light and the eye
light: the spectrum we can see • design of the eye • three plus one light receptors • trichromatic mixtures • constraints on color vision (monochromatic, dichromatic & trichromatic vision)

colorblindness

  colormaking attributes
measuring light & color • the geometry of light • the colormaking attributes (brightness/lightness, hue, hue purity) • painting saturation & value

hue purity of watercolor paints

  the geometry of color perception
newton's hue circle • hering's opponent processes • from cones to colors • the geometry of colormaking attributes • individual differences in color experience • color & language

  basic forms of color
basic forms of color • unrelated vs. related color • self luminous vs. surface color • local vs. veiled color • plane vs. depth color • summary of basic forms of color

  adaptation, anchoring & contrast
basic forms of color • luminance adaptation • brightness, lightness & anchoring • chromatic adaptation • chromatic induction • luminance & color changes • color constancy

  additive & subtractive color mixing
additive color mixing (in the eye) • subtractive color mixing (in substances) • substance uncertainty • "theory" vs. experience

  do "primary" colors exist?
the ancient primaries • the painter's primaries • newtonian color confusions • material trichromacy • comprehensive color models • perceptual trichromacy • colorimetry • imaginary or imperfect primaries

  modern color models
the evolution of color models • Swedish Natural Color System • Munsell Color System • OSA uniform color scales • CIELUV uniform color space • CIELAB uniform color space • the CIECAM color appearance model

the CIECAM a_cb_c plane (HTML • PDF)
the CIELAB a*b* plane (HTML • PDF)
comparison of hue circles

  the structure of vision (i)
the weave of vision • center/surround receptive fields • image frequency analysis • edge & region detection

  the structure of vision (ii)
texture & surface analysis • depth & volume perception • object & scene recognition • the visual field

  color in the world
the causes of color • surfaces & lights • surface & shadow color • special material colors • physical color changes

  tonal value
the dominance of value • the value scale • hue, lightness and saturation • the artist's value wheel • grayscales & gamut mapping • painting values.

the artist's value wheel (HTML • PDF)

  color temperature
warm vs. cool colors • warm/cool contrast effects • the origin of warm/cool • the warm/cool contrast in paints • unsaturated color zones • painting warm or cool

  color wheels
creating a color wheel • "primary" color wheel • secondary color wheel • tertiary color wheel • more is less? a gamut comparison • color names

  mixing with a color wheel
saturation costs • the color wheel fallacy • basic mixing method • split "primary" palette (dogma & critique) • unequal color spacing

basic mixing method

  testing the color wheel
testing the mixing method • mixtures between two "primary" colors • mixtures among all tertiary colors

  an artist's color wheel
visual vs. mixing complements • the artist's color wheel • tour of the color wheel • why the difference? • making your own color wheel

the artist's color wheel — CIECAM version (HTML • PDF)
CIELAB version (HTML • PDF)
watercolor mixing complements

  toward a modern color theory
the research cleansing • words & deeds • artists mix paints, not colors • those pesky "primary" colors • color harmony & design • the dungeon of "color theory" • institutional failures • artist resistance • teach yourself to see

an intuitive color study