Explore

Home Improvement: Hue, Intensity, and Value

Using a color wheel is one of the easiest and quickest ways to see how combinations of different colors work together and complement one another.

On a color wheel, you start with the three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, which are spaced equally apart from one-another on the color wheel. In between the primary colors, you have the secondary colors, which are made from mixing equal parts of any two primary colors. In between the secondary colors, you have Tertiary colors, which are made from mixing an equal part of a primary color and a secondary color.

The color wheel not only shows the relationship between colors, but also makes finding complementary colors much easier.

While mixing different colors together is one way to create different colors, you can also add white, black, and gray to the colors, creating a whole new level of variation. Adding white, gray, or black effects the Hue, intensity, and value of the color.

  • Hue: A colors hue is the pure form of the color, which is achieved by a combination of only the primary colors, red, yellow, and blue.
  • Intensity: A colors intensity describes how bright and vibrant it feels. Adding white to a color will reduce its intensity, while adding black increases intensity. Of course, in either cases, you can only add so much black or white without completely dilute the color.
  • Value: A Colors value is related to its intensity and adjusted by adding white, black, or gray to the color. As more white or black is added, it becomes a tint or shade respectively. So, as you add more white, the color becomes a tint and when you add more black, the color becomes a shade

A Word About Tones and Neutral Colors

In the world of color, a tone is simply a color that has had gray added to it, which creates a lighter version of the pure color. To create a tone, you add a neutral color, such as black, white, or gray. It is important to note that even though black and white are oft classified as colors, technically they are night. Instead, white is considered an abundance of light, while black is considered an absence of light.

Color Wheels and Tones

Usually the outside layer of a color wheel represents the color in its most pure form. As you work your way towards the center of the color wheel, white or black is added to the color, to change its hue, intensity, and value, with each subsequent layer representing a different tone of the same color.

Using a more advanced color wheel, which not only shows the pure colors, but also the different tones, is important when choosing a color.

No Comments Yet

Add Comment


Name:     
E-mail:    
Website: