The Color Wheel

Color wheels show us how colors are related. They remind artists how to mix and think about colors.

The primary colors are:

• red

• blue

• yellow

Primary colors cannot be made from other colors. Artists create all the other colors of the rainbow by mixing together the primary colors.

The secondary colors are:

• green

• orange

• violet (purple)

Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors. Each secondary color is made from the two primary colors closest to it on the color wheel.

The tertiary colors are:

• yellow-orange

• red-orange

• red-violet

• blue-violet

• blue-green

• yellow-green

The tertiary colors are made by mixing equal parts of one primary color and one secondary color.