Tertiary colors are created by mixing a primary color and a secondary color in equal amounts. This simple process results in six distinct tertiary colors, each located on the color wheel between its parent primary and secondary colors.
Understanding Primary and Secondary Colors
Before diving into tertiary colors, it's helpful to understand their foundations:
- Primary Colors: These are the fundamental colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors. The most common primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.
- Secondary Colors: These are produced by mixing two primary colors in equal parts. For example, mixing red and yellow creates orange, red and blue create purple (violet), and yellow and blue create green.
Creating Tertiary Colors: A Step-by-Step Guide
The process of creating tertiary colors is straightforward:
- Choose a primary color. (e.g., Red)
- Choose a secondary color adjacent to your primary color on the color wheel. (e.g., Orange)
- Mix equal amounts of the primary and secondary color. The resulting color is a tertiary color. (e.g., Red-Orange)
Repeat this process using different primary and secondary color combinations to create the other five tertiary colors. The exact shade of the tertiary color can vary depending on the specific hues of the primary and secondary colors used.
Examples of Tertiary Colors
Here are some examples of tertiary colors and their parent colors:
- Red-Orange: Made by mixing red (primary) and orange (secondary).
- Yellow-Orange: Made by mixing yellow (primary) and orange (secondary).
- Yellow-Green: Made by mixing yellow (primary) and green (secondary).
- Blue-Green: Made by mixing blue (primary) and green (secondary).
- Blue-Violet: Made by mixing blue (primary) and violet (secondary).
- Red-Violet: Made by mixing red (primary) and violet (secondary).
Remember that the exact name and appearance of these colors can vary slightly depending on the pigments or dyes used.
The references consistently state that mixing equal amounts of a primary and adjacent secondary color produces a tertiary color. Some sources mention other methods of creating colors that might be perceived as tertiary, but the core definition remains consistent.
