A Color System With Course of Study Based on the Color Solid and It… — A Color Notation by A. H. Munsell

A Color System With Course of Study Based on the Color Solid and Its Charts

See Chapter II.

A COLOR SYSTEM AND COURSE OF STUDY

BASED ON THE COLOR SOLID AND ITS CHARTS,
ADAPTED TO NINE YEARS OF SCHOOL LIFE.

Grade.

Subject.

Colors Studied.

Application.

Materials.

Hues of color.

Red. R.
Yellow. Y.
Green. G.
Blue. B.
Purple. P.

Sought in Nature
and Art.

Borders and Rosettes.

Colored
crayons
and papers.

Hues of color.

Yellow-red. YR.
Green-yellow. GY.
Blue-green. BG.
Purple-blue. PB.
Red-purple. RP.

Sought in Nature
and Art.

Borders and Rosettes.

Colored
crayons
and papers.

Values of color.

Light, middle, and dark R.
„ „ „ Y.
„ „ „ G.
„ „ „ B.
„ „ „ P.

Sought in Nature
and Art.

Design.

Color
sphere.

Values of color.

5 values of YR.
„„„GY.
„„„BG.
„„„PB.
„„„RP. ⁹/, ⁷/, ⁵/, ³/,¹/.

Sought in Nature
and Art.

Design.

Charts.

Chromas
of color.

3 chromas of R⁵/.
„„ „Y⁵/.
„„ „G⁵/.
„„ „B⁵/.
„„ „P⁵/.

Sought in Nature
and Art.

Design.

Charts.

Chromas
of color.

3 chromas of YR⁵/.
„„ „GY⁵/.
„„ „BG⁵/.
„„ „PB⁵/.
„„ „RP⁵/.
„„ „R⁷/ and R³/.
„„ „Y⁷/ „ Y³/.
„„ „G⁷/ „ G³/.
„„ „B⁷/ „ B³/.
„„ „P⁷/ „ P³/.

Sought in Nature
and Art.

Design.

Color
Tree.

To OBSERVE
IMITATE
& WRITE

color by HUE, VALUE, and CHROMA

„

Paints.

Quantity of color.

Pairs of equal area and unequal area Balanced by HUE, VALUE, and CHROMA.

„

Paints.

Quantity of color.

Triads of equal area and unequal area Balanced by HUE, VALUE, and CHROMA.

„

Paints.

Study of Single Hues and Their Sequence. Two Years

First Grade Lessons

1.	Talk about familiar objects, to bring out color names, as toys, flowers,
2.	clothing, birds, insects, etc.
3.	Show soap bubbles and prismatic spectrum.
4.	Teach term HUE. Hues of flowers, spectrum, plumage of birds, etc.
5.	Show MIDDLE35 RED.	Find other reds.
6.	„ YELLOW.	„yellows, and compare with reds.
7.	„ GREEN.	„greens, „ „and yellows.
8.	„ BLUE.	„blues, „preceding hues.
9.	„ PURPLE.	„purples, „ „
10–15.	Review FIVE MIDDLE HUES,35 match with colored papers, and place in circle.
16–20.	Show COLOR SPHERE. Find sequence of five middle hues. Memorize order.
21.	Middle red imitated with crayon, named and written by initial R.
22.	„ yellow„ „ „ „ „Y.
23.	„ green „ „ „ „ „G.
24.	„ blue „ „ „ „ „B.
25.	„ purple „ „ „ „ „P.
26–30.	Review, using middle hues35 in borders and rosettes for design.

Aim.—To recognize sequence of five middle hues.
To name, match, imitate, write, and arrange them.

Second Grade Lessons

1–3.	Review sequence of five middle hues.35
4.	Show a hue INTERMEDIATE between red and yellow. Find it in objects.
5.	Compare with red and yellow.
6.	Recognize and name YELLOW-RED. Match, imitate, and write YR.
7–8.	Show GREEN-YELLOW between green and yellow.	Treat as above, and write GY.
9–10.	„BLUE-GREEN „blue and green.	„ „ „BG.
11–12.	„PURPLE-BLUE „purple and blue.	„ „ „PB.
13–14.	„RED-PURPLE „red and purple.	„ „ „RP.
15–20.	Make circle of ten hues. Place Intermediates, and memorize order so as to repeat forward or backward. Match, imitate, and write by initials.
21–25.	Find sequence of ten hues on COLOR SPHERE. Compare with hues of natural objects.
26‑30.	Review, using any two hues in sequence for borders and rosettes.

Aim.—To recognize sequence of ten hues, made up of five middle35 hues and the five intermediates. To name, match, write, imitate, and arrange them.

Study of Single Values and Their Sequence. Two Years

Third Grade Lessons

1.	Review sequence of ten hues.
2.		Recognize, name, match, imitate, write, and find them on the COLOR SPHERE. Also in objects.
3.
4.	Teach use of term VALUE. Color value recognized apart from color hue.
5.		Find values of red, lighter and darker than the middle value already familiar.
7.	Three values of RED.		Find on sphere. Name as LIGHT, MIDDLE, and DARK values of red.
8.	„	Imitate with crayons, and write them as 3, 5, and 7.
9.	„YELLOW.	Compare with above.
10.		Recognize, name, match, and imitate with crayons.
11.	„GREEN.	Compare, and treat as above.
12.		Find on sphere and in objects.
13.	„BLUE.	„ „
14.
15.	„PURPLE.	„ „
16.
17‑20.	Review, combining two values and a single hue for design.36

Aim.—To recognize a sequence combining three values and five middle hues.
To name, match, imitate, and arrange them.

Fourth Grade Lessons

1.	Review sequence of three values in each of the five middle hues.
2.		To recognize, name, match, imitate, and find them on sphere and in objects.
3.
4.	Show FIVE VALUES of	RED. Find them on large color sphere. Number them 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. Match, imitate, and write.
5.
6.	„	BLUE-GREEN. „ „ „
7.	„	PURPLE-BLUE compared with Yellow.	Treat as above and review.
8.	„	RED-PURPLE „ Green.
9.	„	YELLOW-RED „ Blue.
10.	„	GREEN-YELLOW „ Purple.

Aim.—To recognize sequences combining five values in each of ten hues.
To name, match, imitate, WRITE, and arrange them.

Study of Single Chromas and Their Sequences. Two Years

Fifth Grade Lessons

1.	Review sequences of hue and value. Find them on the color sphere. Name, match, imitate, write, and arrange them by hue and value.
2.	Teach use of term CHROMA.	Compare three chromas with three values of red. Name them WEAK, MIDDLE, and STRONG chromas. Find in nature and art.
3.	Three chromas of RED.	Compare with three of blue-green.
4.		Show COLOR TREE. Suggest unequal chroma of hues.
5.	„ YELLOW.	Compare with three chromas of purple-blue.
6.	„ GREEN	„ „ red-purple.
7.	„ BLUE.	„ „ yellow-red.
8.	„ PURPLE.	„ „ green-yellow.
9.	Arrange five middle hues in circle, described as on the surface of the Color Sphere (middle chroma), with weaker chromas inside, and stronger chromas outside, the sphere.
10.	Review,—to find these sequences of chroma in nature and art.

Aim.—To recognize sequences combining three chromas, middle value, and ten hues.
To name, match, imitate, and arrange them.

Sixth Grade Lessons

1. Review sequences combining three chromas, five hues, and middle value. Find on Color Tree, name, match, imitate, and arrange them.

2. Three chromas of LIGHTER and DARKER RED. Compare with middle red.

3. Write „ „ „ „ as a fraction, chroma under value, using 3, 5, and 7. Thus R⁵/₇.

4. Find „ „ RED, and compare with darker blue-green.

5. Three chromas of LIGHTER and DARKER YELLOW, with purple-blue.

6. „ „ „ „ GREEN, „red-purple.

7. „ „ „ „ BLUE, „yellow-red.

8. „ „ „ „ PURPLE, „green-yellow.

9. Colors in nature and art, defined by hue, value, and chroma. Named, matched, imitated, written, and arranged by Color Sphere and Tree.

10. Review,—to find sequences combining three chromas, five values, and ten hues.

Aim.—To recognize sequences of chroma, as separate from sequences of hue or sequences of value.
To name, match, write, imitate, and arrange colors in terms of their hue, value, and chroma.

Color Expression in Terms of the Hues, Values, and Chromas

Seventh Grade Lessons

1. Review sequences of hue (initial), value (upper numeral), & chroma (lower numeral).

2. „ „ „ „

3. Exercises in expressing colors of natural objects by the NOTATION, and tracing their relation by the spherical solid.

5. Reds in Nature and Art, imitated, written, and traced „

6. Yellows„ „ „ „

7. Greens „ „ „ „

8. Blues „ „ „ „

9. Purples „ „ „ „

10. One color pair selected, defined, and arranged for design. (See note 4th Grade.)

Aim.—To define any color by its hue, value, and chroma.
To imitate with pigments and write it.

Eighth Grade Lessons

1.	Review sequences, and select colors which balance. Illustrate the term.
2.	Balance of light and dark,—weak and strong,—hot and cold colors.
3.	Red	and blue-green balanced in hue, value, and chroma, with EQUAL AREAS.
4.	Yellow	„ purple-blue „ „
5.	Green	„ red-purple „ „
6.	Blue	„ yellow-red „ „
7.	Purple	„ green-yellow „ „
8.	Unequal areas of the above pairs, balanced by compensating qualities of hue, value, and chroma. Examples from nature and art.
9.
10.	One color pair of unequal areas selected, defined, and used in design.

Aim.—To BALANCE colors by area, hue, value, and chroma.
To imitate with pigments and write the balance by the notation.

Ninth Grade Lessons

1. Review balance of color pairs, by area, hue, value, and chroma.

2. To recognize, name, imitate, write, and record them.

3. Selection of two colors to balance a given RED.

4. „ „ „„ YELLOW.

5. „ „ „„ GREEN.

6. „ „ „„ BLUE.

7. „ „ „„ PURPLE.

8–10. Triad of color, selected, balanced, written, and used in design.

Aim.—To recognize triple balance of color, and express it in terms of area, hue, value, and chroma. Also to use it in design.

35. The term MIDDLE, as used in this course of color study, is understood to mean only the five principal hues which stand midway in the scales of VALUE and CHROMA. Strictly speaking, their five intermediates are also midway of the scales; but they are obtained by mixture of the five principal hues, as shown in their names, and are of secondary importance. Footnote 35 is referenced five times in the first two years’ lessons.

36. These ten lessons in this and succeeding grades are devoted to color perception only. Their application to design is a part of the general course in drawing, and will be so considered in the succeeding grades. Note that, although thus far nothing has been said about complementary hues, the child has been led to associate them in opposite pairs by the color sphere. (See Chapter III., p. 76.)

← Back to A Color Notation