## The Color Wheel

Originally created as a tool to visualize the physical spectrum of all colors by scientists like Isaac Newton, a color wheel (or circle) nowadays is a tool used by artists and designers to select matching colors based on color perception. Like the RGB and CMY(K) color models, a color wheel is making use of the concept of primary colors, in this case red, yellow and blue, hence the abbreviation RYB. While other color wheels, based on the RGB or CMY(K) models, are available, the Scribus Color Wheel follows the traditional “artistic” or “perceptional” approach, since this is the way to (almost always) guarantee visually pleasing results in design by using mathematical formulas based on Goethe’s and his successors’ observations and research.

The RYB color wheel

### The Color Wheel Dialog

The Color Wheel dialog (available via Extras > Color Wheel) may look simple at first glance, but it’s actually quite versatile. Note that it’s only available with an open document, as the color harmonies you create in this dialog will be added to a document’s colors.

#### General

In the upper left part of the dialog you can see the color wheel itself. Depending on the selected color scheme, you will see one or more tiny circles placed at the border of the wheel. These are the color indicators, and you can move them with the mouse to modify the color scheme. At the center of the wheel you can always see one color. This is the base color, i.e., the color that determines the other colors in the scheme. You can change this color either by clicking somewhere in the wheel or by choosing another base color in the section right to wheel.

Underneath the wheel you can select the color scheme, which will be described below. Since the color schemes are based on geometrical ideas, you can also change the angle or the “distance” between colors in some (but not all) of them.

#### Color Models

The Color Wheel dialog provides three kinds of color models, as well as a variable color selection, to select the base color. CMYK, RGB and HSV have been described elsewhere. In addition, you can select colors from all document colors, i.e., the currently selected color palette, as well as all imported and newly created colors.

#### Color Schemes

Monochromatic:

The monochromatic color scheme (as displayed above) is actually a combination of a base color and one dark and light variancy of the color. You cannot change the “angle,” as there is no geometrical relation between the colors.

Analogous:

The goal of the analogous color scheme is to create color harmonies by using “neighbouring” colors in the color wheel. The value of such a scheme (especially in offset printing) will depend on a sufficient amount of contrast between the colors, hence the recommendation to keep the “angle” value large enough.

Complementary:

Complentary colors are colors opposite to each other on the Color Wheel, hence the grayed out Angle field. Their best use is for creating strong contrasts between larger areas, but they should be avoided as text and text background colors, because text will then become almost unreadable.

Split Complementary:

In contrast to the Complementary color scheme, Split Complementary uses one base color and two neighbouring colors of the base color’s complementary color. The “distance” between the split complementary colors and the complementary color has to be equal for both, but the distance itself can vary, which is why you can change the “angle.”

Triadic:

In a Triadic color scheme, three colors are distributed as an equiliteral triangle on the color wheel. Thus, you can’t change the “angle.”

Tetradic (Double Complementary)

The Tetradic color scheme comprises two pairs of complementary colors (hence the alternative term Double Complementary). If both pairs are set to an angle of 90° (the default setting), they are equally distributed around the wheel. This special case is also called Square color scheme. Since there is no need to restrict oneself to a Square scheme, the “angles” can be changed.

#### The Preview

The Preview section of the dialog provides a preview of the selected color scheme, as well as sample text in 100% RGB black and RGB white to show how text will look in front of areas that use these colors. One important feature of the preview is the emulation of color blindness. When using color harmonies one should always keep in mind that some color combinations that work well for the majority of people may not work at all for people who are suffering from certain vision defects. For instance, two contrasting colors may look like a single color, or text that can be easily read if placed in front of a colored area may completely disappear for people with certain vision defects.

#### Adding Color Harmonies to the Document Colors

In the lower right section of the Color Wheel dialog, you can see the “Result Colors” in all three color models. Unfortunately, the names of the colors in the new scheme will be created automatically, and there’s no way to rename them in the Color Wheel dialog. Thus, you will have to rename these colors via Edit > Colors if you either want to use several color harmonies in your document or make sure that the colors of your scheme are listed next to each other in color dialogs.

At the bottom of the dialog you can see two options for adding your color scheme to the document colors: “Merge” and “Replace.”

Merge will add the colors created by you to the document colors. If you have already created another color scheme without having changed the names of this scheme’s colors, the following dialog will show up:

As described, the Colors dialog will be launched, where you can rename the existing scheme colors. You can then return to the Color Wheel and merge the new color harmony.

Replace, not surprisingly, will replace colors from a previously created scheme with identical names in the Color dialog.

### Limitations

There are several limitations to both the RYB color model and its implementation in Scribus:

- The RYB color model is incomplete. It ignores neutral colors like black, white or grays, and it doesn’t work reliably with CMYK and spot colors. Some color vendors, like Pantone or RAL, offer specialized software that allows for creating color harmonies with their spot color systems. dtp studio’s “Digital Colour Atlas” even permits the creation of color harmonies between different color systems.
- The Scribus Color Wheel implementation doesn’t provide all possible RYB color harmonies (yet). The Scribus Team is working on a completion.
- You should be aware of the differences between the CMYK and RGB color models, as well as the results of applying certain rendering intents. Unfortunately, there’s no way to escape the laws of nature, and in some cases only experience (and reliably set up color management) will help to avoid a disappointing print result.