Hi Judith and Jessie,
Boy, it didn't take you guys very long to put some questions
together! I'll do my best. You probably will want to print this out --it's a long one.
(--what city do you two live in--I'm coming to *get* you!)
I learned Subtractive Color Theory in the Fashion Design &
Technology program. The theory is simple and complicated at the same time. I took an extra
course in it because I thought I didn't understand it. It turned out I did--I just didn't
know it. So, in total, I had 26 weeks of instruction, and can't hope to hit anything
except the highlights here.
Here goes, and I am assuming you know the definitions. If any
definition needs further clarification, I'd be happy to oblige.
SUBTRACTIVE COLOR THEORY
1. is a fairly recent theory. In some design schools, elementary
schools and secondary , they are still not teaching it. It is only one way of theorizing
about how color works: this doesn't mean that other ways are invalid.
2. is harder to learn when you need to unlearn all the stuff you
learned in school. This happened to me, so the theory is harder for me to explain than to
put into practice!
3. is the theory of color interrelationships of *pigment*. This
means paint, dyes, inks, anything where color is applied to a *surface*. The color and
reflectivity of the surface affect how a person perceives the color. e.g. if you apply a
color to white paper it won't look the same as when you apply it to slightly yellow paper.
Or, if you apply the color to dull paper it won't look the same as when you apply it to
shiny paper or metal foil.
4. paints, dyes, inks & other colorants absorb some colors and
reflect others . For *absorb* read "subtract". You don't see the ones that are
absorbed, and you do see the ones that are reflected.
5. colors are absorbed by their complementary colors. 6. uses the
primary colors yellow, magenta and cyan to mix all the other colors. A balanced mixture of
all the primary colors will yield black. Printers and dyers use a pre-mixed black, since a
really good black is hard to mix using theprimary colors. In theory, you can make black
using the primaries, yet in practise you get a muddy black.
7. the human eye has receptor cells that perceive Red, Green and
Blue (the primary colors of light). The eye makes up all the other visual sensations we
have come to know as particular colors.
8. The eye is an "additive color machine". The eye sees
*additively*. When you are manipulating pigments, dyes, inks, you are doing it
*subtractively*. So, when you are mixing colors subtractively, think about what you have
before you that you don't want, and ask yourself "What absorbs this color". It
will be the complementary color.
ADDITIVE COLOR THEORY
1. is what most of us were taught in school
2. is the theory of color interrelationships of light. TV and
computer monitors, movies and light shows use this theory.
3. the primary colors of light are Red, Green and Blue (not to be
confused with artists' primary colors of Red, Yellow and Blue)
4. to mix colors using this theory, you *add* 2 or more colors
together to get a third color. A balanced mix of all three primaries gives white.
5. Red plus Blue make Purple, right? Wrong! They make Mud. Why?
Because we are mixing pigments here, not light, and because yellow sneaked in there in
small amounts and muddied up the scene. I feel very strongly against teaching this system
that doesn't work, in schools, now that there is another theory that works more
predictably. Is this what you learned too?
THE ADDITIVE/SUBTRACTIVE BRIDGE
1. the additive primary colors are the subtractive secondary colors
2. the subtractive primary colors are the additive secondary colors
HOW IS THIS COLOR THEORY APPLICABLE IN FABRICS AND GARMENTS
1. the manufacturers and fabric finishers/dyers use subtractive
color theory when making fabrics & garments. Each fabric/yarn will dye differently,
depending upon fiber content and the original color of the fiber. If you are doing home
dyeing of a yarn/fabric/garment with so-called "natural" coloring, it usually
has a yellowish cast. Do not expect to get the same results as if you were dyeing
something white. Silk and rayon are more optically brilliant than wool, cotton or linen,
and the same dye looks different on each.
2. it explains why fabric things don't look the same when you get
them home, as they did when they were in the store. Many stores have incandescent light,
which has a yellow cast. Others have halogen lights, which has a blue cast. Colored lights
in fashion shows can enhance a garment or make it look ghastly.
3. light technicians (as in fashion shows) use additive color
theory.
DO WE ALL SEE COLOR THE SAME?
1. it might depend on who "we" is. Animals perceive color
in ways that enable them to survive. Humans eat fruit, (evolutionarily speaking).
Therefore, red and yellow are important to us in identifying food. Blue isn't so
important. I read an article published in a Vancouver newpaper about people wanting to eat
less food if it was served on blue plates. Hmmmmm. Snakes see infra-red --the better to
see the little mouse dinners. Fish don't see color. Black and white is important to them,
as is the movement and shadow of potential dinner or potential danger.
2. some of us are color blind--our genetic heritage has deprived us
of some colors
3. for people who aren't color blind, I couldn't tell you. I suspect
not, since color is a sensation, and the eye creates the sensation that we perceive as
color. I suspect this sensation can be affected by heredity or environment.
ARE THERE ANY COLORS THAT ARE UNIVERSALLY LIKED/DISLIKED?
I think this one comes under the heading of the psychology of color,
which you probably know, varies with culture, history, or areas of use(for the latter, I
might like to wear magenta clothing if it was in fashion, but probably wouldn't want
magenta draperies ever.) Light and rainbows, however, have spiritual significance in many
cultures.
WHY CAN I FIND THE COLORS I LOVE ONE YEAR BUT THE NEXT YEAR CANNOT
FIND THESE COLORS?
It's a conspiracy. :) Visit www.colormarketing.org. to find out
more.
HOW DOES THE COLOR THEORY DIFFER FROM COLOR BY "SEASONS"
The goal of color by "seasons", to the best of my
knowledge, is to assist a person to find her most flattering, wearable colors. Usually the
most flattering colors are ones that enhance her natural hair and skin color.
Correct me if I'm wrong--this most often means colors that blend or
"tone in" rather than "fight" with the her natural coloring. I'm not
sure where to go with this one, as it applies to color theory--except-- what if a person
with golden skin tones wore something purple-blue? Since purple-blue(aka Mid-Blue) and
yellow are complementary colors, would simultaneous contrast be triggered if the viewer
looked at the purple-blue outfit and the yellowish skin, and the person's appearance would
be brightened ? I am thinking of how redheads are advised to wear green. If this is so,
then maybe wearing the "wrong" colors would give a person a drained appearance.
I'm thinking as I type, here, and who knows, maybe I'm contradicting myself!
WHY DO MY OIL PAINTINGS LOOK DIFFERENT IN EVERY LIGHT?
There are so many variables going on, that this is a difficult
question to answer. I was lucky enough to attend a color conference in Vancouver in 1996,
sponsored by Simon Fraser University. The conference was titled "Colour Perception:
Philosophical, Psychological, Artistic and Computational Aspects". I've got my notes,
and here is what one of the color researchers was saying back then: Michael Brill, David
Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton University talked about "Understanding Color
Matches - What are we Taking for Granted?" and he says
-color matches are related to the spectral sensitivities of the eye,
-color matching may not be as simple as we imagined
-different color media degrade differently
-viewing duration is important,
-eye movement and pupil dilation is important
And I wonder if the time of day has something to do with
things--I've looked at flowers in the garden, and they look different in the morning than
the afternoon. I don't know if the sky being blue or clouds covering the sun, or the angle
of the light has anything to do with it.
Fun isn't it?
WHAT ABOUT BLEACHING?
I haven't done any discharge dyeing, so I'm not sure where to go
with this one.
IF THERE WASN'T ADDITIVE COLORS, THERE WOULDN'T BE SUBTRACTIVE,
RIGHT?
In my humble opinion :) :) :)......mixing pigments using the theory
of mixing light=mud, in many cases. This undoubtedly caused a search for something more
useful and predictable. Subtractive color theory works, for right now. I hope I live long
enough to see what comes next!
WHY DO CERTAIN COLORS "FEEL GOOD" TO WEAR?
You know, I love questions like this. I don't know, and I love to
think about it. Probably the answer lies in any one or more of personal preference,
cultural customs, historical time frame, or what your "significant other "
thinks you look ravishing in. I have noticed that MacDonald's restaurants have it all
figured out. Someone told me the average time stay in a MacDonald's restaurant is 18
minutes. I can't help thinking it has something to do with their orange & yellow
interior color scheme.
Let me know what you think about all this. I hope this answered some
of your questions. I really appreciate the opportunity for input into your project. .
Thanks!
Corinne
Corinne C. Cordoni,
Design Director
Sewgrand Patterns - Specialists in Fit for Sizes 12
to 26
FURTHER READING
Here's a good book for the serious enthusiast of color. It's in
dictionary format, with color pictures, of course. What I like about it --you can look up
a definition, term, theory etc alphabetically, & the topic is addressed in "bite
sized" portions that are relatively easy to digest mentally.
The Color Compendium, Hope and Walch, 1990, Van
Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
Library of Congress Catalog # 88-34339
