Hue, tint, tone and shade - what's the difference?

[gregzgurl]

I was reading another thread about "shades of a color" and it reminded me that I had wondered for a time about these terms and their true definitions, so I went a-lookin'. Here's what I found: https://color-wheel-artist.com/hue/

For those who don't like to click links, here's the barest, briefest summation:

• Hue: the brightest 6-12 pure, unmixed pigment families on the color wheel
• Tint: any hue with only white added - color remains the same only lighter
• Tone: any hue with neutral gray added - color remains the same only less vibrant
• Shade: any hue with only black added - color remains the same only darker

Not so difficult when you break it down, eh? The varying amounts of the white, gray or black you add are how we get such an amazing range of "colors" to play with (along with mixing hues in varying amounts, of course). And that's the rest of the story...

[fl_beachbum]

Thank you for this! I always get these mixed up in my brain and this will help.

[wavejumper]

I should write it down. I must have read this 100x before now and still dont remember which is which 

thanks  

[hobbydujour]

I was taught color had three qualities:

1. Hue....red, yellow, green, etc   black/white  The base color....think the color wheel

2. Value......the lightness   Most often done by adding white

3. Chroma.....color intensity   

If you have access to a Copic color chart, this demonstrates how the above three elements work. Munsell is another color system to show this..

[Kendel]

Sue, thanks for including the website.  I just looked there, and it’s really good.  I have a few helpful books, but the author of the site is better at packing theory into a nutshell.  

There’s a lot to know, and even for a non-painters like me, mastering the concepts behind the terms is valuable, even if only to communicate well with other people dealing with color.  But learning these concepts has helped me have more success in my work with color with watercolor, ink pads, pencils, markers, and juat picking/planning colors.

[Jo Ann F.]

Thanks for sharing this info!

[StampnRose]

Sue, thanks for both your concise summary and the link.  Great information to have.

Ingrid

[sjanssen]

Thank you for breaking it down so concisely! I made a note to post in my "reminders" book! When I get around to making a cute little "reminders" book...