Secondary colors are colors that are created by mixing two primary colors together in equal amounts. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. When you mix primary colors, you get secondary colors:
| Red + Yellow = | Orange |
| Red + Blue = | Purple |
| Yellow + Blue = | Green |
So the three secondary colors are orange, purple, and green. Understanding primary and secondary colors is important for artists, designers, and anyone who wants to mix custom colors. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about secondary colors including how they are made, color theory, uses, and more.
How Secondary Colors Are Formed
Secondary colors are formed by mixing two primary colors together. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. These are called primary colors because they cannot be created by mixing other colors together. All other colors are derived from some combination of the primary colors.
When you mix primary colors together, you get the secondary colors:
| Red + Yellow = | Orange |
| Red + Blue = | Purple |
| Yellow + Blue = | Green |
For example, when you mix red and yellow paint together, you get orange paint. When you mix red and blue light together, you get purple light. And when you mix yellow and blue pigment together, you get green pigment.
The specific colors you get when mixing depend on the exact shades of the primary colors you start with. Mixing a bright red and lemon yellow will give you a vivid orange. Mixing a crimson red and navy blue will make a deeper purple. Different combinations result in endless variations.
But the basic secondary colors – orange, purple, and green – are always created by mixing two primary colors together in equal proportions. Understanding these color combinations is foundational knowledge for color theory.
Color Theory Behind Secondary Colors
The relationship between primary and secondary colors is explained by color theory. Color theory is a framework for understanding color mixing and the visual impacts of color combinations.
According to color theory, there are three primary colors that can’t be created by mixing other colors: red, yellow and blue. Secondary colors are formed by mixing two primary colors together. Tertiary colors are formed by mixing a primary color with a secondary color adjacent to it on the color wheel.
This color mixing logic is based on the RGB (red, green, blue) and RYB (red, yellow, blue) color models. RGB is used for light mixing, like on a computer screen or theater lighting. RYB is used for pigment mixing, like with paints and dyes.
Both models have the same three primary colors and same three secondary colors. The primary-secondary color combinations explained by color theory provide the foundation for working with color across all media.
The Color Wheel
The color wheel arranges primary, secondary, and tertiary colors according to their relationships:
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The three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) are spaced evenly around the wheel. The three secondary colors (orange, green, purple) fall between the primaries.
Looking at the wheel shows how the secondaries contain their two parent primaries. For example, orange sits between red and yellow because it is made from those two colors.
The color wheel is a useful tool for understanding color relationships, choosing color schemes, and mixing custom colors you need. The basic primary-secondary combinations are essential building blocks.
Uses of Secondary Colors
Understanding secondary colors allows you to mix a wide range of hues for art, design, decor and more. Here are some common uses of secondary colors:
Painting and Drawing
Knowing secondary color mixing allows artists to create desired hues without being limited to premixed paint colors. This helps create more vibrant, custom paintings.
Digital Design
Web designers, graphic artists, and UX designers use RGB color mixing to make graphics, choose color themes, and consider color psychology.
Print Design
For physical print materials, secondary colors are useful for mixing custom ink, dye, and pigment colors. This allows greater flexibility when color matching and prototyping.
Fashion and Textiles
Fabric dyes, clothing, accessories, and home textiles make wide use of secondary colors. Designers combine primaries to dye fabrics or choose coordinating color palettes.
Home Decor
Interior decorators, home stagers, and DIYers use secondary colors to create color schemes. Complementary secondary colors like orange and blue make vibrant pairings.
Gardening
Gardeners planning landscapes, flower beds, or container gardens consider complementary colors for aesthetics. Pairing red flowers and green foliage is a classic combo.
Psychology of Secondary Colors
Beyond their aesthetic impacts, secondary colors also have psychological effects. Here is a quick look at the feelings and meanings associated with each secondary color:
Orange – Energetic, friendly, youthful, enthusiastic. Evokes feelings of confidence, adventure, and warmth.
Purple – Royal, mystical, spiritual, wise. Associated with luxury, ambition, creativity, and magic.
Green – Natural, calm, fresh, stable. Represents growth, harmony, health, and safety.
Brands, marketers, designers, and artists consider these psychological effects when selecting secondary colors. For example, orange suggests adventure so outdoor brands like it. Green implies stability so financial firms use it. And purple has luxury associations so it is popular in high-end goods.
Examples of Secondary Colors in Art
Secondary colors have been widely used through all eras and movements of art. Here are a few examples of notable art featuring secondary colors:
Vincent Van Gogh – Post-Impressionist painter known for vivid use of color combinations including secondary hues. Famous pieces like Cafe Terrace at Night and Bedroom in Arles use secondary colors.
Piet Mondrian – Dutch painter who helped found the abstract Neoplasticism movement. Restricted his paintings to primary colors and neutrals, but showed their relationships.
Andy Warhol – Pop artist famous for screenprints of Marilyn Monroe, Campbell’s soup cans, and more. Used bright secondary colors flatly and graphically.
Salvador Dali – Surrealist painter known for bizarre dreamscapes. Filled his works with vivid primaries and secondaries like orange and green.
Pablo Picasso – Iconic modern artist who pioneered Cubism. Many periods of his work featured secondary colors prominently.
Examples of Secondary Colors in Logos
Many iconic brand logos incorporate secondary colors. Here are some famous examples:
Orange
– Amazon
– Nickelodeon
– Harley-Davidson
– Firefox
Purple
– Yahoo
– Hallmark
– Milka
– Cadbury
Green
– Starbucks
– John Deere
– Spotify
– Land Rover
The choice of these secondary hues is no accident. Brands select these colors carefully to convey the desired tone, emotion, and imagery for their brand identity.
Tips for Mixing Secondary Colors
Mixing your own secondary colors gives you greater flexibility, customization, and control over your palette. Here are some tips:
– Use pure primary colors for the most vivid secondaries. Avoid premixed tints.
– Mix in equal proportions for clean hues. Too much of one primary will skew the color.
– Mix more than needed and adjust to your liking. Adding more of one or the other primary will shift the tone.
– Test on a palette first before mixing large quantities to ensure you get the desired result.
– Match the color medium to the project – dye for fabrics, pigment for paints, light for digital.
– Store mixed colors properly so they don’t bleed or degrade over time.
With practice, you’ll become comfortable blending the exact secondary shades needed for any project.
Conclusion
Secondary colors are essential for any type of color mixing. Understanding the fundamentals of how orange, purple, and green are formed by combining two primary colors opens up endless color possibilities. Mastering secondary color relationships provides a solid foundation for all aspects of color theory and practice. Whether you’re an artist, designer, or simply decorating your home, secondary colors are a useful tool to have in your belt.