The secrets of color have long worried people. Even in ancient times, he got his symbolic meaning. Color has become the basis of many scientific discoveries. He not only influenced physics or chemistry, but also became important for philosophy and art. Over time, knowledge of color became wider. Sciences began to appear that are engaged in the study of this phenomenon.
The concepts
The first thing to mention is the basics of color science. This is the science of color, which contains systematic information from various studies: physics, physiology, psychology. These areas study the phenomenon of shades, combining the results with data on philosophy, aesthetics, history, literature. Scientists have long researched color as a cultural phenomenon.
But coloristics is a more in-depth study of color, its theory and application by man in various fields of activity.
Historical background
It is not surprising that these sciences have long worried people. Of course, then there were no such concepts as "color science" and "coloristics". Nevertheless, color was given great importance in the culture and development of peoples.
History can provide us with a huge layer of knowledge about this. Therefore, scientists decided to divide all this time into two stages: the period until the 17th century and the time from the 17th century to the present day.
Becoming
Starting a journey through the history of coloristics, you need to return to the Ancient East. At that time, there were 5 primary colors. They symbolized the four cardinal points and the center of the earth. China stood out for its special brightness, naturalness and multicolor. Later everything was transformed, and in the culture of this country monochrome and achromatic painting began to be observed.
Even more developed in this regard were India and Egypt. Two systems were observed here: ternary, which contained the basic colors at that time (red, black, and white); and also Vedic, based on the Vedas. The latter system was deepened into philosophy, therefore it contains red, symbolizing the eastern rays of the Sun, white - the rays of the South, black - the rays of the West, very black - the rays of the North and the invisible - center.
In India, great importance was given to the design of palaces. Traveling around the world, and now you can see that often used white, red and gold. Over time, yellow and blue began to add to these shades.
Religion in color
Western Europe in the Middle Ages looked at the basics of color science from religion. At that time, other shades began to appear that had not previously been taken for the main. White began to symbolize Christ, God, angels, black - the underworld and the Antichrist. Yellow signified enlightenment and the work of the Holy Spirit, and red signified the Blood of Christ, fire and the sun. Blue symbolized the sky and the inhabitants of God, and green symbolized the food, vegetation and earthly path of Christ.
At this time in the Near and Middle East, the same thing happens with color. Then Islam receives influence. Basically, the meaning of the colors remains unchanged. The only green becomes the main and symbolizes the Garden of Eden.
Rebirth
Color science and color are transformed again. Before the second stage comes the Renaissance. At this time, Leonardo da Vinci proclaims his color scheme. It consists of 6 options: white and black, red and blue, yellow and green. Thus, science is gradually approaching the modern concept of color.
Newtonian breakthrough
The 17th century is the beginning of a new stage in the classification. Newton uses a white spectrum where it detects all chromatic colors. A completely different vision appears in science. Here red always remains, to which orange is added, there is green and blue, but with them blue and violet are found.
New theories
The 19th century in Europe leads us to naturalism and impressionism. The first style proclaims the full correspondence of colors, shades and tones, and the second is based only on the transfer of images. At this time, painting appears with the basics of color science.
Then comes the theory of Philip Otto Runge, who distributes the system according to the principle of the globe. At the equator of the "globe" settled pure primary colors. The upper pole is white, the bottom is black. The rest is occupied by mixtures and shades.
The Runge system is very calculated and has a place to be. Each square on the globe has its own “address” (longitude and latitude), therefore it can be determined by calculus. In the footsteps of this scientist went others who tried to improve the system and create a more convenient option: Chevrolet, Goltz, Bezold.
Truth is near
In the modern era, scientists were able to get closer to the truth and create a modern color model. This was facilitated by the features of the time style itself. Creators create their masterpieces, paying great attention to color. It is thanks to him that you can express your vision of art. Color begins to combine with music. He gets a huge number of shades, even in the case of a limited palette. People have learned to distinguish not only the primary colors, but also the tone, dimming, muffling, etc.
Modern performance
The basics of color science led people to simplify previous attempts by scientists. After the Runge globe, Ostwald's theory existed in which he used a circle with 24 colors. Now this circle has remained, but halved.
Scientist Itten was able to develop an ideal system. His circle consists of 12 colors. At first glance, the system is quite complicated, although you can deal with it. There are still three primary colors: red, yellow and blue. There are compound colors of the second order, which can be obtained by mixing the three primary: orange, green and purple. This also includes third-order composite colors, which can be obtained by mixing the primary color with second-order compounds.
The essence of the system
The main thing you need to know about Itten’s circle is that this system was created not just to correctly classify all colors, but also to harmoniously combine them. The main three colors, yellow, blue and red, are located in a triangle. This figure is inscribed in a circle, on the basis of which the scientist received a hexagon. Now we see isosceles triangles that place composite colors of the second order.
To get the right shade, you must maintain equal proportions. To get green, you need to combine yellow, blue. To get orange, you need to take red, yellow. To get purple, mix red and blue.
As mentioned earlier, it is not easy to understand the basics of color science. The color wheel is formed according to the following principle. Draw a circle around our hexagon. Divide it into 12 equal sectors. Now you need to fill in the cells with primary colors and secondary. The vertices of the triangles will indicate them. Empty spaces need to be filled with shades of the third order. They, as mentioned earlier, are obtained by mixing primary and secondary colors.
For example, yellow with orange will create yellow-orange. Blue with purple - blue-violet, etc.
Harmony
It is worth noting that Itten's circle not only helps to create colors, but also combines them advantageously. This is necessary not only for artists, but also for designers, fashion designers, makeup artists, illustrators, photographers, etc.
The combination of colors can be harmonious, characteristic and uncharacteristic. If you take the opposite shades, they will look harmonious. If you select the colors that occupy the sectors through one, then you get the characteristic combination. And if you choose related colors, which are arranged in a circle one after another, you will get uncharacteristic compounds. This theory refers to a seven-color sector.
In Itten's circle, this principle also works, but in a slightly different way, since it is worth considering that there are 12 shades. Therefore, to get two-color harmony, you should take tones that are opposite each other. Three-color harmony is obtained if an equilateral triangle is inscribed in a circle , a rectangular harmony is obtained by the same method, but inside we enter a rectangle. If you put a square in a circle, you get four-color harmony. The hexagon is responsible for the six-color combination. In addition to these options, there is analog harmony, which is formed if we take the chromatic colors of a yellow hue. For example, so we can get yellow, yellow-orange, orange and red-orange.
The properties
It should be understood that there are incompatible colors. Although this concept is quite controversial. The thing is that if you take bright red and the same green, the symbiosis will look very defiant. Each of them tries to dominate the other, which results in dissonance. Although such an example does not mean at all that it is impossible to harmoniously combine red and green. To do this, understand the properties of color.
A hue is a collection of shades that relate to the same color spectrum. Saturation is the degree of fading. Brightness is the approximation of a hue to white and vice versa. Brightness is the degree to which a hue is close to black.
Chromatic and achromatic colors are also shared. The second includes white, black and shades of gray. To the first - all the rest. All of these properties can affect the compatibility and harmony of colors. If green is made less bright and slightly faded, and red is made calmer due to an increase in lightness, then these two supposedly incompatible shades will be able to harmoniously combine.
Children's look
The basics of color science for children should be built in a playful way, as, in principle, all training. Therefore, it is worth recalling the famous phrase about spectral colors: "Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits." For those adults who are unfamiliar with this children's life hack, it is necessary to clarify that the first letter of each word in this sentence denotes the name of the tones in the spectrum. That is, at the head we have red, then orange, yellow, green, blue, blue and purple. These are the colors that enter the rainbow in the same sequence. Therefore, first of all, draw a rainbow with the child.
When the baby is very small and, of course, does not know what the basics of color science are, it is better to buy him coloring books with examples. This is done so that the child does not paint the sky in brown, and the grass in red. A little later you will be convinced that the baby will be able to independently determine the colors, but first it is better to negotiate possible options with it.
Emotions
For a very long time, scientists were able to understand that any shade of the primary color can affect a person’s emotions. Goethe first spoke about this in 1810. Later, scientists found that the human psyche is associated with external reality, which means that color perception can also affect emotions.
The next step in this study was the discovery that each tone is assigned a specific emotion. Moreover, this theory manifests itself almost from birth. It also became clear that there is a certain color code, which is attributed to a number of emotions. For example, sadness, fear, fatigue, everything can be described in black or gray. But joy, interest, shame or love are usually associated with a red tint.
In addition to the psychological effect, color was studied under clinical supervision. It turned out that red excites, yellow invigorates, green reduces pressure, and blue calms. It also all depends on the property of the shade. If it is calm red, then it can symbolize joy and love, if it is dark and bright, then blood and aggression.
The basics of color science and coloristics are very complex sciences. It is difficult to fully understand them, since everything here is relatively relative and subjective. Color can affect one person in different ways; some people are not at all subject to shades. To some artists, the combination of purple and yellow may seem very harmonious, to another - disgusting and contradictory.