Colour, Hue, Tone, Shade, Tint. What’s the Difference?

In Colour Theory

The terms colour, hue, tone, shade and tint are often interchangeable in today’s language.  However, in colour theory there are distinct differences between them. 

If you google the definition of these terms you will more than likely find a broad description that would apply to all industries and activities that use colour. Industries such as printing, graphic design etc or activities such as digital art.  Not all these principles will necessarily apply to the painter. 

For example, chroma refers to the saturation of a colour. The intensity of the pigment is the measure of chroma in paint. While some paints contain more pigment than others, painters can’t change the amount of pigment inside tubes of paint. Digital artists, on the other hand, can change the intensity of the colour they are using with just one click.

The purpose of this article is to explain colour, hue, tone, shade and tint as they apply to painting. Recognising the difference will make mixing and matching colours much easier, especially if you are trying to follow lessons where the instructor uses these terms.  I will do my best to explain the technical meanings. I will then tell you how I use colour, hue, tone, shade and tint, both as an artist and art teacher

Colour

Colour is a general term used in conversation used to describe the combination of hue and tone.  For example, what colour are your shoes?  If they are red they could be scarlet, crimson, magenta or burgundy, all different shades of red. We say “the sky is blue” but of course the sky can be lots of different blues.  Black, grey or white are often described as colours even though technically they are not colours at all.

Hue

Hue describes a vivid, or pure colour as seen on the colour wheel or in a rainbow.  Primary colours, secondary colours and even tertiary colours are all different hues.  A hue does not, however, contain any black, grey or white.  You will note that black, grey and white do not even appear on the colour wheel.  That is because they have no hue.  They are neutral.

Tone, Shade and Tint

Tone indicates the lightness or darkness of a hue, known as the tonal value. In printing or graphic design, this value can be adjusted using black, white or grey. The tonal value is increased when you lighten the tone, known as adding a tint. The value is lowered when you darken the hue, known as adding a shade. 

Colour, Hue, Tone, Shade and Tint In My Painting Practice

In my online painting lessons and free video tutorials I generally use the term colour to describe the mix of paints on my palette.  

The term hue can be used not only to describe a colour’s position on the colour wheel it can also used to refer to the “temperature” of a colour.  For example, a “warm blue” is a blue that leans a little bit closer towards red than it does to green.  If I describe a red as being cool, then it will be closer in hue to blue than it is to yellow.

In painting, lightening the tone of a colour, or adding a tint, is generally done using white paint (though not always).  The lighter the tone, the higher the tonal value is said to be. 

To reduce the tonal value by adding a shade or in other words, create shadow colours, I recommend using complementary colours rather than black.  Adding black paint to tone a colour down can often make your shadows appear flat or dull.

This is because paint companies are not able to create true black. Any type of black paint you purchase will lean slightly towards one a colour, usually blue, red or green.  Therefore, if your black paint has the wrong hue, it could turn your shadow colour to mud.

On the reverse side, white paint is not always the best way to show really bright whites. A light tint of any hue will look brighter than white when it is situated directly adjacent to a contrasting, or complementary, colour. This because your white paint will also have a slight hue. Titanium white, for example, has a blue hue. You can see this for yourself when you add titanium white to any green. As the green gets paler, it also starts to appear bluer.

What this information is good for.

Having a clear understanding of the differences between colour, hue, tone, tint and shade in relation to painting practice will help you to master the art of mixing and matching colours. This applies whether you are learning to paint at an in-person class or through an online painting course. When instructor and student are both on the same page, the lines of communication are clear. That way a lot of frustration of learning something new can be eliminated.

I believe that understanding both the how and the why of painting will enable you to you reach your artistic goals a whole lot faster. That is why my online painting lessons contain clear, detailed explanations of every subject covered, as well as video demonstrations.

For more information on mixing colours check out this article or create a free account on the Blue Beach House Art School course website to be notified when my new colour-mixing course opens for enrolment.

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