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Anatomy of Color
Since the Web distributes images to many different types of computers and monitors, an image that looks good on one
system might look completely different on another. The images below represent a range of what any given image
may look like to someone on the World Wide Web.
The image at the far left is true to the real colors, the second one from the left represents a very limited
color palette, the third from the left is a much lighter version of the first one, and the last image on the
right represents a very bad color distortion.
| In computers and television, light transmissions
are creating the color based on a special
set of 3 primary colors: red, green, and blue.
All colors that appear on the screen are made
from combinations of these three colors and
their various shades and tints. For example,
the mixture of equal amounts of red and green
will produce the color yellow. This is called
"Additive Color". |
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| Additive Color is completely different from how colors are mixed in the tangible world of paints and
pigments. When we mix red and green paint, we get muddy browns. This is "Subtractive Color" and is
based on the primaries, red, yellow, and blue (or red-based/magenta, yellow-based/yellow,
blue-based/cyan). |
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Color Terminology
Hue
Primary Color
Secondary Color
Tertiary Color
(More Information)
Value
Tint
Shade
Tone
Intensity
(More Information)
Color Harmony
Monochromatic
Analagous
Complementary
Split Complementary
Triad
Tetrad
(More Information)
Color Temperature
Warm
Cool
(More Information)
Color Balance
(More Information)
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