| Term | Definition |
|---|
| achromatic | lacking color; black, gray or white; neutral |
| additive color | color derived from light mixtures |
| analagous colors | adjacent colors on the color wheel (such as blue, blue-green and green) |
| balance | distribution of elements producing a state of equilibrium in a composition |
| color scheme | orderly selection of colors, according to logical relationships on the color wheel |
| color wheel | a circular arrangement of the colors of the spectrum |
| complementary colors | opposites on the color wheel |
| composition | arrangement of the elements and principles of design to create a unified, artistic whole |
| contrast | opposition; a dynamic element of design; juxtaposition of dissimilar elements in an artwork |
| dominance | having one design element of greater importance than another |
| glaze | a transparent or translucent veil of color modifying an underlying color |
| gradation | gradual, successive change |
| harmony | pleasing result of relationships between design elements or principles |
| hue | the spectral name of a color, such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue or violet |
| intensity | the degree of purity or brightness of a hue |
| key | the dominant value relationship in a picture: high key includes medium-to-light values; low key includes medium-to-dark values; full contrast includes light, medium and dark values |
| limited palette | selection of a small number of colors used in an artwork |
| local color | the actual color of an object |
| monochromatic | having a single color (can be various values of that color) |
| opacity | having covering power; not transparent |
| optical mixture | occurs when small areas of color are juxtaposed perceived by the eye as a mixture |
| palette | the set of colors selected by an artist for use in an artwork; also the physical surface on which colors are mixed |
| primary color | a color that cannot be mixed from other colors. red, yellow, blue |
| saturation | the intensity of the chroma |
| secondary color | a color resulting from the mixing of two primary colors |
| shade | medium-to-dark value of color |
| subtractive color | color derived from paint mixtures that absorb all colors but the local color of the object which is reflected |
| temperature | the relative warmth or coolness of colors |
| tertiary color | mixtures of primary and its adjacent secondary: i.e, red-orange |
| tetrad | a color scheme having four colors with a logical relationship on the color wheel |
| triad | a color scheme having three colors with a logical relationship on the color wheel |
| value | the degree of lightness or darkness of a color |
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