Azure (color)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Azure (color wheel) | ||
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| Hex triplet | #007FFF | |
| B | (r, g, b) | (0, 127, 255) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (210°, 100%, 100%) |
| Source | Color: HTML Color Chart @210 | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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Azure is a blue color on the HSV color wheel at 210 degrees. It is the hue that is halfway between blue and cyan. Its complementary color is orange.
Azure is a near synonym for the color blue. Commonly it refers to a bright blue, resembling the sky on a bright, clear day.
The term azure derives from the Persian لاژورد (lazhward), which was the name of a place in modern Turkestan known for its deposits of lapis lazuli (“stone of lazhward”). The word was adopted into Old French by the twelfth century.
From the French it was adopted into English as a near synonym for "blue". The first recorded use of azure as a color name in English was in 1374.[1]
The use of the term spread through the practice of heraldry, where “azure” represents a blue color in the system of tinctures. In engravings, it is represented as a region of parallel horizontal lines, or by the abbreviation az. or b. In practice, azure has been represented by any number of shades of blue. In later heraldic practice a lighter blue, called bleu celeste (“sky blue”), is sometimes specified.
Azure also describes the color of the mineral azurite, both in its natural form and as a pigment in various paint formulations. In order to preserve its deep color, azurite was ground coarsely. Fine-ground azurite produces a lighter, washed-out color. Traditionally, the pigment was considered unstable in oil paints, and was sometimes isolated from other colors and not mixed. Modern investigation of old paintings, however, shows that the pigment is very stable unless exposed to sulfur fumes.[2]
In some color systems, azure is defined more specifically. In the X11 color system which became a standard for early Web colors, azure is a pale blue color.
"United Nations blue", as it's called by the United Nations,[3] is the light blue color of the Flag of the United Nations and of the helmets worn by the United Nations peacekeeping forces.
In Russian, "голубой" (goluboj, azure or cyan) and "синий" (sinij, blue or navy blue) are not two shades of the same color, but distinguished in the way red and pink are distinct colors in English. A similar distinction exists between "azzurro" (azure, but used to indicate various shades of light blue) and "blu" (blue) in Italian.[citation needed]
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[edit] Variations of azure
[edit] Azure (web color)
| Azure (web color) | ||
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| Hex triplet | #F0FFFF | |
| B | (r, g, b) | (240, 255, 255) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (180°, 6%, 100%) |
| Source | X11 | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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Displayed at right is the web color called azure, a pale pastel tint of azure.
[edit] Columbia blue
| Columbia blue | ||
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| Hex triplet | #9BDDFF | |
| B | (r, g, b) | (155, 221, 255) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (200°, 39%, 100%) |
| Source | Internet | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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Displayed at right is the color Columbia blue.
[edit] Light sky blue
| Light sky blue | ||
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| Hex triplet | #87CEFA | |
| B | (r, g, b) | (135, 206, 250) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (203°, 46%, 98%) |
| Source | X11 color names | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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Displayed at right is the web color light sky blue.
[edit] Sky blue
| Sky blue | ||
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| Hex triplet | #87CEEB | |
| B | (r, g, b) | (135, 206, 235) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (197°, 43%, 92%) |
| Source | X11 color names | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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Displayed at right is the web color sky blue.
[edit] Maya blue
| Maya Blue | ||
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| Hex triplet | #73C2FB | |
| sRGBB | (r, g, b) | (115, 194, 251) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (205°, 54%, 98%) |
| Source | Internet | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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Displayed at right is the color Maya blue.
[edit] United Nations blue
| United Nations blue | ||
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| Hex triplet | #5B92E5 | |
| B | (r, g, b) | (91, 146, 229) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (210°, 60%, 90%) |
| Source | Vexillological | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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Displayed at right is the color United Nations blue.
[edit] Cornflower blue
| Cornflower blue | ||
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| Hex triplet | #6495ED | |
| B | (r, g, b) | (100, 149, 237) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (219°, 58%, 93%) |
| Source | X11 | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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At right is displayed the web color cornflower blue.
[edit] Dodger blue
| Dodger blue | ||
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| Hex triplet | #1E90FF | |
| B | (r, g, b) | (30, 144, 255) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (210°, 88%, 100%) |
| Source | BF2S Color Guide | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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At right is displayed the color dodger blue.
[edit] Air Force blue
| Air Force Blue | ||
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| Hex triplet | #5D8AA8 | |
| sRGBB | (r, g, b) | (93, 138, 168) |
| HSV | (h, s, v) | (204°, 45%, 66%) |
| Source | Internet | |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) |
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At right is displayed the color Air Force blue.
[edit] Azure in human culture
- The 2004 Ford Mustang Mach 1 featured a blue hue color option called Azure Blue.
- In the computer game Diablo using an eldritch shrine will give you the message "Crimson and Azure becomes as the sun"
- In the classic first person shooter game Quake, a level is titled "Azure Agony", and features a blue color scheme.
- In the Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade turn-based strategy game, the Azure Dragon is the strongest creature the player could possibly recruit, it's power surpassing that of regular creatures by far.
- Berry Blue Jell-O is a bright azure color.
- Azure Coast (Côte d'Azur) is a name commonly used for the French Riviera, part of France's southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
- After 13 years of joint research by an Australian company Florigene, and Japanese company Suntory, a blue rose was created in 2004 using genetic engineering. The actual color of this rose is azure.
- Azure is often used in France to describe the Mediterranean Sea.
- Azure Blue is a fictional character who was created by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. He first appeared as an evil miser in The Golden Helmet in Donald Duck Four Color #308.
- Nations which use shades of Azure in their flags include Argentina, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Palau, San Marino, Somalia, Sweden, and Ukraine.
- The flag of the United Nations is a shade of azure called "United Nations blue".
- The Bisexual pride flag uses a shade of azure, Pantone Blue #286.
- In the first .hack// game series on PlayStation 2, two of the friends of the main character, Kite, are known by special names. They are Orca of the Azure Sea and Balmung of the Azure Sky. In the .hack//G.U. games, there is also a character whose name is Azure Flame Kite, for he is surrounded by blue flames.
- In the fighting game series Soul Calibur, the character Nightmare is nicknamed the Azure Knight.
- Azelf from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl is named for the color azure and the mythological creature, the elf.
- In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on Sega Genesis, one of the 2-player stages is called Azure Lake.
[edit] References
- ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 190
- ^ Rutherford J. Gettens and George L. Stout (1942) Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopedia, New York: Van Nostrand
- ^ (January 1967.) "The United Nations flag code and regulations" United Nations website. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
[edit] See also
- Azure (color used in heraldry)
- St. Patrick's Blue
- List of colors
