Portrait Artist Forum    

Go Back   Portrait Artist Forum > Color & Color Theory
FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search


Reply
 
Topic Tools Search this Topic Display Modes
Old 01-12-2003, 12:16 PM   #1
Michael Georges Michael Georges is offline
PAINTING PORTRAITS
FROM LIFE MODERATOR

FT Professional
 
Michael Georges's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2001
Location: Loveland, CO
Posts: 846



CHROMA

Chroma can be confusing. The easiest expression of Chroma is that it is the amount of gray in a color. By adding gray, you gradually neutralize the hue. Chroma is often also referred to as "intensity".

The key to the Munsell system as it applies to artists is that you use the value scale of grays to neutralize your hues instead of using the color on the opposite end of the color wheel. It is important to realize thereby, that each hue will have a value/chroma scale of its own - Dark Blue at Value 1 to Light Blue at Value 9. To neutralize the chroma or intensity of a value 5 blue, you add to it a value 5 gray. If you added pure black or a lighter or darker gray, then you would contaminate the value and possibly the hue of that value 5 blue.

Munsell has a 14 step sequence of chroma, but I have found it easier to express chroma in three categories - High, Medium, and Low. In artistic terms, the high medium and low categories refer to the amount of (equal value) gray you add to a hue to neutralize it - High=25%, Medium=50%, and Low=75%. The more gray you add to the pure hue, the lower the intensity or chroma of the hue becomes.

You can actually build charts of each hue in values from 1 to 9 and then neutralize each value into high, medium, and low categories.
__________________
Michael Georges
www.fineportraitsinoil.com
Michael's Life Drawing & Painting Blog

Regular and consistent work from life will improve your portraits.
Drawing skills are the foundation of all an artist does.
  Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing this Topic: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

 

Make a Donation



Support the Forum by making a donation or ordering on Amazon through our search or book links..







All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:20 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.6
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.