Color Properties and the HSV Color Space

HSV Color

The HSV color space is important to look at because it describes color based on three properties: Hue, Saturation and Value. As you edit these values, the full spectrum of colors can be created.

Hue

The Color Wheel

Hue is another word for color. Red, blue, and yellow are the primary hues, and when combined in equal amounts they create the secondary hues orange, green and violet. When primary and secondary hues that are adjacent on the color wheel are combined, you get the tertiary hues. These colors are shown in the color wheel diagram. When you mix the primary colors in different amounts, you get a limitless number of colors.

Saturation

Saturation is the intensity of a color (or hue). When you mix colors or add black to a color, saturation and intensity drops. If you add white, color becomes lighter, but not necessarily more intense. The image below demonstrates this; the first box is fully saturated, the second has black added and the third has white added.

Value

The lightness or darkness of a color is its value. Like saturation, adding black or white to a color affects value. Tints are colors with added white, and shades are colors with added black. The image above shows tints and shades of the hues of the color wheel.

_Sources:

Rob Carter. “Digital Color and Type.” A RotoVision Book. 2002.