8. tertiary hues (achromatic neutrals) - Pasadena City College

Pasadena City College.
Art 31A. Instructor: Silvia Rigon.
8. TERTIARY HUES (ACHROMATIC NEUTRALS)
FORMAT 3 (Three) 7,5” X 1,5” strips, divided into 5 (five) 1.5” x 1.5” swatches of complementary hues
scale (see diagram.) Swatches are painted on Canson or Bristol paper and mounted on 11” x
11” Illustration board.
Students can paint directly on paper, or paint, cut and paste the swatches.
GOAL Create a color chart of spectrum hues diluted by their complement to create tertiary hues.
Observe how each pair reach a different midpoint. Learn to mix colors, observe and understand
the relationships between them
MATERIALS Bristol board for painting swatches
Illustration board for mounting swatches
Winsor and Newton Gouache:
Primary Blue, Primary Yellow, Primary Red (CMY Primary Scale)
Permanent Yellow Deep, Spectrum Red, Ultramarine (Artist Scale)
Paint cups & lids
Mixing brush
Water cups and paper towel or dry cloth to clean brushes.
Brushes: Natural fibers–good quality– flat brushes and pointed brushes for fine details (on
corners.)
Cutting and mounting supplies –ruler, mat, blades, paper cement & pickup
Drawing supplies including ruler, hard pencil, and black pen
SEQUENCE 1. Cut a piece Canson or Bristol paper 11“ x 11” approximately. Mark lightly a
7.5” x 7.5” centered square.
2. Divide the square into 5 (five) 1.5” inch squares ( see diagram).
3. Paint on the 1st, the 3rd and 5th rows. Erase the 2nd and the 4th rows.
3. The first and the last swatches are two complementary hues at their maximum saturation.
4. In the second swatch the hues on the left is mixed with its complementary hue in the follow-
ing proportion : 3/4 main hue and 1/4 complementary hue.
5. In the middle swatch the two complementary hues are mixed in equal proportion.
6. In the fourth swatch the hues on the right is mixed with its complementary hue in the following
proportion : 3/4 main hue and 1/4 complementary hue.

Pasadena City College.
Art 31A. Instructor: Silvia Rigon.
Tertiary Hues Grid
7.5”
B O
R G
Y P
1.5”
11”
7.5”
11”

Pasadena City College.
Art 31A. Instructor: Silvia Rigon.
Vocabulary
COLOR The visual response to different wavelengths of light, identified as red, green, blue, etc; having
HUE
VALUE
the physical properties ( such as hue and value...)
The basic qualities of colors are: HUE, VALUE and SATURATION (or chroma).
The common name of a color, indicating its position in the spectrum or on the color wheel;
determined by the specific wavelength in a ray of light. Only six names are needed to describe
a hue: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Black, white and gray are achromatic.
Value refers to the relative light and dark in a sample. Black is the lowest possible value. Values
exist whether or not hue is present. A monochromatic value scale is a single hue illustrated as a
full range of value
PRIMARY COLORS The basic or primary hues that cannot be broken down or reduced into component colors; the
basic hues of a color system that, in theory, can be used to mix all other colors.
SECONDARY COLORS A color produced by a mixture of any two primary colors--red+yellow=orange
INTERMEDIATE COLORS A color produced by a mixture of a primary color and a neighboring secondary color
yellow+green=yellow green.
TERTIARY COLORS A color produced by a mixture of the three primary colors, or two secondary colors; character-
COMPLEMENTARY
COLORS
ized by neutralization of intensity and hue.
Complementary colors are hues that are opposite to one another on the artist spectrum.
Each complementary pair include the tree primary pair in some mix or proportion.
ANALOGOUS COLORS Analogous colors lie between primary and secondary colors. Analogous grouping contain two
primary colors but never include the third.
SATURATED COLORS A saturated color is a hue in its strongest possible manifestation. A saturated color contain one
or two primary color but do not contain a third primary colors or white and black.
TINT A tint is a hue that has been made lighter.
SHADE A shade is a hue that has been made darker. Shades are reduce hues experiences.