ElaineYau munsell

The Munsell Color TreeColors everywhere, but who can count them all?!: 

The Munsell Color Tree Colors everywhere, but who can count them all?! Janice Ahn & Elaine Yau CS99D – Winter 99/00 Marc Levoy

Historical Problems with Identifying Colors: 

Historical Problems with Identifying Colors Theoretical Problems Numerous color concepts Different theorists organize properties of color into different functional systems Leonardo da Vinci (15th Century) Newton – discovered spectrum and devised color circle J.C. Le Blon – observed primary nature of red, yellow, blue and described hues from mixing (1756) Moses Harris – published first color circle in full color (1766)

Different Color Wheels: 

Different Color Wheels Color wheel 1

Historical Problems with Identifying Colors: 

Historical Problems with Identifying Colors Practical Problems Individual color vocabulary Breadth Definitions/associations Trade names and commercial naming Behr Paints

Slide5: 

Various Color Classifications

Munsell Solves Color Problems!: 

Munsell Solves Color Problems! Albert H. Munsell Seascape painter of the 1890s Munsell System of Color Notation (1905) One of the color standards used by the US National Bureau of Standards Used in science, industry, and art Soil samples

What is the Munsell Color Tree?: 

What is the Munsell Color Tree? 3D Spherical Model Incorporates concepts of hue, value, and chroma in one model Organized in a numerical classification system Inclusive of all colors – each color has its own place

How does it work? : 

How does it work? Based on the 2D Color Wheel Includes primary, secondary colors, i.e. hues Can be expanded to include intermediary hues Shows all variations of colors/hues, which are at full intensity on the wheel Notation: 5.0 + letter 5.0 R = red 5.0 BG = blue green

How does it work?: 

How does it work? Value Scale The lightness/darkness of a particular hue Related to brightness, luminosity Vertical arrangement: the “trunk” of the color tree Nine levels of values 1 = black 9 = white Notation: 5.0 R 5/ ; 5.0 BG 7/ Values of hues are compared with this neutral gray pole

How does it work?: 

How does it work? Chroma Refers to strength/weakness of a hue at a certain value Related to purity, saturation, intensity Horizontal arrangement: the branches of the tree Fourteen levels of chromas 1 = dullest, most gray variation of the hue 14 = most intense, pure state of the hue Notation: 5.0 R 5/6; 5.0 BG 7/8 (even numbers) 5.0 R 5/12 is redder than 5.0 R 5/10

Value and Chroma: 

Value and Chroma

To sum up…: 

To sum up… Hue – purest form of a color 5.0 R; 10.0 YRY Leaves of the tree

To sum up…: 

To sum up… Hue – purest form of a color 5.0 R; 10.0 YRY Leaves of the tree Value – placement along the gray scale vertical axis (trunk) 5.0 R 5/

To sum up…: 

To sum up… Hue – purest form of a color 5.0 R; 10.0 YRY Leaves of the tree Value – placement along the gray scale vertical axis (trunk) 5.0 R 5/ Chroma – intensity of a hue horizontal axis (branches) 5.0 R 5/14 (most intense red)

To sum up…: 

To sum up… Hue – purest form of a color 5.0 R; 10.0 YRY Leaves of the tree Value – placement along the gray scale vertical axis (trunk) 5.0 R 5/ Chroma – intensity of a hue horizontal axis (branches) 5.0 R 5/14 (most intense red) Each hue has it’s own page on the tree Each hue chart also has different # of chips depending on the chroma possibilities of each hue at value levels

Making our Munsell Color TreeObstacles: 

Making our Munsell Color Tree Obstacles Sorting through vast pool of color chips ~1500 at Home Depot (we got lost getting there, too) Taunts from the Home Depot Staff Eyestrain and bodily fatigue from constant visual comparisons and matching, and fluorescent lighting Limited spectrum of Behr color palette Resulted in several empty slots

Making our Munsell Color TreeChoices: 

Making our Munsell Color Tree Choices Construction/Display of our Color Tree Wanted: 3-dimensional, rotating pages, upright Black background to emphasize color contrasts Shortened chroma range on each page Eliminated 1 – gray tone Eliminated 14 – most hues do not reach this intensity, only red

Color in Art: 

Color in Art

Slide19: 

Mark Rothko (1956) Orange and Yellow

Slide20: 

Rothko (1954) Red, Orange, Tan, and Purple

Slide21: 

Henri Matisse (1943-44) Icarus (Jazz)

Slide22: 

Summer (1890) Thomas Wilmer Dewing

Slide23: 

Josef Albers (1966) White Line Square XIII

Slide24: 

Piet Mondrian (1922) Composition with Blue, Yellow, Black, and Red

Slide25: 

Marc Chagall (1913) Paris Through My Window

The End: 

The End

If we have time…: 

If we have time…

And since we have time…: 

And since we have time…

Bibliography: 

Bibliography Birren, Faber. Principles of Color. NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1969. Color Matters. http://www.colormatters.com. March 2000. Color Theory. http://www.busybrushes.com/Classroom/colorelem.html. March 2000.  Leland, Nita. Exploring Color. OH: North Light Publishers, 1985.  Parramon, Jose M. The Book of Color. NY: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1993.  Sidelinger, Stephen J. Color Manual. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1985.  National Gallery of Art. http://www.nga.gov/home.htm. March, 2000.  Artcyclopedia. www.artcyclopedia.com. March, 2000.