Chromatic colors, as their name indicates, have precisely color, unlike their counterpart called , being represented in a scheme with a logical arrangement.
The color wheel It is present in programs, applications and design software today, so it is familiar to many, although few know what it is, what it is used for and its history.
What is a color wheel?
A chromatic circle, or also called a color wheel, is defined as that graphic representation in which the chromatic colors are arranged in a circular shape, depending on whether it is a traditional chromatic circle that has the following 6 colors:
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Purple
In this graphic representation there are all the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) and the secondary colors (orange, green and violet).
However, the natural color wheel can have more colors, which are the result of combining primary and secondary colors, thus emerging tertiary colors, which are mentioned below:
- Oranged Red
- Red violet
- Yellow orange
- Greenish yellow
- Blue violet
- Greenish blue
There are color circles with more than 12 colors, such as 24 or 48, although they can be even more depending on the color model used for it.
What is the color wheel for?
The information provided by the color wheel is quite broad and useful, being a tool that is used for many activities, such as:
- Color combination. It makes it easy to combine colors with the various methods that exist.
- Color harmony. It is simple to achieve the harmony of two, three and more colors depending on what you want to achieve.
- Work tool. It is especially in sectors such as graphic design, illustration and art that serves as a tool to create creations.
- Quick identification. Due to its arrangement, it is easier to quickly identify colors, such as warm, cold, primary, secondary colors, etc.
History of the color wheel
At first, the color wheel seems like a simple graphic representation, but it has an origin that goes back centuries, being transformed over time, until reaching the color wheel that is known today.
In 1666, Isaac Newton, best known for his theories on gravity, motion, and light, invented the first color wheel. Newton used a triangular prism to split a ray of white light into a rainbow, demonstrating that light is made up of a spectrum of hues, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
When writing down the different shades, he made the decision to create a circle connecting the opposite ends of the red and violet spectrum. Newton believed that colors shared harmonious relationships with each other, and in such an arrangement, when he spun the color wheel quickly, he managed to see white when the colors mixed.
Painter Philip Otto Runge reinvented the color wheel in 1807, creating a sphere of color by painting a globe using three primary colors plus black and white, complete with cross sections.
In 1989, Albert Henry Munsell would be in charge of creating a three-dimensional color model in the shape of a central cylinder, which would be graduated from black to white surrounded by a ring of possible tones.
However, the one who really popularized the color wheel was Goethe, long before, when he published in 1810 his book titled Theory of Colors, focused on the plastic arts and graphic arts.