3D colour

Dimension of Color Space

represents the color itself—red, yellow, blue, etc.  The hue aspect of

color space dates back as far as Sir Isaac Newton in 1704 with the hue circle.

 If you were to take the visible spectrum—red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo

and violet—and place each color in a circle, you would have a close replica of

the Munsell Hue Circle, which doesn’t include orange.  In Munsell’s color

tree, each hue represents a branch of the color tree.  After you’ve

established the hue dimension of color space, then you can describe the value

and chroma dimensions of color space.
Value Dimension of Color Space

Value is the one dimension of color space that can stand alone. Value

represents the lightness or darkness of a given hue.  In Munsell’s color

system, value ranges from 0 for pure black to 10 for pure white.  In the

absence of hue you would simply have black, white or shades of gray. . . 37

shades of gray to be exact.  The Munsell Color System includes 37 steps in its

Neutral Value Scale, an independent set of color standards based on the neutral

axis of Munsell’s Color Order System.  The neutral value scale represents the

trunk of the color tree with white at the top and black at the roots.

Chroma Dimension of Color Space

Chroma is often described as the brightness or saturation of color.  Chroma is

the least uniform dimension of color space, because not all colors can achieve

the same level of chroma.  For example a highly saturated red can have a

chroma that exceeds 20, while a green may only reach a chroma of 12-14.

Remember, Munsell’s system was based on visual perception of color and was

created with paint, so the chroma limits of various pigments used to create

each hue will limit the overall chroma.  Use the chroma dimension of color

space in relation to value because as you approach the black or white poles of

the neutral value scale, chroma is limited, hence the color tree concept where

the branches taper at the upper and lower sections of the tree and are widest

at the center.   In Munsell’s color tree, numerous branches of varying

lengths represent chroma with lighter and lower chroma colors as the upper tree

branches and darker lower chroma colors as the bottom branches . . . excluding

the conical evergreens.