NATIONAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Information Technology Department

Lecture

PRELIM

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging symbolic elements in a way that influences and
affects the senses, emotions, and/or intellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities,
creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and
paintings.

Meanings of Colors

Color Meaning
warmth, love, anger, danger, boldness, excitement, speed, strength,
RED:
determination, desire, courage
ORANGE: cheerfulness, low cost, affordability, enthusiasm, stimulation, creativity
attention-grabbing, comfort, liveliness, cowardliness, hunger, optimism,
YELLOW:
overwhelm, Summer, comfort, liveliness, intellect, happiness, energy
durability, reliability, environmental, luxurious, optimism, well-being, nature,
GREEN:
calm, relaxation, Spring, safety, honesty, optimism, harmony, freshness
peace, professionalism, loyalty, reliability, honor, melancholia, boredom,
BLUE:
coldness, Winter, depth, stability, professionalism, honor, trust
power, royalty, nobility, elegance, sophistication, artificial, luxury, mystery,
PURPLE:
royalty, elegance, magic
GRAY: conservatism, traditionalism, intelligence, serious, dull, uninteresting
relaxing, confident, casual, reassuring, nature, earthy, solid, reliable, genuine,
BROWN:
Autumn, endurance
Elegance, sophistication, formality, power, strength, illegality, depression,
BLACK:
morbidity, night
Cleanliness, purity, newness, virginity, peace, innocence, simplicity, sterility,
WHITE:
snow
Color Symbolism and Culture

Western world:
Traffic lights: Red means stop, yellow means caution, and green means go. Yellow signs also warn
drivers of upcoming curves, pedestrian crossings, and a animal crossings.
Patriotism: Most, if not all countries have a flag. The colors of each flag are usually seen as patriotic.
Red, white, and blue symbolizes patriotism in the U.S.A.
Holidays: Red and green are favorite Christmas colours. Colors of Autumn such as orange, brown,
yellow and red are associated with Thanksgiving with black and orange associated with Halloween.
Pastel colors are used for Easter.
Ea
ste
rn
Wo Color Symbolism Chart
rld
: Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed,
strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire,
Ma
blood, war, violence, all things intense and
rria
passionate.
ge:
Wh Pink symbolizes love, romance, and excitement
ite
an Beige and ivory symbolize unification. Ivory
d symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. Beige
pin symbolizes calm and simplicity.
k
are Joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism,
fav imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold,
orit philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy,
e covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard.
just
as Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony,
in unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism,
the security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water,
we technology, depression, appetite suppressant.
ste
rn Turquoise symbolizes calm. Teal symbolizes
wo sophistication. Aquamarine symbolizes water.
rld. Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal.

Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious,

Gr transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty,
ee arrogance, mourning.
n:
Ete Lavender symbolizes femininity, grace and
rnit elegance.
y,
fa Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant,
mil expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.
y,
har Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal,
mo youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy,
ny, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor.
he
alt Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability,
h, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.
pe Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty,
ac dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old
e, age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm.
po
ste Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness,
rity peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter,
Ha snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures),
ppi death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.
ne
ss: Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance,
Re wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth,
d style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity,
Hel underground, good technical color, mourning, death
pfu (Western cultures).
l:
Gr
ay
We
alt
h:
Blu
e,
gol
d
an
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Flower Color Meanings

When choosing a romantic gift or flowers to give to your partner, pay attention to the color. You
may not realize it, but colors have a significant impact on us and our reactions and behaviors.
They also give others an insight into us as people and into our own deep feelings and emotions.

Many colors have deep spiritual and religious meanings (such as black symbolizing evil) or
specific meanings to those in the business world (such as green symbolizing money). We
specifically focusing on the romantic aspects of colors though and how they can represent your
relationships and romantic feelings.

Black - Power, mystery, elegance; farewell & goodbye

Black is generally associated with negative things, so you may want to reserve this for breaking
up. However, it's also associated with mystery and elegance, so you may want to use it if it's given
with something else, such as jewelry. A great idea would be a black, velvet lined jewelry box, with
something special of a different color inside. We're not aware of any black flowers (other than
those that have been dyed or have literally died), but it's probably a good idea to steer away from
this color in most situations. If your sweetie has a dark side or isn't fond of romantic occasions,
such as Valentine's Day, you could use black roses to show her that you appreciate her unique
side.

White - Purity, innocence, perfection, hope

White flowers are gorgeous, unique, and non-traditional. They are perfect for a new relationship or
for telling your partner how perfect she truly is. These are also the flowers to send when you want
her to know that your love is pure. Great ideas for white are white roses, a white orchid, or pearls.
To make a bouquet even more special, combine white and red roses together to symbolize your
loving bond together.

Red - Love, passion, desire, eroticism

Red is traditionally the color of love and romance. A dozen long-stemmed red roses are the
classic romantic gift.

Dark Red - Deep, strong love; beauty & perfection

These deeper, darker red flowers are perfect for your wife of 20 years. They're also the perfect
color to send to let your partner know how truly beautiful she is, while still telling her how much
you truly love her.

White & Red - Unity, togetherness, long-lasting love, bonding

You can find many flowers that have a combination colors, but one of the more symbolic are
those that have shades of white and red (which together make pink). Red and white flowers are a
striking combination and they embody all of the feelings and emotions of a true bond.

Pink - Romance, sweetness, playfulness, gladness

Pink is a feminine color perfect for those fun, playful couples. Whether it's a pink rose or a pink
diamond (like Ben Affleck giving to Jennifer Lopez), it's perfect for the sweet, romantic person in
your life.

Yellow - Friendship, joy, happiness

If you want to slow things down, yellow, the color of friendship, is the color to send. It's also better
to steer clear of roses, traditionally a romantic flower, in this situation. The exception would be if
you are sending them to a current friend who you hope would become more, but you want to take
it slow. Yellow roses in this regard mean that you're falling for them, particularly if combined with
red roses as well.

Yellow & Red - Falling in love, start of a new romance

If you want to let someone know that you're falling in love with them, send them these flowers.
The yellow symbolizes your current friendship and the red shows that you want things to move
towards a relationship.

Orange - Fascination, warmth, happiness

Orange is a strong, warm color that shows fascination or intrigue. Send orange flowers, or other
orange gifts, to the lady that really makes you feel warm and happy inside. Orange roses also hint
towards mischievousness and are perfect for sending as a secret admirer (though we recommend
revealing yourself soon after!).
Coral - Desire, love
A warm color that is a shade of love, but more importantly, desire. Send coral
roses to your partner to let you that know how much you really want them.

Peach - Wisdom, gratitude, appreciation

Peach is a shades of orange and pink that represent both the romance of the
pinks and the warmth and gratitude's of the orange shades. They are a
perfect color to show your love and appreciation of your spouse or girlfriend.

Green - Harmony, fertility, richness

Green is a rich, cool color perfect for the harmonious couple. Give her a plant
and a note telling her how truly rich she has made your life. If you're looking more to the "fertility"
side of meaning, send her green flowers and a bag of green m&m's. You know what they say
about those green m&m's!

Blue - Stability, trustworthy, tranquil

Blue is typically the color of peace and stability. Deep blues tend to be more 'trust' based colors,
while lighter blues are signs of peace, quiet, and tranquility (think 'ocean'). If you're a deep,
intimate couple, blue flowers or gifts are perfect. Surprisingly, you can even get blue roses now!

Purple/Lavender - Enchantment, unique, noble, devotion, trust

A cooler color perfect for the truly devoted. Send this color to your partner to let her know how
truly unique she is. Because purple is often associated with nobility, so giving purple roses tells
your partner that you put them on a pedestal. Lavender shades also represent trust, an important
component of any relationship, so giving giving roses in this shade is perfect for a long-standing
romance.

Color Meanings in Dreams

Your dream meanings are unique to you. No one can accurately pin-point the deeper message of a
dream but you. Dreams are intensely personal - it only makes sense that you are your best interpreter.
Red: Dreaming of red is about activation, physicality, passion and intensity. In the chakras red
is the root, it's a primitive energy that expresses itself in terms of survival and prime instinct.
Consider the deep blood red that runs through our veins. Life-affirming, flowing, and activating
our energy on a very base, physical level. Red is the root that runs through our psyche. It
speaks to us of dormant power. Consider fire. It requires an igniting action. The capability of
fire is all around us, but it takes a spark to release the power. I particularly love the symbolism of
volcanoes when contemplating color meanings in dreams. The red hot energy is always there, just under
the surface. What provokes its resurfacing is key.
Orange: Orange in dreams is a sign of equalization, balance and temperance. Orange stands stoically
between the raging initiations of red, and the themes awareness/realizations of yellow. It is not entirely
physical and not completely mental. Orange is the fulcrum and our perception the teeter-totter. When
we dream in oranges, we are asked to consider what is in-balance (or need of balance) in our lives.
Orange offers messages of harmony and contentment too - often achieved through a specific (sometimes
lengthy) cycle of time. Orange also asks us to build up our immunities, freshen up our routines and
engage in practices that enhance our daily lives. On a personal note, I think of pumpkins when my clients
tell me they've dreamed in orange. Pumpkins speak to me of manifestation - from tilling soil, to planting
seed, to tending the plant, and then harvesting. In other words, actions over a period of time lead to
specific results. .

Yellow: Yellow color meanings in dreams radiates themes of centralization, focus, awareness
and reminds us of our role as humans within the context of the whole. Consider the yellow
tones of the sun, and how central this star is to our existence. Consider the center (solar
plexus) chakra which is also yellow and governs our will and even our sense of identity. Some
of the first flowers to burst out of a long dormancy are yellow (dandelions, daffodils), this
screams to me about awakening - resurfacing - becoming aware (maybe for the first time) of the larger
picture of life. Yellow is the color of intelligent design, and when we dream in yellow it reflects a special
kind of clarity. Yellow is a bright idea, and an epiphany on a grand scale. When we dream of yellow, our
deeper consciousness is paving the way (yellow brick road?) to a path of higher understanding and
mystical awareness. Yellow centralizes our energetic focus so that we may intensify our presence. That
intensity then radiates outward - just as the light of the sun does. Effectually, dreaming of yellow indicates
a time of intelligent reflection in which we are influencing the world around us in amazing ways. .
Green: Color meanings of green in dreams often point us in the direction of growth, healing, love, giving,
and inspiration. Green corresponds with the heart chakra, which governs passion, love and healing. The
Anahata is associated with the element of air, and so we see a different kind of love than what we
experience in the primal red hues. Green is symbolic of communicating care on a subtle, energetic level.
When we dream of green, we are imbued with a magical ability to transfer knowledge by unorthodox
means. Green facilitates growth, love and healing by mental stimulation. Greeks believed intelligence
came from the heart. This combined with the green of the heart chakra talks to us about emotional
intelligence and communicating with an open heart. I realize I'm being vague here, this kind of ethereal
communication isn't easily identified. However, we can look to mother nature for help in explanation. She
speaks in viridian tongue - communicating a sea of burgeoning growth - all expressed by the color green.
When we dream of green we're experiencing levels of healing and growth that are subtle. It's time to
concentrate on the areas of our lives that need to flourish. Once we hone in, and begin to express our
identification on an emotional (heart) level, our growth will be exponential and immense. .

Blue: The color meanings of blue in dreams point to thoughts, ideas, dreams and the ability to
convey them. I've got a lot of artists as clients, and overwhelmingly, these brilliant minds feel,
think and dream predominantly in hues of blue. I believe it's because their prime motivation is to
effectively convey their visions to the world. These artists find purpose in expressing their ideas
through remarkably profound (and creative) methods. That's what the color blue asks us to do.
Consider the skies overhead. This atmosphere is symbolic of vast, endless opportunities for discovery,
renewal and expression. As humans, our attempt to define, project, perceive and share this vastness is
innate. We've got to take it all in, process, and then tell everybody we know about it (art, music, literature,
even social media are all testimonies to our need to share our perceptions creatively). So, when we
dream in swirling blue hues, it's often a sign of our ability to tap into the vast mysteries of life. That's
step one. The other step our blue dreams ask of us it to interpret these mysteries and share them with our
environment. Blue dreams remind us that opinions and perceptions can be run on a neuro-network...a
path of interchange and exchange. .
Indigo: Indigo color meanings in dreams are about psychic tuning, contacting the ephemeral,
and connecting with spiritual vision. Indigo goes deep, real deep. Therefore, deep minds will
dream in indigo as a message that indeed, there is no end to the proverbial rabbit hole
experienced by Alice in her Wonderland. Indigo is the wonderland, and once submerged in the
oceanic waves of extrasensory perception, there is no limit to the non-linear knowledge that can be
obtained. It sounds heavy because it is. Dreaming in indigo marks the consciousness' ability to dive far
deeper than what daily reality holds. If you're dreaming of indigo, next time make a conscious (lucid) effort
to dive even deeper, push the limits - and you will find there is no end to the startling revelations available
to your perception. Indigo dreams are initiations into a world where common rules and conventionalism
will not apply. Consider the deepest, darkest depths of the Marianas trench - far deeper than this is the
capacity of the psychic mind. Dive in, there's endless treasures to be found in the dreamy realm of indigo.
.
Violet: Color meanings of violet dreams indicate divinity, peace, tranquility and enlightenment. I
hesitate to even use that word "enlightenment" because it's tossed around so haphazardly.
We're talking about a devout presence of knowingness in violet hued dreams. It's as if higher
wisdom is a personality of its own, and it presence is standing within your body - thinking -
knowing - watching - independently yet separately. It's a sensational experience, and violet
dreams are a glimpse inside that kind of awareness-phenomenon. Violet is about blossoming and
opening up to new, unconventional experiences. It's chakra is the crown, and is depicted as a thousand-
petal lotus unfurling its luscious body to drink in all the sensations available to it. And, the key is
everything is available for the lotus sensory organ to devour. Violet dreams mark the union of the soul
with body, mind and divine consciousness. With this kind of conjugation comes bliss, satisfaction, and
rest. These are fleeting moments...swim in them loosely for as long as you can. The more we swim in
violet energies, the more we'll experience this lucid presence of knowing. So, if you have violet dreams,
appreciate every square inch of them, because they are a real gift from the divine source. .

Importance of Value in Color

IMPORTANCE OF VALUES IN COLOR PERSPECTIVE

In color perspective, grasping and perceiving values is of the utmost significance. You may follow all the
rules of linear perspective but still make a mess of your painting by neglecting color values. A shadow on
a tree, on a house, on a road, or on any object isn't merely darker than the rest; it's darker according to
the nearness or distance! The brightest light on a green lawn faraway is not as brilliant as on the same
kind of lawn near you. Not only are colors less bright in the distance; they are also more bluish in tone.
Compare the tones farthest away with the tones near you, and paint the shades between the two
extremes proportionately. It's an excellent method to start your painting by applying the very darkest, and
the very lightest first. Bear in mind that warm colors appear to advance, while cool colors recede. The
more intense the warm color, the closer it comes to you; the less intense the cool color, the farther away it
moves from you. Add a touch of red, orange, or burnt sienna to any color, and it will come forward. Add a
touch of white, blue, or green to any hue, and it will move backward. You have absolute control over
colors.
AVOID HOLES AND JUMPING-OUT COLORS
Colors in the distance painted as bright as the same hues nearer to you, seem to be "jumping out of the
picture," as we say, or look as if someone had pasted bright pieces of paper on it, perhaps mischievously.
Even the casual onlooker feels that something is wrong with the picture.
Dark sections, painted just as dark in the distance as similar objects in the foreground, appear to be holes
or gashes in the picture. They're fine if you want to paint actual holes or gashes; they're utterly wrong,
however, if the dark hue is an accident, based on an oversight or on lack of understanding. Art students
often paint tree trunks, and shadows under the trees in the same colors and values in the farthest
distance as nearby, and in-between. Such trees and shadows appear to be standing in one row across
the picture, rather than in depth as the artist had planned. And even real holes in the distance must be
lighter in value than similar holes nearby.
Although these facts are most notable and damaging in realistic subjects, they're just as disturbing in
abstract or nonobjective paintings. An artist working in any of these contemporary styles may wish to
suggest a big hole, or something sticking out of the painting. Such color effects can then be utilized for
aesthetic purposes.
LIGHT AND SHADOW
Few fragments of Greek paintings survive, but the Roman artists knew practically all about light and
shadow effects, as we can see in their often superb murals in Pompeii and Herculaneum, and in their
great mosaic pictures. Light and shadow have been an integral feature of Western art for over two
thousand years, and we can hardly imagine truly three-dimensional appearance in any painting that has
no light and shadow. For perfect realism, we must have linear perspective, color perspective, light and
shadow. But not every part of the world agrees with us...
A very talented Japanese girl - in a watercolor class I taught - once had to paint geometric objects made
of natural wood. She made a perfect outline drawing of a cube and a pyramid, then painted the visible
sides of each, all exactly the same wood color; she left the pencil lines between sides intact, which was
quite an achievement in patience and skill. I asked her why she hadn't painted the shadows. "What
shadows?" she asked. Why, the right-hand side of each of the two objects was in shadow; therefore, it
had to be darker than the other sides.
The girl declared she didn't know what I was talking about. Surely, she said, I couldn't possibly be serious.
How can certain sides of these objects be darker than others, when they are made of the same piece of
wood? When I tried to convince her of the existence of shadows, she became almost hysterical. She
grabbed both geometric forms, one in each hand, waved them, turned them around in front of me, and
repeated loudly: "These things are made of the same wood; every side is just like the others, and that's
the way I paint them!"
Suddenly, I understood the Oriental attitude. You must paint not what you see, but what you remember as
the truth. Surely, the wood was the same all round. Japanese pictures are done in fine outlines, colored
according to the artist's memory. This shows how totally different viewpoints can, and do, exist. Later on, I
managed to convey to this Japanese girl the Western idea about light-and-shadow by showing her
photographs, including a Japanese travel folder, printed in Japan, in which shadows could undeniably be
seen.
There is a famous story about Earl George Macartney, Britain's first envoy to China. When he reached
the court of the Chinese Emperor, about 1790, he presented a gift from King George III: several portraits
of the British Royal Family. The Emperor and the Mandarins were shocked at the sight of the portraits.
They asked if every person in England really had one side of the face darker than the other. They thought
the shadow on the King's nose was either a natural, tragic defect, or, perhaps, some paint spilled by
accident.
STUDYING LIGHT AND SHADOW

Highlights Are Different. On a cylinder, the highlight is one line along the cylindrical body. On a sphere,
the highlight is just a spot, the one nearest to the source of light. On a cone, the highlight is a line from the
tip to the bottom of the cone. On round surfaces, the darkest shadow is not at the very edge, but slightly
away from it, leaving a reflected light. If you paint the shadow up to the edge, the object will appear to be
flat rather than curved.
Lights and shadows must be studied like anything else. I know that we have covered some of this
material in previous lessons, and I will be brief this time, but you must train your eyes to see what's in
front of them visually. Study the color of highlights. The assumption that the shadow on a red apple is a
darker red, the highlight on the same apple is a lighter red, is erroneous. When the light comes from the
sunny, blue sky, the lightest spot on the red apple may be a pale blue! The highlight may be yellow when
seen by artificial light! The shadows may be any dark hue, depending on where the apple is, its
background, the table, and so forth. Neither the light part, nor the dark part of an article is ever one large
mass of a single color. Each of them has shades. On a round surface, these shades blend into each
other, and leave reflected light near the edge. On a flat surface, the shadow or light has a sharp edge, but
its intensity varies from one corner to the other. The highlight is a spot on a sphere; a straight line on a
cylindrical or conical object.
The shape of a cast shadow is produced by the shape of the object which throws the shadow and the
surface upon which the shadow is cast. Observe cast shadows; don't assume they are dark, indefinite
spots. The cast shadow of a cone, for example, is cone-shaped on a flat surface, such as a table. On a
wavy surface, such as wrinkled drapery on the table, the shadow curves according to the shape of the
drapery.
The only time there is absolutely no shadow is when illumination comes from all possible angles. Public
buildings and monuments are often illuminated by hundreds of spotlights. Such structures appear to be
flat surfaces with some decorations. One of the weirdest of these is the Parthenon in Athens. Perched on
top of the Acropolis, the ancient temple looks like a huge neon sign floating against the midnight-blue sky.
It is a splendid fantasy, rather than a three dimensional edifice.
One of the best ways to study light and shadow is to look at black-and-white photographs. Or paint a
monochromatic painting. When a student applies to enter my tutelage I hand them a tube of black paint,
and a white one, and ask them to paint a picture using just these two paints. I want to know their
understanding of light and shadow. By removing color from their palette, they have only light and shadow
with which to portray their subject.
Take a black-and-white photograph and touch it up with light gray, wherever its actually dark; and with
dark gray, where it’s supposed to be light. Such spots stick out like sore thumbs. Anyone can immediately
tell that something is wrong with the picture. Learn to notice such extraneous spots in your full color
paintings as well. You needn't be photographic. Be as bold as you wish. Apply heavy strokes, omit small
details, but don't forget the final, total effect.
COLOR AND PERCEPTION
Perception means an awareness of things, obtained directly, through the senses, through keen
observation, or by intuition. Some people are naturally aware of color; others make an effort to see and
study color. Still others are perhaps capable of immediate cognition. As in all fields, perceiving color is
probably a combination of natural talent, observing ability and, with the greatest artists, intuition.
OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
Having dealt with many hundreds of art students, I know that perception in art in general, and in color in
particular, doesn't come as fast as I would like. Time after time, I hear the exclamation: "But this doesn't
look right!" or "This looks wrong. It looks impossible!" Invariably, what looks right to the average student is
wrong to the experienced artist, and vice-versa. One of the most difficult problems is to convince art
students that the world is full of optical illusions. Some of these optical illusions are pleasant, some
unpleasant, others puzzling or amusing; a few are known to the general public, even to school children,
while others come up in art only - every type of art.
The perception of illusions, whether they are illusions of lines, of forms, or of colors, is very significant to
all artists.
The ancient Greeks, with their incomparable desire and ability to weigh, measure, and define everything,
were past masters of controlling optical illusions in their architecture. They used their eyes and their
minds. When they noticed that straight columns didn't look straight, they changed the shapes of columns
until they found a certain curvature and a set of proportions of height and width, the right sizes for top and
bottom of a column, so that, the column looked straight, even though it wasn't. When horizontal steps
seemed to be caving in, they built them in their large temples, such as the Parthenon in Athens, in a
convex shape, so that they looked straight. Optical illusions were widely and most successfully practiced
by the architects of the Renaissance, including Leonardo da Vinci, after the discovery, in the fifteenth
century, of books by the classic Roman architect, Vitruvius.
In painting, more than in architecture, we must recognize, observe, and utilize optical illusions. After all,
painting itself is a great illusion: an artist can create an illusion of depth on a flat surface; he can depict
sunshine, moonlight, rain, hurricane, the waves of the sea, galloping horses, and anything else, on a
mere sheet of paper or canvas. This is no small achievement. It requires visual experience, perception,
and technical skill.
EXERCISES IN OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
Which Line Is Taller? Which Is Longer? We are surrounded by optical illusions, some interesting, some
odd, some puzzling; but many of them fool you unless you know all about them. Which line is taller?
Which line is longer? They're exactly the same, but the vertical line on the right, and horizontal line on the
bottom appear to be longer. This illusion is caused by the inverted arrows at the ends of these two lines,
in contrast with the regular arrows at the ends of the other two lines.
Practically everyone is familiar with the optical illusion of two lines of equal length, one with regular arrows
at each end, the other with inverted arrows.
Notice that the vertical line on the right looks taller; the lower one of the horizontal lines appears to be
longer. The same illusion prevails in two human figures:

If one wears a top hat, the other a flat straw hat, the man with the top hat seems taller, even though he is
of exactly the same height as the other figure. The reason for the illusion is simple: we perceive the total
height, or length, including the upside down arrows, and the top hat, instead of observing the lines or
figures themselves.
Another well-known optical illusion refers to two women, one of whom wears a vertical striped dress, the
other a dress with horizontal stripes. The woman with the horizontal stripes looks fatter and shorter. The
illusion lies in the fact that vertical lines guide our eyes upward, whereas horizontal lines seem to be
spreading, widening.
Who hasn't seen the optical trick of a white square on a black background, and a black square on a white
background? The white square on black appears to be bigger, although it's identical in size with the black
square. The result is the same if you work with a bright yellow or bright green, and a dark purple or a dark
blue combination of squares and backgrounds. A bright spot on a dark surface always seems to expand,
while the dark spot on a light backdrop is visually compressed by the light color around it.
If you paint a night scene with a house, in which one window is brightly illuminated by a lamp inside, make
the window smaller than you want it to appear. Otherwise, it will look much too big on the dark wall of the
house. Some portrait painters like strong contrasts, but if you want to paint a light-complexioned, blond
girl against a very dark background, paint the face smaller than lifesize. Otherwise, the head will look like
a giant. A lifesize portrait looks lifesize when painted against a fairly light background.

Color Wheel

A color wheel or color circle is either:

• An abstract illustrative organization of color hues around a circle, that shows
relationships between primaryAre sets of colors that can be combined to make a useful range of
colors, secondary colors, complementary colors, etc.
colors. For human applications, three primary colors are usually used,
• sincean
A mechanical device that rotates human
arraycolor vision isarranged
of colors trichromatic.
as petals or gradients around
an axis. For additive combination of colors, as in overlapping projected lights
Primary color- or in CRT displays, the primary colors normally used are red, green,
and blue. For subtractive combination of colors, as in mixing of
pigments or dyes, such as in printing, the primaries normally used are
cyan, magenta, and yellow,[1] though the set of red, yellow, blue is
popular among artists.[2] See RGB color model, CMYK color model,
and RYB color model for more on these popular sets of primary
colors.
Secondary Color
is a color made by mixing two primary colors in a given color
space.
Additive secondaries
Main article: Additive color

Light (RGB)
Main article: RGB color model

(● gree (● (●
red + = yellow
) n ) )

gree (● (● (●
+blue = cyan
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(● (● magen (●
blue + red =
) ) ta )

Light (RYB)

(● yello (● orang (●
red + =
) w ) e )

yello (● (● (●
+ blue =green
w ) ) )

(● (● (●
blue + red =violet
) ) )

Subtractive secondaries
Main article: Subtractive color

Pigment (CMY)
Main article: CMYK color model

cyan (● +magen (● =blue (●

) ta ) )
 magen (● (● (●
+ yellow = red
ta ) ) )

(● (● gree (●
yellow + cyan =
) ) n )

This is often referred to as CMYK where K stands for Key (usually black). In theory, solid
overlapping layers of C, M, and Y ink produce black. In reality the outcome is dirty brown
unless mixed exactly evenly so the black ink replaces the other three layers. See under color
removal.
Traditional Painting Prescripts (RYB)
Main article: RYB color model

(● yello (● orang (●
red + =
) w ) e )

yello (● (● (●
+ blue =green
w ) ) )

(● (● (●
blue + red =violet
) ) )
In the RGB color space the colors are added, thus you start
with levels of dark colors which are added to produce lighter
colors. RYB uses pigments, which are not added, and thus
combining colors using the RYB color system will result in a
darker color.

Complementary colors

are pairs of colors that are of “opposite” hue in some color model. The exact hue
“complementary” to a given hue depends on the model in question, and
perceptually uniform, additive, and subtractive color models, for example, have
differing complements for any given color.

Art and design

a Blue-Yellow-Red color wheel. Opposite colors are called complementary.

Because of the limited range of colors that was available throughout most of the history of art,
many artists still use a traditional set of complementary pairs, including:
• white and black
• red and green
• blue and orange
• yellow and violet
The complement of each primary color (red, blue, or yellow) is roughly the color made by
mixing the other two in a subtractive system:
• red complements (blue + yellow) = green
• blue complements (red + yellow) = orange
• yellow complements (red + blue) = violet
When two complements are mixed they produce a brown, or, in the case of black and white, a
gray.
The use of complementary colors is an important aspect of aesthetically pleasing art and graphic
design. This also extends to other fields such as contrasting colors in logos and retail display.
When placed next to each other, complements make each other appear brighter. On an artistic
color wheel, complementary colors are placed opposite one another. Although these artistic
complements may not be precise complements under the scientific definition, most artistic color
wheels are laid out roughly like the HSV color wheel discussed above.
Hue
is one of the main properties of a color, the degree to which a stimulus can be described as
similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow.

Lightness
(sometimes called value or tone) is a property of a color, or a dimension of a color space, that is
defined in a way to reflect the subjective brightness perception of a color for humans along a
lightness–darkness axis. A color's lightness also corresponds to its amplitude.

A shadow is an area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an
object. It occupies all of the space behind an opaque object with light in front of it. The cross
section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or reverse projection of the object blocking
the light.