Color solid
Encyclopedia
A color solid is the three-dimensional representation of a color model, an analog of the two-dimensional color wheel
. The added spatial dimension
allows a color solid to depict an added dimension of color
variation. Whereas a two-dimensional color wheel typically depicts the variables of hue
(red, green, blue, etc.) and brightness
(gradations of light and dark), a color solid adds the variable of saturation
, allowing the sphere to depict all conceivable colors in an organized three-dimensional structure.
, whereas others are warped three-dimensional ellipsoid figures—these variations being designed to express some aspect of the relationship of the colors more clearly. The color spheres conceived by Phillip Otto Runge and Johannes Itten
are typical examples and prototypes for many other color solid schematics. The models of Runge and Itten are basically identical, and form the basis for the description below.
Pure, saturated hues of equal brightness are located around the equator at the periphery of the color sphere. As in the color wheel, contrasting (or complementary) hues
are located opposite each other. Moving toward the center of the color sphere on the equatorial plane, colors become less and less saturated, until all colors meet at the central axis as a neutral gray. Moving vertically in the color sphere, colors become lighter (toward the top) and darker (toward the bottom.) At the upper pole, all hues meet in white; at the bottom pole, all hues meet in black.
The vertical axis of the color sphere, then, is gray all along its length, varying from black
at the bottom to white
at the top. All pure (saturated) hues are located on the surface of the sphere, varying from light to dark down the color sphere. All impure (unsaturated hues, created by mixing contrasting colors) comprise the sphere's interior, likewise varying in brightness from top to bottom.
The Munsell color solid
is useful in developing DirectX
personal-computer graphics.
Color wheel
A color wheel or color circle is an abstract illustrative organization of color hues around a circle that shows relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, complementary colors, etc....
. The added spatial dimension
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
allows a color solid to depict an added dimension of color
Color
Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors...
variation. Whereas a two-dimensional color wheel typically depicts the variables of hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
(red, green, blue, etc.) and brightness
Brightness
Brightness is an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears to be radiating or reflecting light. In other words, brightness is the perception elicited by the luminance of a visual target...
(gradations of light and dark), a color solid adds the variable of saturation
Saturation (color theory)
In colorimetry and color theory, colorfulness, chroma, and saturation are related but distinct concepts referring to the perceived intensity of a specific color. Colorfulness is the degree of difference between a color and gray. Chroma is the colorfulness relative to the brightness of another color...
, allowing the sphere to depict all conceivable colors in an organized three-dimensional structure.
Organization
Different color theorists have each designed unique color solids. Many are in the shape of a sphereSphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
, whereas others are warped three-dimensional ellipsoid figures—these variations being designed to express some aspect of the relationship of the colors more clearly. The color spheres conceived by Phillip Otto Runge and Johannes Itten
Johannes Itten
Johannes Itten was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus school...
are typical examples and prototypes for many other color solid schematics. The models of Runge and Itten are basically identical, and form the basis for the description below.
Pure, saturated hues of equal brightness are located around the equator at the periphery of the color sphere. As in the color wheel, contrasting (or complementary) hues
Complementary color
Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are of “opposite” hue in some color model. The exact hue “complementary” to a given hue depends on the model in question, and perceptually uniform, additive, and subtractive color models, for example, have differing complements for any given color.-...
are located opposite each other. Moving toward the center of the color sphere on the equatorial plane, colors become less and less saturated, until all colors meet at the central axis as a neutral gray. Moving vertically in the color sphere, colors become lighter (toward the top) and darker (toward the bottom.) At the upper pole, all hues meet in white; at the bottom pole, all hues meet in black.
The vertical axis of the color sphere, then, is gray all along its length, varying from black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
at the bottom to white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
at the top. All pure (saturated) hues are located on the surface of the sphere, varying from light to dark down the color sphere. All impure (unsaturated hues, created by mixing contrasting colors) comprise the sphere's interior, likewise varying in brightness from top to bottom.
Usage
Artists and art critics find the color solid to be a useful means of organizing the three variables of color—hue, lightness, and saturation, as modelled in the HSL color model—in a single schematic, using it as an aid in the composition and analysis of visual art.The Munsell color solid
Munsell color system
In colorimetry, the Munsell color system is a color space that specifies colors based on three color dimensions: hue, value , and chroma . It was created by Professor Albert H...
is useful in developing DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
personal-computer graphics.
See also
- Color model
- Color triangleColor triangleA color triangle is an arrangement of colors within a triangle, based on the additive combination of three primary colors at its corners.An additive color space defined by three primary colors has a chromaticity gamut that is a color triangle, when the amounts of the primaries are constrained to be...
- Color wheelColor wheelA color wheel or color circle is an abstract illustrative organization of color hues around a circle that shows relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, complementary colors, etc....
External links
- Runge's Color Sphere (Java applet)