The Color Wheel
UNDERSTANDING COLOR RELATIONSHIPS
Within the first hour of an introductory course on art, chances are you’d see this recognizable image (at right) flash up on the projector screen. But really, there’s no better way to lay the foundation for understanding color. The color wheel shown at right is a visual tool that illustrates the relationships of pigment colors. As you begin your study, it’s important to first acquaint yourself with a few proper terms.
Primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. With these you can mix almost any other color; however, none of the primaries can be mixed from other colors.
Secondary colors include green, orange, and violet. These colors can be mixed using two of the primaries. (Blue and yellow make green, red and yellow make orange, and blue and red make violet.)
A tertiary color is a primary mixed with a near secondary, such as red with violet to create red-violet.
Neutral colors are browns and grays, both of which contain all three primary colors in varying proportions.
Complementary colors are those situated opposite each other on the wheel, such as violet and yellow. —ETG
FUN FACT
In the world of light, the color wheel is very different from the pigment wheel shown above. For example, red, green, and blue are considered the primary colors of light (often referred to as “RGB”); red and green light combine to make yellow; and all light colors combine to make white instead of black. Counterintuitive once you’re familiar with pigment relationships, but important to know!