What are the three primary and three secondary colors? Learn how they are created and mixed to form the entire spectrum of color. Learn the basics of color theory.
Updated: 07/29/2021
What are Primary and Secondary Colors? And How are they Created?
Introduction to Color Theory
90% of the information we receive is through our eyes. And color plays a huge role in how we perceive objects and events around us. Landscapes and nature lure us when they are bright and colorful, food looks more appetizing when an array of beautiful colors is presented on the table, art gets a new meaning altogether with color being at its center, all of the world's art and culture garner more eyeballs when colors are used to highlight aspects, such as costumes, musical instruments, and materials.
Light plays a huge role in the way the human eye 'perceives colors. Light contains all the colors in it. When a particular color is seen, it is when all other colors are absorbed except the color that the eyes see. For example, when you see green grass that means the grass is absorbing all the other colors except green.
On a color wheel, which is a foundational tool to understand how the color scheme works, there is a set of three main colors called the primary colors. Then there is another set of colors that are formed as a result of mixing the primary colors with each other called the secondary colors. Lastly, there is the third category of colors that is formed by combining the colors from the first and the second category known as the tertiary colors. Adding white, black, or gray also gives different colors.
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There are a number of important terms that are related to color:
- Color: Every color in the general sense is called a color. It is an umbrella-term to refer to every underlying category.
- Hue: They are the primary and secondary colors. White, Gray and Black are not considered hues.
- Tint: When White is mixed with another hue, a blander, paler version of the color is formed. This is called a tint.
- Tone: When Gray is mixed with another hue, a grayer version of the color is formed. This is called a tone.
- Shade: When Black is mixed with another hue, a darker version of the color is formed. This is called a shade.
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Colors and Emotions
Colors can also represent emotions and moods. Every color has its unique characteristics and emanates certain vibes. Some of the color representations are as follows:
- Yellow: Yellow is the color of happiness, cheer, and joy. It lifts moods and spreads joy.
- Red: Red represents passion, anger, speed. Most fast-food joints are painted in red as they want the customers to quickly eat and leave, so they can cater to their next customer. It is not a place to have a leisurely meal.
- Green: Green is the color of nature, of life and growth, of abundance.
- Blue: Blue is said to be a calming color. That is why so many people paint their bedrooms in this color so it can provide calm and tranquility.
- White: White is the ultimate color of peace and rest. It is also stated to be a very classy color. It never fails in any given situation.
- Purple: Purple is said to be the color of royalty. That is why all the cloaks in olden times were made in this color.
- Gold: Gold represents riches, wealth, opulence, and aristocracy.
- Black: Black is the color of darkness, gloom, and grieving.
Color Theory
Look around you. Chances are, the world around you is full of colors. While we're pretty used to seeing a multitude of colors in our daily lives, the fact that so many colors actually exist is pretty incredible when you think about it. What our eyes interpret as colors is a result of waves of light bouncing off of tiny chemicals within objects called pigments. Pigments absorb certain kinds of light, but reflect others. The colors that are reflected are the ones that reach our eyes.
However, for all of this complexity, all the colors we see are really just a combination of a few basic colors, mixed in different ways. Colors from pure light mix differently than those that come from things with pigments, like paint, so for now we're just going to focus on pigment-based colors, the ones artists use to create their masterpieces. The world is full of colors, and capturing them in a painting means you need to know how colors are made.
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The Primary Colors
Primary colors are perceived based on the light that is reflected and seen by the eyes. As the name suggests, primary colors are the main colors.
There are three primary colors. These are:
- Red
- Yellow
- Blue
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Significance of Primary Colors
In the world of art, primary colors, such as Red, Yellow, and Blue are the base colors and aren't formed by mixing two or more colors. In fact, they help form other colors, known as the secondary colors. This is how significant they are.
Other Primary Colors
When it comes to the world of digital media, the primary colors aren't the same as those in the world of art. As light constantly radiates through monitors, television sets and digital devices, the primary colors of digital media are:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
However, in the world of print media, the primary colors are:
- Cyan
- Magenta
- Yellow
Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow are formed because of the absence of light. These are known as the primary colors of print media. This is the reason digital and print artists have abbreviations, such as RGB that stands for Red, Green, Blue or CMYK or Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. Every single color used in digital and print media is made up of a RGB color code or a CMYK color code. The hues keep changing as the percentage of each of the components is changed.
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The Secondary Colors
Secondary colors originate from or are derived from primary colors. Hence, they are called secondary. These colors can be formed by mixing any two primary colors.
There are three secondary colors, namely:
- Purple (mixing red and purple)
- Green (mixing yellow and blue)
- Orange(mixing red and yellow)
On the color wheel, the secondary colors can be found between any two given primary colors.
Significance of Secondary Colors
Nature would be unimaginable without Green. The tangy, citrus fruit orange would suddenly lose all its appeal if it didn't have an orange-colored peel. Or a lily without being purple would be unimaginable.
That is where the secondary colors come into the picture. Secondary colors are created from primary colors and quite literally, add color to our world. We are better able to differentiate and distinguish amongst them based on their color descriptions. That is why we have them.
As discussed earlier, a secondary color is created by mixing two primary colors. Remember, a perfect secondary color can be obtained only when both the primary colors are mixed in equal proportions.
The Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are formed when a primary color is mixed with a secondary color. For example, when Red is mixed with Orange, red-orange is formed as a result.
On the color wheel, the tertiary colors are surrounded by one primary and one secondary color on either side. There are six tertiary colors. The tertiary table chart formation is as follows:
| Primary Color | + | Secondary Color | = | Tertiary Color |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | + | Purple | = | Red-Purple |
| Red | + | Orange | = | Red-Orange |
| Yellow | + | Green | = | Yellow-Green |
| Yellow | + | Orange | = | Yellow-Orange |
| Blue | + | Purple | = | Blue-Purple |
| Blue | + | Green | = | Blue-Green |
Lesson Summary
- Primary colors are colors that are perceived by the human eye when light reflects off of them. They are not formed by mixing any two colors. They form the basis of other secondary colors.
- There are three primary colors in the world of art. These are:
- Red
- Yellow
- Blue
- There are three primary colors in digital media. These are:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
- There are three primary colors in print media. These are:
- Cyan
- Magenta
- Yellow
- Secondary colors are formed by mixing two primary colors in equal proportions.
- There are three secondary colors in the world of art. These are:
- Purple
- Green
- Orange
- Tertiary colors are formed by mixing one primary color with one secondary color that it's closest to on the color wheel.
- There are six tertiary colors in the world of art. These are:
- Red-Purple
- Red-Orange
- Yellow-Green
- Yellow-Orange
- Blue-Purple
- Blue-Green
Primary Colors
Let's start at the most basic unit of colors. A primary color is one that cannot be created by combining any other color. You may look around you and assume that there are dozens of primary colors, but in fact there are only three. Every other color you see in a painting is created from a combination of these three colors.
So, what are they? The three primary colors are blue, red, and yellow. These hues cannot be created by blending or mixing any other colors. When dealing with digital media, you may often see these colors labeled as cyan, magenta, and yellow. Since our computers use light to blend colors, and not physical solutions with pigments, the primary colors are slightly different.
Secondary Colors
Artists create physical, tangible colors like those in paints and dyes by mixing various amounts of primary colors. While it may seem incredible, we can create any color on a color wheel just by mixing these three colors, along with white and black. Traditionally, white and black aren't considered primary colors because they imply an absence of color or a combination of all the colors. Generally, artists build up a full palette of color gradually, by combining primary colors in consistent ways.
The first step in this process is to use primary colors to make secondary colors, or those created by mixing equal amounts of two primary colors. If you're looking at the colors on a color wheel, you'll find the secondary colors exactly halfway between the primary colors. For example, if you mix the primary colors yellow and red, you get orange. If you mix equal amounts of red and blue, you get purple, and if you mix equal amounts of blue and yellow, you end up with green. Those are the secondary colors. From there, artists can mix in more of any primary color to change the hue and imitate any color of the natural world in paint.
Lesson Summary
It's pretty amazing that we can see so many colors, but even more incredible that we are able to replicate them. The colors we see are a result of various chemicals called pigments that either reflect or absorb waves of light, which is how paints get their colors. All colors are made by mixing various amounts of primary colors, which cannot be created by mixing other colors together. They include blue, yellow, and red or cyan, yellow, and magenta in digital media, since computers mix color with light, not pigments.
By mixing primary colors in equal amounts, we get the secondary colors orange, green, and purple, which in turn allow us to replicate any color in the natural world. Our pigment-based colors are pretty incredible, pretty awesome, and perhaps most importantly for artists, simply pretty.
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Video Transcript
Color Theory
Look around you. Chances are, the world around you is full of colors. While we're pretty used to seeing a multitude of colors in our daily lives, the fact that so many colors actually exist is pretty incredible when you think about it. What our eyes interpret as colors is a result of waves of light bouncing off of tiny chemicals within objects called pigments. Pigments absorb certain kinds of light, but reflect others. The colors that are reflected are the ones that reach our eyes.
However, for all of this complexity, all the colors we see are really just a combination of a few basic colors, mixed in different ways. Colors from pure light mix differently than those that come from things with pigments, like paint, so for now we're just going to focus on pigment-based colors, the ones artists use to create their masterpieces. The world is full of colors, and capturing them in a painting means you need to know how colors are made.
Primary Colors
Let's start at the most basic unit of colors. A primary color is one that cannot be created by combining any other color. You may look around you and assume that there are dozens of primary colors, but in fact there are only three. Every other color you see in a painting is created from a combination of these three colors.
So, what are they? The three primary colors are blue, red, and yellow. These hues cannot be created by blending or mixing any other colors. When dealing with digital media, you may often see these colors labeled as cyan, magenta, and yellow. Since our computers use light to blend colors, and not physical solutions with pigments, the primary colors are slightly different.
Secondary Colors
Artists create physical, tangible colors like those in paints and dyes by mixing various amounts of primary colors. While it may seem incredible, we can create any color on a color wheel just by mixing these three colors, along with white and black. Traditionally, white and black aren't considered primary colors because they imply an absence of color or a combination of all the colors. Generally, artists build up a full palette of color gradually, by combining primary colors in consistent ways.
The first step in this process is to use primary colors to make secondary colors, or those created by mixing equal amounts of two primary colors. If you're looking at the colors on a color wheel, you'll find the secondary colors exactly halfway between the primary colors. For example, if you mix the primary colors yellow and red, you get orange. If you mix equal amounts of red and blue, you get purple, and if you mix equal amounts of blue and yellow, you end up with green. Those are the secondary colors. From there, artists can mix in more of any primary color to change the hue and imitate any color of the natural world in paint.
Lesson Summary
It's pretty amazing that we can see so many colors, but even more incredible that we are able to replicate them. The colors we see are a result of various chemicals called pigments that either reflect or absorb waves of light, which is how paints get their colors. All colors are made by mixing various amounts of primary colors, which cannot be created by mixing other colors together. They include blue, yellow, and red or cyan, yellow, and magenta in digital media, since computers mix color with light, not pigments.
By mixing primary colors in equal amounts, we get the secondary colors orange, green, and purple, which in turn allow us to replicate any color in the natural world. Our pigment-based colors are pretty incredible, pretty awesome, and perhaps most importantly for artists, simply pretty.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 3 secondary colors?
The three secondary colors are Purple, Green and Orange. They are formed when two primary colors are mixed equally in the following order.
Red + Blue = Purple
Blue + Yellow = Green
Yellow + Red = Orange
Why are there only 3 primary colors?
These three primary colors help us make three more colors, known as the secondary colors. And three secondary colors, in turn help form six tertiary colors. Almost all colors in the world of art are based in these three primary colors.
What are the 3 true primary colors?
The three true primary colors are Red, Yellow and Blue. These are not formed by mixing any colors. In fact, they help make secondary colors.
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