Talk:Azure (color)

Merge Sky blue into article
Really, azure is considered the traditional name for sky blue, and because the sky blue article is nothing but a bunch of templates, I suggest that it should be merged into this article with a brief mention along with its associations. ANDROS1337  19:14, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Sky Blue is also a film (+ issues with Sky Blue/Sky blue)
Not sure exactly where to put it, but since Sky blue redirects here, there should be some sort of disambiguation link to the film of the same name (International title of Wonderful days). In fact this appears to be an even worse mess than I first thought. Sky Blue (Uppercase B) redirects to Cornflower blue (which has a link to the film), while Sky blue (lowercase b) redirects to Azure_(color). I suggest the most logical thing to do is to redirect both Sky Blue and Sky blue to Azure and move, ""Sky Blue" redirects here. For the animated film, see Wonderful Days." from Cornflower blue to the top(?) of Azure_(color) 82.32.192.161 (talk) 23:24, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Picture?
It could just be me, but the leading picture doesn't seem to fit much. Having a look at other "color" pages, where the leading picture is of the color, a picture the Judean Hills does not seem to fit. Perhaps find a color swatch of azure? cheezychicken 19:21, 30 March 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cheezychicken (talk • contribs)
 * The above comment was made three years ago, but I find myself feeling the same way. Why do we have a lead photograph that does not, in fact, show "azure" in it? Will anyone object if I try to find one that does?  KDS 4444  Talk  08:22, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

removed Diablo 1 quote
While the shrine message DOES in fact mention azure color by name, it's as minor of a detail as it is possible, being completely irrelevant here. The potions are called "Health", "Mana", "Rejuvenation" in-game, not "Crimson", "Azure" and "Sun"... besides, it's the only damn occurrence of the word in the entire game, having no meaning other than that of a poetic description of Mana Potion's blue-ish color; I don't consider it worthy enough of an example nor cultural reference of any kind. Compared with e.g. Quake's Azure level, it clearly doesn't fit here. Vaxquis (talk) 19:35, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

Propose merger with Blue
The gist of the article is that "azure is a synonym for blue", and then discusses variations of the color blue, most of which are unrelated to "azure" and do not contain the name "azure". The claim that azure is a teriary color is not cited at all in the tertiary color article, and references only a Wikipedia image file in the Azure article itself. With no supporting citations, it may not be notable enough to merit a separate article. --EncycloPetey (talk) 02:26, 7 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I have moved many of the "other" color descriptions to Shades of blue. What remains is an etymology, definitions, and a list of things named "azure".  Is this worth a separate article from blue? --EncycloPetey (talk) 01:38, 8 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Vigorously and Strenuously Object The color azure is NOT blue.  Blue and azure are two SEPARATE AND DISTINCT colors.   They are two colors as separate and distinct as red and orange.  The color blue is at an angle of 240 degrees on the RGB color wheel and the color azure is at an angle of 210 degrees on the RGB color wheel.  Blue and azure are each one of the 12 major colors of the RGB color wheel at angle intervals of 30 degrees on the RGB color wheel, along with the other 10 such colors.   Azure is the hue that is halfway between blue and cyan.  Azure colors are colors with a high blue code and a green code that is less high than the green code, with a small or no red code.  Colors in which the blue and green codes are equal or nearly equal with little or no red code are cyan colors and colors with a high blue code and a low green code with little or no red code are blue colors.  Putting the azure colors into the shades of blue article is just as wrong as putting the orange colors in the shades of orange article into the shades of red article would be.  I have restored the azure colors to their article and removed them from the shades of blue article. Keraunos (talk) 05:24, 17 April 2012 (UTC)


 * We have only your word on that. The claims that the various colors like "Air Force Blue" are shades of azure rather than blue are unsubstantiated with no references for support.  Neither does the azure article have a reference to support its distinct status.  Without supporting evidence, it makes more sense to list these at "Shades of blue", since most of them are called "blue". --EncycloPetey (talk) 06:52, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Blue colors are those colors with hue codes of between 265 and 225, azure colors are those colors with hue codes of between 195 and 225, and cyan colors are those colors with hue codes of between 165 and 195. Keraunos (talk) 08:30, 28 April 2012 (UTC)
 * All of the colors shown in the section "variations of azure" are referenced with the forret color converstion tool as having a hue code of between 195 and 225 (the hue code is the h code in the hsv code in the color box for each color), signifying that these colors are tones of azure. The only exception is the web color azure which, with a color code of 180, is actually a tone of cyan.  Air Force blue, for example, is an azure color because its h code is between 195 and 225.  Keraunos (talk) 08:30, 28 April 2012 (UTC)


 * Azure is blue, but “blue” is not a very well-defined term – the modern programmer’s “blue” would be indigo for Isaac Newton, etc. Better to keep the things separate. Incnis Mrsi (talk) 09:58, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
 * Azure is a term that can refer to the color blue for some individuals, while others understand it as a more technical and precise designation. By improving their knowledge and vocabulary, individuals can learn to discern slight variations in hue, shade, tint, and tone.
 * In earlier times, the English language did not recognize orange as a distinct color. However, as language evolves, new words are introduced and existing words undergo modifications. The term "orange" emerged to describe a hue combining yellow and red, and "cyan" was coined to refer to bluish-green hues. Likewise, "azure" came into use to denote bluish-cyan tones. Currently, there is a change in vocabulary taking place due to the accuracy of digital color. These discussions on the Wikipedia talk page will contribute, albeit to a limited extent, to the evolution of the English language. Mfrittman (talk) 03:29, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

Image of a lapis lazuli slab
I added an image of a slab of the mineral lapis lazuli to the etymology section, since the mineral lapis lazuli is the origin of the name of the color. The image of the slab of lapis lazuli nicely demonstrates a wide range of various tones of azure. Keraunos (talk) 23:36, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

"Pedigree" of Picton Blue
Attributing the source of the name Picton Blue to the Xona.com Color List seems a bit suspect. That page itself claims "©2004..2014" (which would seem to contradict the article's contention that "The color name picton blue for has been in use since 2001, when this color was promulgated as one of the colors on the Xona.com Color List"), and Xona's introductory text plainly explains that their list is merely a synthesis of three other well-established color lists, two of which came to them through Paul Bourke. The links to Bourke's pages are dead, but his current personal site at paulbourke.net contains the Resene Paints color list, ©2001, which does in fact include the color Picton Blue.

So, it would seem to me that proper credit for the "source" of that color would more accurately go to Paul Bourke, or most accurately of all to Resene Paints, with Xona Games at most deserving credit for having helped popularize the name when they published it in their color list. I'm going to split the difference, change the Source to Resene Paints (linking to Bourke's copy of their list), and find some way to leave the Xona mention in the explanatory text for their having played a role in disseminating the name into the social consciousness. Though, to be honest, I wouldn't object if anyone were to dump the Xona mention entirely. I'm only leaving it out of deference to whoever wrote this entry in the first place. FeRD_NYC (talk) 23:48, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

488 wavelength?
It says in the lede that the dominant wavelength of azure is approximately 488 nm. My first thought is that this is just way off. I have a 490 nm laser pointer that looks cyan, much greener than the sky. 488 nm bench lasers are commonly described as cyan. Meanwhile, our article on Diffuse sky radiation says the dominant wavelength of the sky is 474-476 nm. 473 nm laser pointers are usually described as being sky blue.

Besides which the lede is supposed to summarize referenced material in the body of the article, which is not the case here. Zyxwv99 (talk) 15:10, 4 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Using the hex code to wavelength at https://405nm.com/color-to-wavelength/ converter yields the following values:
 * Blue (#0000FF) 440 nm
 * Azure (#007FFF) 461 nm
 * Cyan (#00FFFF) 490 nm
 * If these are correct, the color of the sky is around (#00C0FF) 475 nm, at the border of azure and cyan.
 * There can be slight variations in the definitions of azure, whether referring to the color of the sky, a specific pigment, or the complement to orange. Mfrittman (talk) 02:58, 9 February 2024 (UTC)

Ultramarine
Is ultramarine a variant of azure? It comes from the same mineral (lapis lazuli) that gives azure its name, but there is no mention of it in the list of varients. If it isn't a variety of azure, it would probably worth mentioning that too, given the common origin. Iapetus (talk) 15:38, 10 June 2015 (UTC)
 * This English word is confusing. The pigment depicted, obviously, has nothing to do with azure. But some variations called by the same name very probably have. Incnis Mrsi (talk) 09:58, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

Sources for the tertiary colours
I'm putting some lecture notes together for colour science for my graduate students and am trying to determine if tertiary colour names have some scientific and historical basis. I'm not finding this for Azure, and the source cited here does not support the claims made here.

The lede of this article states "On the RGB color wheel, "azure" (color #007FFF) is defined as the color at 210 degrees, i.e., the hue halfway between blue and cyan." with no citation at all.

The first color box for azure, however cites Maerz and Paul, of which I've just obtained my own copy. In particular note [1] states:

"On color plate 33 (page 89) of the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color by Maerz and Paul, the colors on the right side of color plate 33 from top to bottom represent the most highly saturated colors on the color wheel from cyan to azure, and the colors on the bottom of color plate 33 from right to left represent the most highly saturated colors on the color wheel from azure to blue."

What is the source of claiming that Plate 33 has this property? Only 10 of the color swatches in Plate 33 are given colour names, and none are labelled cyan, blue, or azure.

"The color sample that represents azure is color sample L12 on Plate 33 on Page 89."

Swatch L12 is unlabelled. Azure is listed in the index as a family of colours, only one of which corresponds to a color swatch (azurite), but it is not even on the same plate (it is 36 K7, but not labelled as such on the Plate 36 swatches, which according to the index explanation means that it is not in common use; 36 K7 is labelled as 'ceramic'). Cyan blue is in the index, but on Plate 26 swatch J2 (although labelled there as Nile blue) and is what I'd expect as cyan.

"See reference to Azure on Page 190 in the index. See also discussion of the color azure, Page 149."

The note on p. 149 states clearly that "The term azure is merely a synonym for blue, and has no more specific significance than blue does." The entry closes with "The various authorities have all exhibited specific tones of blue under the name 'Azure', but the term is not susceptible of standardization by any authority, any more than is the term 'blue'."

Thus Maerz and Paul not only do not support that cyan-blue is azure, they clearly state the azure is synonymous with blue.

I also checked the OED entry (quoted above by Agyle) and that gives no support that azure is different from blue. There is one reference to cerulean, but the OED entry to cerulean merely references back to azure.

I'd love to be able to use a single name for the colour at hue 210°, but there appears to be no support for this, other than the comment of Keraunos.

So, as it is the citation of Maerz and Paul is incorrect and should be removed. This leaves us with no source at all, unless I am missing something else. Do we have any other citation to support the claim that the colour at H=210° is azure? Or is this OR?

[I've got similar concerns for the tertiary colours spring green and rose, but will carefully check the sources on those pages and post there.]

Jpgs (talk) 04:23, 5 January 2016 (UTC)


 * As I posted in the Tertiary color source discussion, I was only able to find Azure defined as such in http://www.procato.com/rgb+index/, as exactly between Blue and Cyan on the HSV color wheel.

Etimology
Article mention Russian word "goluboi", which is different from "siniy"(blue), it's not the best example as we say "лазурь"(lazurj) or "цвет лазури" (the color of lazurj) which is a precise meaning of azure. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.73.5.206 (talk) 12:28, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

#0080FF vs. #007FFF
May I ask what is the point of changing these hex values if the difference is only in Green (128 and 127; so visually - absolutely no difference) and #0080FF isn't labeled as 'Azure' wherever i look? 93.105.58.231 (talk) 21:24, 24 March 2018 (UTC)

Possible removal from list
An entry in List of colors: A–F contained a link to this page.

The entry is:
 * Brilliant azure

An entry in List of colors: N–Z contained a link to this page.

The entry is :


 * Ocean boat blue

An entry in List of colors: N–Z contained a link to this page.

The entry is :


 * Picton blue
 * Royal azure
 * Silver Lake blue
 * United Nations blue
 * Very light azure
 * Vista blue

I don't see any evidence that this color is discussed in this article and plan to delete it from the list per this discussion: Talk:List_of_colors

If someone decides that this color should have a section in this article and it is added, I would appreciate a ping.-- S Philbrick (Talk)  18:15, 11 September 2018 (UTC)

Distinction among indigo, azure, and cyan
This section seems backwards and unsourced, and an attempt to make a clear distinction when isn't one. It seems to take the RGB model and the X11 colors as defining, when they post-date the term. PaleAqua (talk) 22:57, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

Azure's status as tertiary color, pigments, possible additions
Azure is a tertiary color that can be achieved by combining blue and cyan pigments. Blue is the complementary color to yellow, azure serves as the complementary color to orange, and cyan is the complementary color to red.

In the movie "The Devil Wears Prada", there was a significant emphasis on the azure-hued color cerulean. Azure pigments such as Cobalt Stannate and azurite are also widely recognized in the industry and hold historical value. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mfrittman (talk • contribs) 02:17, 9 February 2024 (UTC)