Hex triplet #000000 CMYK (c, m, y, k) (0, 0, 0, 100) Source X11/By definition | sRGB (r, g, b) (0, 0, 0) HSV (h, s, v) (–°, –%, 0%) | |
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Shades of black are colors that differ only slightly from pure black. These colors have a low lightness. From photometric point of view, a color which differs slightly from black always has low relative luminance. Variations of black include what are commonly termed off-black colors, which may be considered part of a neutral color scheme, usually in interior design as a part of a background for brighter colors. Black and dark gray colors are powerful accent colors that suggest weight, dignity, formality, and solemnity.
Contents
- Black
- Technical black varieties
- Variations of black off black colors
- Midnight Blue
- Dim gray
- Ebony
- Taupe
- Davys gray
- Charcoal
- Noir
- Caf noir
- Black bean
- Black olive
- Onyx
- Phthalo green
- Jet
- Black leather jacket
- Raisin black
- Charleston green
- Eerie black
- Light Black
- References
In color theory, a shade is a pure color mixed with black. It decreases its lightness while nearly conserving its chromaticity. Strictly speaking, a “shade of black” is always a pure black itself and a “tint of black” would be a neutral gray. Unlike these, many off-black colors possess a hue and a colorfulness (also called saturation).
Colors often considered "shades of black" include onyx, black olive, charcoal, and jet; these colors and other variations of black are shown below.
Black
Black is a color, the perception of which is evoked by the total absence of light that stimulates any of the three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye and with very low brightness compared to the surroundings. A black visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness. Black is the darkest possible color.
Technical black varieties
A black body is an idealized physical body that absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation,) regardless of frequency or angle of incidence. To the human eye it seems black.
Some recent surface treatments to simulate a black body are:
Variations of black (off-black colors)
The colors are arranged in order of value (brightness) (v code in the hsv code), the lightest colors at the top and the darkest at the bottom.
Midnight Blue
Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the identifiably blue color of a moonlit night sky on or near the night of a full moon.
This is the X11 web color midnight blue.
This color was originally called midnight. The first recorded use of midnight as a color name in English was in 1915.
Dim gray
At right is displayed the web color dim gray.
This color is a dark tone of gray.
The color name dim gray first came into use in 1987, when this color was formulated as one of the colors on the X11 color list, introduced that year. After the invention of the World Wide Web in 1991, these colors became known as the "X11 web colors".
Ebony
Displayed at right is the color ebony.
This color is a representation of the color of the wood ebony, a tropical hardwood widely used to make fine furniture, notably for French kings.
The first use of ebony as a color name in English was in 1590.
Taupe
The color displayed at left matches the color sample called taupe referenced below in the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color, the world standard for color terms before the invention of computers. However, the word taupe is currently often used to refer to lighter shades of taupe, and therefore another name for this color is dark taupe.
The first use of taupe as a color name in English was in the early 19th century (exact year is not known).
Davy's gray
Davy's gray is a dark gray color, made from powdered slate, iron oxide and carbon black named for Henry Davy.
The first recorded use of Davy’s gray as a color name in English was in the 19th century (precise date uncertain).
Charcoal
Charcoal is a color that is a representation of the dark gray color of burned wood.
The first recorded use of charcoal as a color name in English was in 1606.
Source of color: ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955)--Color Sample of Charcoal (color sample #187).
Noir
The color outer space is a metaphorical representation of the color of outer space.
The color outer space was formulated by Crayola in 1998.
Café noir
The color displayed at right is café noir, also known as black coffee. It is a representation of the color of brewed coffee.
The first recorded use of cafe noir as a color name in English was in 1928.
The source of the color cafe noir displayed at right is the ISCC-NBS Color List (see page C, cafe noir, color sample No. 81).
Black bean
Black bean is a color that resembles black beans. It is the color called bean on the Xona.com Color List, which was formulated in 2001.
Black olive
Black olive a representation of the color of black olives. Also known as olive, color No. 6015, in the RAL color matching system, widely used in Europe.
Onyx
The color onyx is a representation of the color of onyx.
This is one of the colors in the Crayola specialty crayon set called "Gem Tones", introduced in 1994.
Phthalo green
Phthalo green, formally known as phthalocyanine green, is a synthetic green pigment from the group of phthalocyanine dyes, a complex of copper(II) with chlorinated phthalocyanine. It is a very soft green powder insoluble in water.
Jet
The color jet, also called jet black, is displayed above.
The color jet is a representation of the color of the mineraloid jet.
The first recorded use of jet as a color name in English was in 1450.
Black leather jacket
Black leather jacket is the color called leather jacket by Crayola.
The color black leather jacket is a representation of the color of a black leather jacket.
This color was introduced by Crayola in 1994 as one of the colors in its specialty Crayola Magic Scent crayons.
Raisin black
Raisin black is a color that is a representation of the color of black raisins.
Source of color: ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names (1955)--Color Sample of Raisin Black (color sample #235)
Charleston green
Displayed at right is the color Charleston green.
The color Charleston green originated after the American Civil War, when the North provided black paint to the South for use in its reconstruction. Charlestonians, i.e., the inhabitants of Charleston, South Carolina, mixed the black with a little bit of yellow and blue and created Charleston green. Since this color has a hue code of 180, it is actually an extremely dark shade of cyan.
The paint manufacturer Duron/Sherwin Williams paint color number for "historic Charleston green" is DCR099—the color sample at right was taken from this color swatch (hex code #232B2B), which is on the website accessible called Colors of Historic Charleston: This color looks black unless the sun hits it just right, and then the color registers a very dark forest green. From Rust-Oleum paint company it is color No. 214086 but still looks black on color cards.
Eerie black
The color eerie black is displayed at left. Eerie black is a color formulated by Crayola in the early 2000s as one of the colors in its Heads 'n Tails specialty box of colors.
Light Black
The color licorice is displayed at right.
The color licorice is a representation of the color of licorice candy, which is made from licorice.
This color was introduced by Crayola in 1994 as one of the colors in its specialty Crayola Magic Scent crayons.