Warm and Cool in Color Mixing
Warm and cool are useful properties when identifying and mixing colors. For example, when painting a yellow flower in the warm sunshine, we would want to depict the pedals that are in the direct warm sun light with a warm yellow paint. Whereas the yellow pedals in the shade would be a cooler yellow as they are being illuminated by the cooler blue light from the sky. When painting any motif it is important to identify the warm and cool variations in any of the colors involved.
The following color wheel depicts the distribution of the various hues like spokes of the wheel. Later we will enhance the wheel to also depict the intensity or chroma of the various hues. However this version of the color wheel is useful to understand the fundamental temperature relations of the hues on the color wheel. Understanding the relationships of these colors, or hues, and their temperatures will help us in choosing and mixing the colors for our paintings.
The following color wheel depicts the distribution of the various hues like spokes of the wheel. Later we will enhance the wheel to also depict the intensity or chroma of the various hues. However this version of the color wheel is useful to understand the fundamental temperature relations of the hues on the color wheel. Understanding the relationships of these colors, or hues, and their temperatures will help us in choosing and mixing the colors for our paintings.
The wheel consists of six segments, one for each of the primary and secondary colors. Within each segment the colors vary. For example, within the yellow segment at the top of the wheel, the yellow hue varies from a green/yellow (G/Y) next to the green segment to an orange/yellow (O/Y) next to the orange segment. In the middle of the yellow segment would be a yellow hue without a distinct green or orange characteristics. A useful way to think about the color variations within a segment, such as yellow, is that all of the yellow hues have a minor green and an orange component. However, for the yellow hue at the green boundary the green component is larger than the orange component. Whereas, for the yellow hue at the orange boundry the orange component is larger than the green component.
The same is true for each of the segments, as they tend to blend with their neighbors at each of the boundaries. In this way way, the wheel resprsents a continuous variation in hue as you go around the wheel.
On the wheel depicted below, each of the boundary colors are indicated, including green/yellow (G/Y) and orange/yellow (O/Y) for the yellow segment, yellow/ orange (Y/O) and red/orange (R/O) for the orange segment, orange/red (O/R) and violet/red (V/R) for the red segment, red/violet (R/V) and blue/violet (B/V) for the violet segment, violet/blue (V/B) and green/blue (G/B) for the blue segment, and blue/green (B/G) and yellow/green (Y/G) for the green segment.
Let's now see how the relative warm and cool properties vary for the various hues on the wheel. The warmest color, yellow, is placed at the top of the wheel. The coolest color violet is placed at the bottom of the wheel.
As we progress up both sides of the wheel the colors get progressively warmer. For example, on the left hand side, as we transition from the violet segment to the blue segment, the violet/blue is warmer than the blue/violet because it contains less violet and more of the warmer blue.
Similarly, the green/blue is warmer than the violet/blue because it contains les violet and more of the warmer green component.
Moving on to the green segment, the blue/green is warmer than the green/blue because it has less of the blue and more of the warmer green. Again the yellow/green is warmer than the blue/green because it has more of the warmer yellow component and less of the cooler blue.
Similarly at the top warmest yellow segment, the green/yellow is warmer than the yellow/green because it has less of the cooler green and more of the warmer yellow.
An important point to note is that the temperature of a hue is a relative term in relation to the surrounding hues.
A similar situation can be described for the right hand side of the wheel where each of the successive hues gets warmer as we progress from the red/violet to the orange yellow.
Now that we have seen how the hues get warmer as we progress from the bottom to the top of the wheel, let's consider the temperature relationship of the left and right sides of the wheel.
The left side of the wheel is cooler than the right side, as it consists of the cooler greens and blues as compared to the warmer oranges and reds.
Similarly, in the yellows at the top, the green/yellow (G/Y) on the left is cooler than the orange/yellow (O/Y) on the right since orange component on the right is warmer than the green component on the left.
Also at the bottom of the wheel, the blue/violet (B/V) on the left is cooler than the red/violet (R/V) on the right since the blue component is cooler that the red component on the right.
The left side of the wheel is cooler than the right side, as it consists of the cooler greens and blues as compared to the warmer oranges and reds.
Similarly, in the yellows at the top, the green/yellow (G/Y) on the left is cooler than the orange/yellow (O/Y) on the right since orange component on the right is warmer than the green component on the left.
Also at the bottom of the wheel, the blue/violet (B/V) on the left is cooler than the red/violet (R/V) on the right since the blue component is cooler that the red component on the right.
The following wheel shows how the colors of my Augmented Golden OPEN Modern Color Pallet are distributed around the wheel.
In order to understand how the wheel can be used to help us choose and mix colors, an additional property will be added to the wheel. So far we have seen how the various hues are distributed around the wheel like spokes of the wheel. The intensity or chroma of the various hues can also be displayed on the wheel.
The chroma or intensity of the individual hues are highest at the outer boundary of the wheel and become progressively lower chroma or duller as you progress to the center of the wheel. For example, the radial line, or spoke of the wheel, connecting any hue point on the boundary to the center will contain duller and duller versions of the hue as you approach the center.
As described in the Mixing Colors in the Modern Color Gamut section of the My Painting Methodology Section tab on this website, when you mix the colors represented by any two color points on the Hue Chroma Color Wheel, the resulting color will lie on line connecting the two original colors. Where along the the line the resulting color lies, depends on the ratio of the two colors in the mix.
The chroma or intensity of the individual hues are highest at the outer boundary of the wheel and become progressively lower chroma or duller as you progress to the center of the wheel. For example, the radial line, or spoke of the wheel, connecting any hue point on the boundary to the center will contain duller and duller versions of the hue as you approach the center.
As described in the Mixing Colors in the Modern Color Gamut section of the My Painting Methodology Section tab on this website, when you mix the colors represented by any two color points on the Hue Chroma Color Wheel, the resulting color will lie on line connecting the two original colors. Where along the the line the resulting color lies, depends on the ratio of the two colors in the mix.
The following Hue Chroma Color Wheel depicts the positions of the seven colors on my Modern Color Pallet.
We will use this representation of the colors on the wheel to show how we can control the temperature in mixing colors.
The example that we will consider is the mixing of various basic skin tones.
To create my basic skin tones I first mix an orange by combining my orange/yellow (O/Y) and my orange/red (O/R). This is depicted by the straight line connecting the (O/Y) and (O/R) points on the following color wheel.
The example that we will consider is the mixing of various basic skin tones.
To create my basic skin tones I first mix an orange by combining my orange/yellow (O/Y) and my orange/red (O/R). This is depicted by the straight line connecting the (O/Y) and (O/R) points on the following color wheel.
This mixture is shown at the top of my pallet, shown in the photo shown below. This mixture yields a relatively high chroma intense orange. This orange is too intense to describe the skin tones I need. Therefore, you can dull the orange and control the temperature of the resulting mixture by mixing this orange with one of the colors on the opposite side of the wheel.
To show how we can control temperature we will mix the orange with three different colors: blue/green (B/G), green/blue (G/B), and violet/blue (V/B). These three mixtures will fall along the respective three lines connecting these colors to the mixed orange on the above color wheel.
Note the relative positions of these three lines on the above color wheel. The (B/G) line is the highest and warmest of the three lines. The (G/B) line is lower and cooler and the (V/B) line will produce the coolest mixtures.
These three mixtures are displayed on the pallet depicted below: blue/ green on the left, green/blue in the middle, and violet/blue on the right.
To show how we can control temperature we will mix the orange with three different colors: blue/green (B/G), green/blue (G/B), and violet/blue (V/B). These three mixtures will fall along the respective three lines connecting these colors to the mixed orange on the above color wheel.
Note the relative positions of these three lines on the above color wheel. The (B/G) line is the highest and warmest of the three lines. The (G/B) line is lower and cooler and the (V/B) line will produce the coolest mixtures.
These three mixtures are displayed on the pallet depicted below: blue/ green on the left, green/blue in the middle, and violet/blue on the right.
The three mixtures in the middle were done to dull the orange to a similar value. Each of these piles were then tinted with white to creat similar value pools of color for a skin tone. If you look carefully the left hand pool based on the blue/ green mixture is the warmest and the violet/blue mixture on the left is the coolest.
The differences between these mixtures are very subtle. This is to be expected when you look at three lines representing these mixtures on the above color chart. As you progress from the orange point and move to the left, the lines are at first rather close together. However as you move further to the left, which corresponds to adding more of the cooler colors. The lines for the respective mixtures move further apart and the temperature differences will become more apparent.
To illustrate this, more of the cooler colors are added to the middle color pools on the pallet as depicted in the photo below. The mixtures have become so dull that is is not possible to asses the color properties such as temperature. In order to see the temperature differences, some white was added to the three pools as depicted on the photo of the pallet below.
The differences between these mixtures are very subtle. This is to be expected when you look at three lines representing these mixtures on the above color chart. As you progress from the orange point and move to the left, the lines are at first rather close together. However as you move further to the left, which corresponds to adding more of the cooler colors. The lines for the respective mixtures move further apart and the temperature differences will become more apparent.
To illustrate this, more of the cooler colors are added to the middle color pools on the pallet as depicted in the photo below. The mixtures have become so dull that is is not possible to asses the color properties such as temperature. In order to see the temperature differences, some white was added to the three pools as depicted on the photo of the pallet below.
Note that once the white is added, the the hue and temperature differences become apparent. As expected the green/blue mixture is clearly the warmest and the violet/blue mixture is the coolest.
This demo illustrates how a knowledge of how the the hues relate in the color space of the color wheel enables you to predict and control the hue and temperature of the color mixtures.
This demo illustrates how a knowledge of how the the hues relate in the color space of the color wheel enables you to predict and control the hue and temperature of the color mixtures.