Color Theory & Coloring Mixing

Color Theory is the science behind art that explains colors and their relationship to each other.  By understanding color theory, you can make better pictures that are more impactful and meaningful to the viewer.  It will help you understand how different colors interact with each other which effects how they look.

Basic color theory is color mixing. Its how we create all the colors of the rainbow.  Primary colors are like the magic colors we use to make all colors.  They are red, yellow, and blue. If you mix two primary colors together you get a secondary color.   If you mix a primary with a secondary you get a tertiary color.     Black and white are not officially colors in the art and science world.  We use them to manipulate a color and make it lighter or darker but it doesn't actually change the color.  For example if you mix blue with white you just get light or sky blue.  If you mix blue with black you get dark or navy blue.  But it's still blue.  

If we take all the colors and put them in order in a circle we call that a color wheel.  Just like the alphabet has a correct order so do colors. We mix the alphabet up to make new words and we mix the colors in the wheel up to create new colors, but it still has a correct order that they go in.

Below you will see visual guides and images that show color theory.  There are a few different types of color wheels showing different color schemes. A scheme is a specific grouping of colors.  You will also see some video clips that might be helpful.