For example, by putting a red against a slightly darker or lighter red you can create an illusion of depth and movement. Visual temperature is when a color is either warm or cool. Typically, warm colors will advance in a block, or move toward you, while the cool colors tend to recede into a quilt block. We also seem to crave more cool colors than warm because warm colors can be very aggressive and overpowering. Some of the most eye-catching and appealing quilts use warm colors, however.
Intensity is the brilliance of the color.
The pure colors such as red are more intense than the muted low intensity yellow-green. Try using it as a guide for other versions of colors. It takes a little practice, but after a while you'll find that the color wheel is a great tool to have when deciding on the colors you want for a quilt. But let's say that you want to make a quilt with colors of blue, red and green. Here's an easy way to find out.