SCAD COLOR THEORY Exam UPDATED
KEY Questions And Correct Answers
Additive -CORRECT ANSWERS Color mixing as done through light; it is projected. The more
colors mixed, the lighter the mixture becomes until white is reached. The additive primary colors are red,
blue, and green. The secondaries are yellow, magenta, and
cyan. RGB refers to the additive primary colors.
Subtractive -CORRECT ANSWERS Color mixing as done through pigments; it is reflected. The
more colors mixed, the darker the mixture becomes until black is (theoretically) reached; light is being
subtracted. CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) refers to the ink colors used by printers.
Saturation -CORRECT ANSWERS Purity of the hue. The maximum saturation of a hue is as it is
on the color wheel. Highly saturated colors tend to advance in a composition.
Value -CORRECT ANSWERS Relative lightness or darkness of color. Saturated yellow is
naturally high value; saturated purple is naturally low value. Any hue can be made higher (by adding
white) or lower (by adding black) in value.
Hue -CORRECT ANSWERS The named source from which the infinite range of color is derived
Hues are finite; colors are infinite. Every color comes from one specific hue; i.e. "pink" is actually a tint
of the hue called red.
Temperature -CORRECT ANSWERS May be considered the 'fourth' property of color. Colors on
the red side of the wheel are considered warm, colors on the blue side are considered cool. This of course
is relative to the other colors in the composition (there can actually be a 'warm' blue and a 'cool' red).
Generally, cool colors recede and warm colors advance, depending upon their saturation.
Tint -CORRECT ANSWERS Hue plus white. (Raises Value)
Shade -CORRECT ANSWERS Hue plus black. (Lowers Value)
KEY Questions And Correct Answers
Additive -CORRECT ANSWERS Color mixing as done through light; it is projected. The more
colors mixed, the lighter the mixture becomes until white is reached. The additive primary colors are red,
blue, and green. The secondaries are yellow, magenta, and
cyan. RGB refers to the additive primary colors.
Subtractive -CORRECT ANSWERS Color mixing as done through pigments; it is reflected. The
more colors mixed, the darker the mixture becomes until black is (theoretically) reached; light is being
subtracted. CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) refers to the ink colors used by printers.
Saturation -CORRECT ANSWERS Purity of the hue. The maximum saturation of a hue is as it is
on the color wheel. Highly saturated colors tend to advance in a composition.
Value -CORRECT ANSWERS Relative lightness or darkness of color. Saturated yellow is
naturally high value; saturated purple is naturally low value. Any hue can be made higher (by adding
white) or lower (by adding black) in value.
Hue -CORRECT ANSWERS The named source from which the infinite range of color is derived
Hues are finite; colors are infinite. Every color comes from one specific hue; i.e. "pink" is actually a tint
of the hue called red.
Temperature -CORRECT ANSWERS May be considered the 'fourth' property of color. Colors on
the red side of the wheel are considered warm, colors on the blue side are considered cool. This of course
is relative to the other colors in the composition (there can actually be a 'warm' blue and a 'cool' red).
Generally, cool colors recede and warm colors advance, depending upon their saturation.
Tint -CORRECT ANSWERS Hue plus white. (Raises Value)
Shade -CORRECT ANSWERS Hue plus black. (Lowers Value)
