases lightness, adding black decreases it.

This color measurement refers to brightness (value), but differs in its mathematical definition. The lightness of a color measures the intensity of light flux per unit area of ​​its source. It is calculated by calculating the average in a group of achromatic colors.

Suffice it to say that the lightness goes from very dark to very light (shine) and can be displayed using a color wheel that shows all colors (hue) with the same lightness. If we add a little light to the color wheel, we thereby increase the intensity of the light and thus increase the lightness of the colors. The opposite will happen if we reduce the light. Compare how lightness planes look with lightness planes (above).

Lightness/Luminance: 128

Hue (tint), tonality (tone), and shadow (shade)

These terms are often misused, but they describe a fairly simple concept in color. The main thing to remember is how different the color is from its initial tone (hue). When white is added to a color, this lighter variety of color is called a tint. If a color is made darker by adding black, the resulting color is called a shade. If gray is added, each gradation gives you a different tone.

Shades (add white to pure color).

Shadows (add black to pure color).

Tonalities (adding gray to a pure color).

Complementary, complementary colors (Complementary Colors)

When two or more colors "match each other", they are called complementary, complementary colors. This sign is absolutely subjective, and we are ready to discuss it and listen to other opinions. A more precise definition would be "if two colors, when mixed together, give a neutral gray (dye / pigment) or white (light) color, they are called complementary, complementary."

Primary Colors

The definition of primary colors depends on how we are going to reproduce the color. The colors seen when sunlight is split by a prism are sometimes called spectral colors. These are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue and purple. This combination of KOZHZGSF is often reduced to three colors: red, green and blue-violet, which are the primary colors of the additive color system (light). The primary colors of the subtractive color system (paint, pigment) are cyan, magenta and yellow. Remember, the combination "red, yellow blue" is not a combination of primary colors!

Color systems RGB, CMYK, HSL

In different cases, depending on how the color is reproduced, different color systems are used. If we use light sources - the dominant system is RGB (from "red / green / blue" - "red / green / blue").

For colors that are obtained by mixing paints, pigments or inks on fabric, paper, canvas or other material, the CMY system (from cyan / magenta / yellow - cyan / magenta / yellow) is used as a color model. Due to the fact that pure pigments are very expensive, not an equal mixture of CMY is used to obtain black, but simply black paint.

Another popular color system is HSL (from hue/saturation/lightness). This system has several options, where instead of saturation, chroma (chroma), lightness (luminance) together with brightness (value) (HSV / HLV) is used. It is this system that corresponds to how the human eye sees color.

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From this article you will learn

• What is color saturation
• How the main characteristics of color are interconnected
• What determines the saturation of colors, and what does it affect
• How to change color saturation using special programs
• How color saturation affects the choice of paper for printing printing

Good color reproduction is an important issue when printing any printing products. Clarity, maximum color saturation - these are the features of attractive printing, which can become a really working way of promotion. Bright leaflets and catalogs, eye-catching information stands, booklets will make you remember their content and ideas for a long time.

What is color saturation

Saturation is the level of intensity of a color tone. Saturated colors can only be in their pure form, but not when they are combined with others. The most intense colors are not often used. There are many answers to the question “how to increase the saturation of colors?” and techniques to change the level of saturation. For example, if you add black, white or shades of gray to a bright paint, then the intensity of the primary color will decrease. For the same purpose, paints of different colors are mixed.

Another way to change the degree of saturation is to mix the selected hue with its complementary color. This is considered to be located opposite in the traditional color wheel. For example, orange will become muted if you add blue to it.

In reality, you rarely see pure colors, which means that when making an image, it is important to change the color saturation in time. Since there are many subtle halftones, it is necessary to be able to distinguish between them when choosing a combination of colors.

Lightness and color saturation as the main characteristics

The work of color-sensitive receptors in the human eye affects the vision of color. This is due to the ratio of reactions of all receptors, there are 3 types of them. Their general behavior affects how light the image will be. Changing the radiation power affects the lightness, and when the wavelength changes, the visible color tone and color saturation are converted. Consider the above concepts, imagining a painted board. One part of it is in direct sunlight, and the other is in the shade. These halves are characterized by the same color tone, but they are distinguished by lightness. All these properties are united by the concept of "color". As the example shows, hue and color saturation are included in the qualitative subjective characteristics of color, and lightness is considered a subjective quantitative trait.

Thus, all 3 of the above phenomena are properties of colors that the eye recognizes, with the exception of white, gray and black. Let's consider them in order.

Color tone

Color tone is a feature determined by sensations. It is described by the words: blue, orange, etc. If the object is not a light source, then its tone is proportional to the level of spectral transparency of objects and reflection for objects that do not have the first property. For a person, the phenomenon we are discussing in this section is directly related to the familiar environment. Therefore, most of the names come from the names of things of a similar color. These are colors such as lemon, emerald, azure, blood red, sand, etc. However, perception is subjective and depends, in addition to physical laws, on emotions, professional skills, habits, and other human characteristics.

Color saturation

The next color characteristic perceived by a person - saturation - determines its richness. So, in a row of reds, it is easy to choose options in which a more active red tone. They appear bright red. The brightness and saturation of the color are related to the concentration of the dye. Increasing the amount, it is easy to raise the saturation of the solution, paint.

The saturation of the color of objects becomes the highest as soon as the objects are under the illumination of their corresponding color. An experienced person in this field is able to distinguish in natural light a maximum of 180 tones and sixteen levels of saturation. That is, this area contains 1880 varieties of pure colors and a huge, certain number of complex ones. In dim light, the amount of perceived colors is reduced. The perception of objects is radically transformed if colored light is applied. It is known that in the blue reflections of the moon everything seems black.

Chromaticity and color saturation are expressed by objective physical parameters. The color tone is characterized by the wavelength of "single-frequency" radiation. We add that in colorless lighting it is perceived in color the same as the object in question. The wavelength with such monochromatic radiation is considered to be dominant. Purity quantifies saturation. It is the proportion of single frequency flux combined with white lighting. In other words, purity is defined as the power of monochromatic radiation divided by the power of all visible radiations that form a particular color. As a result, the color will be cleaner if the strength of the first is higher and the level of white light is lower. The maximum purity of spectral colors is 1. In them, the white level corresponds to 0.

Lightness

Lightness is the last indicator that describes the objective brightness. If you take things of different colors, obviously, some of them will be lighter, some darker. We are not disturbed by their difference in color tone. Comparing the colors of a certain object in light and shadow, the viewer notices the difference in light and color in its areas. Thus, yellow objects are lighter than purple objects.

What determines the saturation of colors

Saturation, in other words, color purity is related to the amount of white, black, gray spectral color tone in the paint. If there is a lot of one of them in the composition, then the shade becomes more deaf. It will be lighter or darker than the original version.

Depending on the degree of saturation, colors can be of three types:

• The most saturated colors are the colors of the spectrum and the magenta series (non-spectral).
• Saturated- colors with pronounced chromaticity.
• Low saturated colors- these are colors with achromatic inclusions, that is: light blue, pale yellow, cream, as well as gray-blue, light green, burgundy, gray-violet, dark brown.

Chromatic have such a qualitative feature as chromaticity: tone and color saturation. For achromatic, it is only important how light or dark they are.

Color saturation, like brightness, is different when compared. Yellow in the center of the spectrum is less saturated than closer to the edges. But in terms of lightness (brightness), it stands above the other colors of its group.

An achromatic color is a color that has no color. It sounds illogical, but this definition is accepted among scientists studying this issue. This concept includes black, gray, white colors. According to the spectral theory of color, it is wrong to include achromatic colors in the list, since they do not have the main feature of chromatic colors - hue and color saturation. If the purity of the latter corresponds to 100%, then for achromatic this indicator is zero. Therefore, you should not blindly believe the meaning of the phrase "white color". However, these phrases are well-established, they are simple, therefore they have been preserved in science.

The combination of chromatic and achromatic colors makes up the variety of colors and shades that exist in the world and in the everyday environment of a person as well.

How to adjust color saturation when designing a print layout

The computer screen is capable of transmitting objects with high color saturation. But in offset printing, the four basic inks are superimposed on each other. This is important to remember when choosing shades and combinations in design. Too thick a layer of paint may not have time to dry and will stain the next sheet.

When you use uniform CMYK color fills in your layout, the best result can be achieved with shades consisting of 1 or 2 of the four colors (for example, magenta and cyan).

Do not take shades of primary colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) with a density of less than 10%, since when printed they come out much lighter than on the monitor. If possible, choose shades from 10% to 30%.

Beware of uniform fills that take up a lot of space, because even slight deviations in color will be noticeable on them. Instead, it's better to use textures.

Offset printing is done with liquid inks, therefore, they need time to dry on paper. If the substance did not have time to do this, then the sheets will stain each other upon contact. This is called "overlapping". There are various methods to eliminate it. One of them is the correct preliminary preparation of the layout.

In full color printing, each color is built from shades of the base colors. For example, blue is 100% cyan, 72% magenta, and 10% black. Adding these numbers together gives a total saturation of 182% (100%+72%+10%). The maximum possible density is 400% (100%C+100%M+100%Y+100%B). We advise you not to exceed the total amount of 225%. In other words, if you add up the percentages of all colors, you should get no more than 225%. Small volumes, headlines and logos will accept up to 275%. However, exceeding this figure will lead to printing problems and a significant increase in production times.

Also, when designing your layout, pay attention to black in the CMYK color model. As you know, the combination of CMY inks at 100% does not print pure black, but rather dark brown. There is another problem - the imposition of 3 color channels on small details. The error makes such a printing method impossible for printing, where the main text is. Of course, large letters can be printed with three layers of ink, but letters smaller than 6 pt will provoke a lot of difficulties.

It is also important to remember the high cost of using three colors when only black is required. In addition to the price, there are a number of other difficulties, for example, the wetness of newsprint from three layers of paint. Paper for business cards will accept colors, but it will be difficult with newspapers.

Despite the existing advantages, a separate black has a serious problem: it is a very gray and low-saturated color. Although it works on medium-sized text, it is completely useless in creativity. Consequently, experts choose "rich black" or Progressive Black.

It's easy to set up. You just need to put K100 and add 50% Cyan, 50% Yellow and 50% Magenta each. In many industries - in most cases this affects newspapers - there are limits on the total percentage of ink. Since the rich black C100 M100 Y100 K100 gives 400%, it is foolish to spend such an amount on one piece of newsprint, especially since there will be stains and streaks.

How is color saturation possible?

The tools for adjusting saturation in Photoshop, Elements, and Lightroom are very similar. How to increase the saturation of colors in Photoshop? Very simple: Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation. There are three items in the dialog box: "Hue", "Saturation", "Lightness". "Saturation" allows you to vary the degree of strength of the colors visible in the photo, while "Hue" affects the color itself. It is possible to edit images through the general channel or select a specific option in the drop-down menu. And also change only the selected color using the Color Eye dropper in the lower right corner of the dialog box. To do this, click with the tool at the selected point in the drawing. The sliders near the color scales at the bottom allow you to determine the width of the selected color area.

As already mentioned, the "Hue" engine physically changes the colors in the photo, distributing them to new values. What is happening is shown by two colored bars closer to the bottom zone of the dialog box. The top bar shows the color that is currently present in the image, and the second one shows how it will be after transformation by this function. You can move along both lanes using the "Hue" slider, it will change colors in accordance with the position of the pointers on two lanes at once.

Applying color correction to an entire image is limited, but combining the Hue setting with the Color Eye droppers gives you plenty of room for localized color changes. This option is much more convenient.

Photoshop also offers a tool to control the color saturation - "Vibrance". In Photoshop, Elements, and Lightroom, it affects colors in the same way that Hue/Saturation does, but protects skin tones. It works more intensively in areas of weak colors than saturated ones.

How to use color saturation to create contrast

The quality of the paint implies purity and saturation. The phrase "contrast by saturation" defines the comparison of colors that are saturated, pure, with faded, muted. Colors formed by the refraction of white light have maximum saturation.

Pigmented colors also come with the highest saturation. But as soon as pure colors are darkened and lightened, their saturation evaporates.

The purity of colors can disappear for four reasons:

1. pure color can be mixed with white, which gives a relatively cold tone. In carmine red, in combination with white, bluishness appears, from which its perception changes dramatically. Yellow in this case is also converted to relatively cold, and blue practically does not change, does not lose color saturation. Violet is incredibly susceptible to the influence of white. So, deep dark purple looks menacing, when white is added, purple hues appear in it, and this gives the viewer a sense of calm when looking at an object of this color.
2. Pure color can be mixed with black. With this option, the yellow color loses its radiance, and a touch of soreness and toxicity appears. Black emphasizes the anxiety inherent in violet tones, gives a peculiar feeling of weakness and lethargy. By adding black to a bright red color, we get purple. The blue gets darker. Even a small amount of black paint can negate its purity. Green is more flexible, unlike purple, blue. Black takes away all the listed colors from light, destroys the purity of color.
3. Rich color fades easily thanks to the addition of a mixture of black and white to it, i.e. grey. From its appearance, the tones come out lighter or darker, but, undoubtedly, less active than before. Paints mixed with gray are called "blind".
4. Pure colors are easy to diversify by adding appropriate complementary colors. Add yellow to purple and you get intermediate options from light yellow to dark purple. Green and red are close in lightness to each other, so together they form a gray-black. Combinations of two complementary colors with white make interesting shades of great complexity.

When the mixture contains 3 colors of the "first order", it seems dull, inexpressive. Depending on the ratio, it may be closer to yellowish, reddish, bluish or black shades. With the help of 3 primary colors, all degrees of reduced color saturation in the paint are achievable. The same rule applies to the 3 colors of the "second order" and any combination where the 3 primary colors are observed: yellow, red and blue.

The contrast "faded - saturated" is far from always unconditional. Absolutely every color will seem saturated to you in comparison with pronounced faded, and vice versa.

If you need to get an expressive composition, exclusively playing with the saturation of colors, then we recommend creating faded colors on the basis of saturated ones. Then pure red should argue with its faded version, and saturated blue with faded blue. However, it is unacceptable to use, for example, pure red with a faded blue or red with a faded green. Here the saturation comparison will be replaced by any other comparisons, such as cold versus warm. And the action of the original opposite will become controversial.

Interestingly, the gray options seem alive to the viewer due to the pure colors adjacent to them. Let's illustrate this. Let the cells on the "chessboard" through one be painted over with gray, and in the remaining squares there are pure, saturated colors of the lightness coinciding with it. It is obvious that liveliness will be transferred to the gray color, and chromatic colors will turn out to be less juicy, more weakened.

How the printing method affects color saturation

Printing houses use two methods of printing printed products:

1. Digital seal. Such printing is carried out using a laser beam on a laser printer. With it, it is possible to get a deeper and more saturated color. A feature of this type is the ability to make changes to the finished template. Digital printing is typical for low-volume printing of polygraphy, and any type of paper is suitable for it. Finished products are subjected to heat treatment, so the paint dries quickly. This feature allows fast post-print processing.
2. offset printing is more economical than the first option. In the manufacture of a large circulation, the cost per unit of production is not so high. But this comes at the cost of low color saturation. Color reproduction in this version is also difficult to control. Note that the sample is expensive. Because of this, the customer may end up with a different product format, less deep color than what was intended.

How color saturation affects the choice of paper for printing

High-quality color reproduction, in addition to a properly designed layout, requires high-quality ink, paper and serviceable modern printing equipment. The characteristics that the printer works with are the size and density of the paper, circulation. Paper is of the following types:

• newspaper;
• design;
• coated and offset.

The higher the density of the paper, the greater the color saturation and the best color reproduction will be provided to you. Thin newsprint quickly absorbs ink and distorts shades, in connection with this, such publications are made in most cases in black and white on poor quality paper. Printing in a full range of colors can be done on offset paper. What is important - among it there are options for budget printing.

Coated paper has a dense structure and is suitable for good color reproduction. To enhance the colors on thick paper allows the reception of glossing. This makes the products pleasant not only visually, but also to the touch. This technology is common in magazine printing. In addition to gloss, customers love matte coated paper. It maintains a rich shade without glare, which looks natural and bright.

The size and weight of paper for printing in a printing house depends on the needs and requests of the client. If color rendering and color saturation are important, it is better to choose among high-quality thick paper options. It allows you to transfer the necessary shades without streaks and achieve the desired effect without additional equipment settings.