Color plays a huge role not only in art, but also in everyday life. Few people think about how much different combinations of shades affect human perception, mood and even thinking. This is a kind of phenomenon that operates according to its own seemingly ghostly, but clear laws. Therefore, it is not so difficult to subordinate it to one's will so that it works for the good: one has only to figure out how it works.
Concept
Color is a subjective characteristic of electromagnetic radiation in the optical range, which is determined on the basis of the emerging visual impression. The latter depends on many physiological and psychological reasons. Its understanding can be equally influenced by its spectral composition and the personality of the perceiving person.
To put it simply, color is the impression that a person receives when a beam of light rays penetrates the retina. A beam of light with the same spectral composition can cause differentsensations in different people due to the distinctive features of the sensitivity of the eye, so for each person the shade may be perceived differently.
Physics
Color vision that appears in the human mind includes semantic content. Hue is produced by the absorption of light waves: for example, a blue ball looks like this only because the material from which it is made absorbs all shades of the light beam, except for the blue, which it reflects. Therefore, when we talk about a blue ball, we only mean that the molecular composition of its surface is able to absorb all the colors of the spectrum, except for blue. The ball itself has no tone, like any object on the planet. Color is born only in the process of lighting, in the process of perception of waves by the eye and processing of this information by the brain.
A clear difference in hue and its basic characteristics can be achieved by comparison between the eyes and the brain. Therefore, values can only be determined by comparing the color with another achromatic hue, such as black, white and grey. The brain is also able to compare the hue with other chromatic tones in the spectrum by analyzing the tone. Perception refers to the psychophysiological factor.
Psycho-physiological reality is, in fact, a color effect. Hue and its effect may coincide when applying harmonic semitones - in other situations, the color may change.
It is important to know the basic characteristics of flowers. This concept includes not only its actual perception, butand the influence of various factors on it.
Basic and advanced
Mixing certain pairs of colors can give the impression of white. Complementary are opposite tones that, when mixed, give gray. The RGB triad is named after the main colors of the spectrum - red, green and blue. Additional in this case will be cyan, magenta and yellow. On the color wheel, these shades are located in opposition, opposite each other so that the values of the two triples of colors alternate.
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The main physical characteristics of color include the following items:
- brightness;
- contrast (saturation).
Each characteristic can be measured quantitatively. The fundamental difference between the main characteristics of color is that brightness implies lightness or darkness. This is the content of the light or dark component in it, black or white, while the contrast tells information about the content of the gray tone: the smaller it is, the higher the contrast.
Also, any hue can be specified by three peculiar coordinates representing the main characteristics of the color:
- tone;
- lightness;
- saturation.
These three indicators are able to determine a specific shade, starting from the main tone. The main characteristics of color and their fundamental differences are described by the science of coloristics, which is engaged in a deep studyproperties of this phenomenon and its influence on art and life.
Tone
The color characteristic is responsible for the location of the hue in the spectrum. Chromatic tone is one way or another attributed to one or another part of the spectrum. Thus, shades that are in the same part of the spectrum (but differ, for example, in brightness) will belong to the same tone. When you change the position of a hue along the spectrum, its color characteristic changes. For example, shifting blue towards green changes the hue to cyan. Moving in the opposite direction, blue will tend to red, taking on a purple hue.
Heat and coldness
Often, a change in tone is associated with the warmth and coldness of the color. Red, red and yellow shades are classified as warm, associating them with fiery, “warming” colors. They are associated with the corresponding psychophysical reactions in human perception. Blue, purple, blue symbolize water and ice, referring to cold shades. The perception of "warmth" is associated with both physical and psychological factors of an individual personality: preferences, the observer's mood, his psycho-emotional state, adaptation to environmental conditions, and much more. Red is considered the warmest, blue is considered the coldest.
It is also necessary to highlight the physical characteristics of the sources. Color temperature is largely associated with the subjective feeling of warmth of a particular shade. For example, the thermal study toneas the temperature rises, it passes through the "warm" tones of the spectrum from scarlet to yellow and, finally, white. However, cyan has the highest color temperature, but is still considered a cool shade.
Among the main characteristics within the hue factor is also activity. Red is the most active, while green is the most passive. This characteristic can also be somewhat modified under the influence of the subjective view of different people.
Lightness
Shades of the same hue and saturation can refer to different degrees of lightness. Consider this characteristic in the light of blue. With the maximum value of this characteristic, it will be closer to white, having a soft bluish tint, and as the value decreases, the blue will become more and more like black.
Any tone will turn black when lightness is lowered, and white when lightness is increased.
It should be noted that this indicator, like all other basic physical characteristics of color, can largely depend on subjective conditions associated with the psychology of human perception.
By the way, shades of different tones, even with the same actual lightness and saturation, are perceived differently by a person. Yellow is in fact the lightest, while blue is the darkest shade of the chromatic spectrum.
With a high characteristic, yellow is different from white even less than blue is different from black. It turns out that the yellow tone has even a greater own lightness thanblue is characterized by "darkness".
Saturation
Saturation is the level of difference between a chromatic hue and an achromatic hue equal to it in lightness. In essence, saturation is a measure of the depth, or purity, of a color. Two shades of the same tone can have different levels of fading. As the saturation decreases, every color will become closer to gray.
Harmony
Another of the general characteristics of color, which describes the impression of a person from a combination of several shades. Each person has their own preferences and tastes. Therefore, people have different ideas about the harmony and disharmony of different types of colors (with color characteristics that are characteristic of them). Harmonious combinations are called similar in tone or shades from different intervals of the spectrum, but with a similar lightness. As a rule, harmonious combinations do not have high contrast.
As for the rationale for this phenomenon, this concept should be considered in isolation from subjective opinions and personal tastes. The impression of harmony arises under the conditions of the implementation of the law of complementary colors: the equilibrium state corresponds to a gray tone of medium lightness. It is obtained not only by mixing black and white, but also a couple of additional shades, if they contain the main colors of the spectrum in a certain proportion. All combinations that do not give gray when mixed are considered disharmonious.
Contrasts
Contrast is the difference between twoshades, clarified by comparing them. By studying the main characteristics of color and their fundamental differences, seven types of contrast manifestations can be identified:
- Contrast comparisons. The most pronounced are variegated blue, yellow and red. As you move away from these three tones, the intensity of the shade weakens.
- Contrast of dark and light. There are maximum light and maximum dark shades of the same color, and between them there are countless manifestations.
- Contrast of cold and warm. Red and blue are recognized as poles of contrast, and other colors can be warmer or colder in accordance with how they relate to other cold or warm tones. This contrast is known only in comparison.
- Contrast complementary colors - those shades that, when mixed, give a neutral gray. Opposite tones need each other to balance. Pairs of complementary colors have their own kinds of contrasts: yellow and purple are the contrast of light and dark, and red-orange and blue-green are warm and cold.
- Simultaneous contrast - simultaneous. This is such a phenomenon in which the eyes, when perceiving a particular color, need an additional shade, and in its absence it generates it independently. Simultaneously generated shades are an illusion that does not exist in reality, but it creates a special impression of the perception of color combinations.
- Saturation contrast characterizes the opposite of saturated colors with faded ones. The phenomenon is relative: tone, even without beingclean, may appear brighter next to a faded tint.
- Color spread contrast describes the relationship between color planes. It has the ability to enhance all other contrasts.
Spatial influence
Color has properties that can affect depth perception through contrasts between dark and light, as well as changes in saturation. For example, all light tones against a dark background will visually protrude.
As for warm and cold shades, warm tones will come to the fore, and cold tones will go deeper.
Saturation contrast brings out bright colors against subdued hues.
Spread contrast, also called color plane magnitude contrast, plays a huge role in giving the illusion of depth.
Color is an amazing phenomenon of this world. He is able to influence perception, deceive the eye and brain. But if you understand how this phenomenon works, you can not only maintain clarity of perception, but also make color become a faithful assistant in life and art.
