Primary colors are the base colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors. Secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors together. Tertiary colors are formed by mixing a primary color with a neighboring secondary color.
Primary Colors
- These are the fundamental building blocks of color.
- They cannot be created by mixing other colors.
- The most common primary colors are red, yellow, and blue (RYB). However, other color models use different primaries, like cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY) in printing or red, green, and blue (RGB) in digital displays.
Secondary Colors
- These are created by mixing equal amounts of two primary colors.
- Examples:
- Red + Yellow = Orange
- Yellow + Blue = Green
- Blue + Red = Violet (or Purple)
- As stated in the reference: "The secondary colors are each a mixture of two primary colors."
Tertiary Colors
- These are created by mixing a primary color with an adjacent secondary color.
- They lie between primary and secondary colors on the color wheel.
- Examples:
- Red + Orange = Red-Orange
- Yellow + Green = Yellow-Green
- Blue + Violet = Blue-Violet (or Blue-Purple)
- As stated in the reference: "The tertiary colors are each a mixture of one primary color and one secondary color". These colors are also described as being "next to each other on the color wheel".
Color Wheel Relationships
Understanding the color wheel helps visualize these relationships. The primary colors are evenly spaced, with the secondary colors falling between them, and the tertiary colors positioned between the primaries and secondaries.
