About Color

The Chrysanthos Color Wheel is an engaging tool to teach color theory to children with the below information available for purchase as a classroom poster.

The expressive nature of color is important as colors are selected and combined to create an emotional response.

Bright/Warm

Produce feelings of cheery and happy and create the illusion of objects looking larger and closer. Colors are yellow through to red-violet.

Dark/Cool

Produce feelings of sadness and negativity and create the illusion of objects looking smaller and distant. Colors are violet through to yellow-green.

Adding white, grey or black to the hues (colors) on the color wheel will alter the lightness or darkness of the hue creating tints, tones and shades of the hues.

Add white to create tints, add grey to create tones and add black to create shades.

The amount of white, grey or black added will determine the final lightness or darkness of the color created.

Monochromatic – Uses a single hue and its varying tints, tones and shades to create a color scheme.

Analogous –Uses adjacent hues on the color wheel to create a color scheme.

Complementary – Two hues are used that are opposite to one another on the color wheel.

Split complementary –Any hue is selected and then two hues next to its complementary color.

Triadic – Three colors are used that are evenly spaced from one another.

Double Complement – Two sets of complementary colors are used.

Alternate Complement –A Triad is used with another color selected that is a complement to one of the hues.

Tetrad – Four colors are selected that are evenly spaced on the color wheel.

Achromatic lack color and include browns, greys, pastel colors etc. Pure achromatic colors include black, white and all greys.

Polychromatic uses multiple colors and is combinations of the three main color schemes.