Hints and Tips: The Colour Wheel

colour wheel The colour wheel is divided into three categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary.

The three primary colours are red, yellow and blue. These colours are considered to be foundation c olours because they are used to create all other colours.

 By combining two of the primary colours, three secondary colours are formed. They are orange, green and violet.

The six tertiary colours are made by combining a primary and an adjacent secondary colour. These colours are red-orange, red-violet, yellow-green, yellow-orange, blue-green and blue-violet.
coolcolours

Warm Colours

These are the warm colours of the spectrum from red through orange to yellow. You can use a small amount of a warm colour to warm the temperature of a cool colour and vice versa.

The warm colours tend to come towards you, or feel closer to you, and come forward in a painting.

Use this knowledge in your work to advantage, for instance, cool blue colours to show distant land and a warm brown for land near to you.
Cool Colours

The cool colours of the colour wheel tend to go away from you, or feel distant to you, and recede in a painting. As with the warm colours, you can use a cool colour to change the temperature of a warm colour, just use it's opposite on the colour wheel.

You can use warm and cool colours side by side to contrast with each other
colour tints

Complementary Colours

Complementary colours are opposite each other on the colour wheel, Red/Green, Blue/Orange etc. Colours that are opposite each other when put side by side, contrast with each other.
 
Complementary colours when mixed together produce a neutral or grey colour, sometimes with a leaning towards one colour. You can use complementary colour, to dull and darken the original colour instead of using black.

 
A tint of a colour is made by adding white.
A shade is made by adding black.