Colour Theory

Colour is defined as a pigment applied on a surface, shape or designs to make it more

appealing to the senses. It is an essential element of art. Another name for colour is ‘hue’.

In art, the use of colour to create pictures on a surface is called painting. There are
different surfaces you can use colour on; paper, canvas, wall, wood, metal etc. Colour is
also used by graphic artist in making designs. It adds beauty to the work of art and makes
them more attractive. Colours also affect our choices of goods and materials.

Primary Colours
The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. They are called primary for a couple of
reasons.  First, no two colors can be mixed to create a primary color. Primary colors can
only be created through the use of natural pigments.  Secondly, all other colors found on
the color wheel can be created by mixing primary colors together. Another name for
primary colours is Basic Colours

Secondary Colours
The secondary colours are orange, green, and purple. They are also called binary colours.
Secondary colours are created by mixing equal parts of any two primary colours.  Yellow
and blue will give you green.  Red and blue will create purple (violet). Red and yellow
will give you orange.
Intermediate colours
Intermediate colours are created by mixing equal parts of a secondary colour and a
primary colour together.  There are six intermidiate colours - red-purple, red-orange,
blue-green, yellow-green, blue-purple, and yellow-orange.  Notice that the proper way to
refer to Intermediate colours is by listing the primary colour first and the secondary
colour, second.
Tertiary colours
The mixture of two secondary colours gives a primary colour. Tertiary colours can be
described as partly neutralized colours. Every tertiary colour has a dominant primary
colour with a neutralizer. Tertiary colours are Reddish brown, smoky yellow and slake
blue.

Neutral Colours
 Neutral colours don't usually show up on the color wheel. Neutral colors include black,
white or any other colour you achieve by mixing both like gray and ash colours.

Warm and Cool Colours

In color theory we can divide the color wheel in half, splitting the colors into warm colors
and cool colors.

Cool Colours

Blues, greens and purple are considered cool colors. Cool colours evoke a cool feeling
because they remind us of things like water or grass.

Warm Colours

Reds, oranges and yellows are considered warm colors. They evoke warmth because they
remind us of things like the sun or fire.

Complementary colours

Complementary colours are colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel.
When two primary colours are mixed, it becomes the complementary of the other. They
are also called opposite colours.
Purple – Yellow
Orange – Blue
Green – Red