Shades & Tints Of Red

"Red" is a spectral, (or real), hue and one of the 3 additive primaries. It is the wavelength of light that most stimulates the red cones in the human eye and one of the 3 colour pixels on computer displays.

Red has been such a famous colour through the ages that it has many names. Colours that are quite close to "Red" include Scarlet, Crimson and Vermillion. Darker shades include: Carmine and Venetian Red.

There have been good pigments and dyes for red from the beginning, so it has always been well represented in painting and clothing. Such pigments include: Venetian red, derived from nearly pure ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃) of the hematite type. Carmine which is obtained from cochineal insects. Vermillion which is powdered cinnabar (red mercury(II) sulfide (HgS)). Crimson which was obtained from the dried bodies of the scale insect that lives on the Kermes Oak. Alizarin which was obtained from the Madder root and was used for centuries by the English Army (the famous "Red Coats").

Today there are spectacular bright reds available such as Cadmium Red and Pyrrole Red as well as the traditional earth forms.

Chicken Breast	Chicken Breast	Missing
HSB 10°, 30%, 100% RGB 255,191,178
"Chicken Breast" is the colour of various raw meats such as pork and chicken. Many people would consider this colour to be a form of Pink but it isn't! It is pure red in hue. Pink may be found two hues away from here toward Purple.	Chicken Breasts are a pretty good match but tend to have very slight orange hue. Not enough however to put them in the adjacent category which is Parmesan Cheese.	If you find another natural object of the colour swatch on the left please email me.

Pale Raspberry	Pale Raspberry	Missing
HSB 10°, 52%, 100% RGB 255,144,122
"Pale Raspberry" is a colour that is not common in nature.	The common raspberries that you find in supermarkets today come in two shades: the pale shade, as is shown here, and the deeper shade, which is pretty much true red.	If you find another natural object of the colour swatch on the left please email me.

Red	Tomato	Strawberries
HSB 0°, 100%, 100% RGB 255, 0, 0
"Red", the colour, occurs in nature as the colour of various ripe fruits and many flowers such as poppies and roses. It is also widely used in human objects such as pillar boxes, fire engines, lipstick, cars, stop signs and traffic lights. It is associated with danger, passion, anger, courage and happiness.	Tomatoes can be found in other colours but are normally bright red.	Strawberries can be a shade or two darker but when just ripe and in good light they are bright red.

Dark Red	Blood	Ruby
HSB 0°, 100%, 63% RGB 161,0,0
"Dark Red" the colour is a colour that occurs often in nature. It is the colour of some fruits that are a little over-ripe and it is the colour of various flowers. Most famously it is the colour of blood and it is also the colour of certain gemstones, such as Ruby.	Blood can be bright red when it is fresh and arterial but generally it is deep red and this is what you see when your skin is cut.	Rubies vary in colour somewhat and can be more of a Chinese strawberry colour in some cases, however the classic cut ruby is deep red.

Maroon	Cherry	Chestnut
HSB 0°, 100%, 40% RGB 102, 0, 0
"Maroon" the colour gets takes its name from the French marron, meaning chestnut. In the modern world Maroon has come to mean a pure dark red. It is the colour of various dark fruits, tubers, nuts and ferric oxide.	Cherries vary somewhat in colour, nevertheless the classic cherry colour is maroon.	Chestnuts have a slight brownish hue but not so much as to take them into the adjacent category which is Dark Brown. Since they gave their name to this category it is appropriate to leave them here. It is also the colour of Indian Red Oxide.