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This is the beginning of a
Universal Colour Theory
By mapping the common 2D primary colour spaces to a 3D model, it's easy to see how they all relate to each other as well as blend & transition. We can even see their uses & how additive vs subtractive & rich vs vivid colour mixing & gamuts are also structured.
I hope you all come to see like me how this simple reconfiguration does in fact revolutionise our understanding of the structure of light & colour
The Colourhedron
(Square Bipyramid / Octahedron)
3D UCT Colourhedron (Octahedron) illustrated in 2 dimensions
6 Colour Primaries
(Vertices)
Note: Directions are relative to the diagram as the model in reality could be rotated any direction
3 Rich Primaries
Bottom Left Face
(Negative/Subtractive face)
B - Blue
Rich Blue
Y - Yellow
Rich Yellow
R - Red
Rich Red
3 Vivid Primaries
Top Right Face
(Positive/Additive face)
C - Cyan
Vivid Blue
G - Green
Vivid Yellow
M - Magenta
Vivid Red
Chrome
(WSK)
A single "non-colour" at the centre of the Colourhedron with 3 potential reflective or subtractive states. All colours arise & return to this point through addition or subtraction
W = white
all additive colours
S = Silver (Grey)
K & W + W & K
balanced
K = black
all subtractive colours
Chrome Notes:This can also be thought of as a shiny silver/chrome ball as it makes it easy to imagine that it is reflecting & projecting white, absorbing black & all the grey/silver shades & tints in between“S” (Silver) is used for grey to not confuse with G for green & also represent the S line that delineates the black & white on a spherical yin yang symbol ☯️ that's used to represent the Non-colourImagine that 3 colours from any 1 external face on the Colourhedron were to project inwards towards the center, they would combine to white if from a top additive face, or black if from a bottom subtractive face or cancel each other out if all colours were projecting from all faces at onceNow repeat the same process in reverse, where the non-colour separates into black & white then each of those separate out into the 6 primary colours & it's possible to see how a "no - thing / non-colour" can give rise to all the colours & phenomena in the universe
3 Generations
(Mirrored Primary Pairs)
C ⇄ B
Cool primary pair
Vivid & Rich Blue
G ⇅ Y
Bright primary pair
Vivid & Rich Yellow
M ⇄ R
Warm primary pair
Vivid & Rich Red
UCT proposes that colours are separated not just by the 2D warm & cool, but in 3D they are also transitioned or mediated by a third property, what UCT calls Bright (or Bright Pair or Bright Generation).
This distinction dramatically changes our perception of the Yellow / Green band of colour & its transitional roll as the mediator between warm & cool, & can been seen physically by the fact that green yellow is actually the transitional peak sensitivity of human visual colour spectrum (180ºΛ)
Generation Notes:Another way to think of the colour pairs is as positive & negative versions of the same colour eg. Yellow & Green in the Colourhedron can be more easily visualised if you think of the G not as green but as a vivid (Neon) or cool yellow as other colour pairs BC & RM are easier to visualise as matching pairsColour Spaces
11 Planes
Primary Colour Spaces
(8 External Planes)
Triangular faces of 3 colour primaries
Additive
Pyramid
Top
4 Colour Spaces
Colours mix to produce white at the centre of each triangular face or towards the centre of the Colourhedron
BGR
(Digital/Screens)
Rich & Narrow
CGM
(Light/Neon)
Vivid & Wide
MGB
(Transition/Blending)
Tertiary
RGC
(Transition/Blending)
Tertiary
Subtractive
Pyramid
Bottom
4 Colour Spaces
Colours mix to produce black at the centre of each triangular face or towards the centre of the Colourhedron
BYR
(Paint/Traditional)
Rich & Narrow
CYM
(Print/Modern)
Vivid & Wide
MYB
(Transition/Blending)
Tertiary
RYC
(Transition/Blending)
Tertiary
Faces / Spaces Notes:Names in brackets are to identify various colour spaces & their usual best uses eg. Digital, Light, Paint & Print. Some letters are rearranged from the traditional order eg. RGB becomes BGR based on reading each dimension from left to right. “Vivid & wide” & “Rich & Narrow” is a simple descriptor of the planes colour gamuts. But the "non standard" Transition/Blending face dimensions of MGB, RGC, RYC & MYB havent been described yet as their mixture of Rich & Vivid, Wide & Narrow gamuts within 1 mixing space makes them inconsistent for practical use but form planes that blend or transition from vivid to rich across the front & rear of the Colourhedron & are part of the full colour spectrum
Secondary Colour Spaces
(3 Internal Planes)
Square planes of 4 mirror primaries
Plum Plane
BMCR
(Left, Right, Front, Back)
Orange Plane
RGMY
(Up, Down, Front, Back)
Lime Plane
YBGC
(Left, Right, Up, Down)
Mirror Symmetry
2 Square based Pyramids
of 5 colour primaries
Mapping of Colourhedron Halves
In the same way we can divide the Colourhedron into "Top" Additive & "Bottom" Subtractive halves, it can also be divide into "Left" Rich & "Right" Vivid halves, displaying yet more symmetry & cohesion to the UCT model
Mirrored
Top ⇅ Bottom
Additive ⇅ Subtractive
RGB & CGM ⇅ BYR & CYM
Mirrored
Left ⇄ Right
Rich ⇄ Vivid
RGB & BYR ⇄ CGM & CYM
Mechanics & functional use descriptions of the model are yet to come. Until then, I invite you to explore how you can use the model in your own practice
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