Chapter 3

Learning to See Color

Most people think they understand and see color accurately. In fact, very few do. Apples are seldom red. Skin tones are not white or black. We wonder at Monet’s paintings of haystacks showing different colors at different times of the day. The colors are from Monet’s eye and brain as perceived through light. Learning to see color is more important than understanding color theory. However, both are useful.

Most of us look at color without really seeing differences in value, chroma, or saturation.

Color probably is the design element that first affects the audience. It is emotional, intuitive, and projects the mood of the production. Color has three qualities: hue, value, and saturation. The artistic use of color ...

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