A color solid is the three-dimensional representation of a

color model A color model is an abstract mathematical model describing the way colors can be represented as tuples of numbers, typically as three or four values or color components. When this model is associated with a precise description of how the compon ...

, an analog of the two-dimensional

color wheel A color wheel or color circle is an abstract illustrative organization of color hues around a circle, which shows the relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors etc. Some sources use the terms ''color wheel'' ...

. The added spatial

dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical 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 (1D) because only one coord ...

allows a color solid to depict an added dimension of

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

variation. Whereas a two-dimensional color wheel typically depicts the variables of

hue In color theory, hue is one of the main properties (called color appearance parameters) of a color, defined technically in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that ...

(red, green, blue, etc.) and

lightness Lightness is a visual perception of the luminance (L) of an object. It is often judged relative to a similarly lit object. In colorimetry and color appearance models, lightness is a prediction of how an illuminated color will appear to a stan ...

(gradations of light and dark, tints or shades), a color solid adds the variable of

colorfulness Colorfulness, chroma and saturation are attributes of perceived color relating to chromatic intensity. As defined formally by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) they respectively describe three different aspects of chromati ...

(either chroma or saturation), allowing the solid to depict all conceivable colors in an organized three-dimensional structure.

Organization

File:Sphere vertical cross section runge.svg , Philipp Otto Runge's ''Farbenkugel'' File:Sphere vertical cross section munsell.svg , Albert Henry Munsell's ''color sphere'' File:Sphere vertical cross section itten.svg , Johannes Itten's ''color sphere'' File:Sphere vertical cross section parametric.svg ,

Spherical coordinate system In mathematics, a spherical coordinate system is a coordinate system for three-dimensional space where the position of a point is specified by three numbers: the ''radial distance'' of that point from a fixed origin, its ''polar angle'' measu ...

(for comparison) Different color theorists have each designed unique color solids. Many are in the shape of a

sphere A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the c ...

, 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 (11 November 1888 – 25 March 1967) was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus (''Staatliches Bauhaus'') school. Together with German-American painter Lyonel Feinin ...

are typical examples and prototypes for many other color solid schematics.Johannes Itten, "The Art of Color", 1961. Trans. Ernst Van Haagen. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1966. . 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 Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compose ...

. 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 is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

at the bottom to

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. 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.

Usage

Artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...

and art critics find the color solid to be a useful means of organizing the three variables of color—hue, lightness, and saturation (or chroma), as modelled in the

HCL HCL may refer to: Science and medicine * Hairy cell leukemia, an uncommon and slowly progressing B cell leukemia * Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory, from 1961 to 2002, a proton accelerator used for research and development * Hollow-cathode lamp, a s ...

and HSL color models—in a single schematic, using it as an aid in the composition and analysis of visual art.

References

External links

Runge's Color Sphere
(Java applet does not work in all Web browsers) {{Color topics Color Color space

Organization

Usage

See also

References

External links