When it comes to mixing colors, most people are familiar with the primary colors – red, blue, and yellow. But what happens when you mix the secondary colors – green, orange, and purple? Let’s take a closer look at secondary colors and what happens when you combine them.
Secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors. For example, if you mix red and yellow, you get orange. If you mix blue and yellow, you get green. And if you mix red and blue, you get purple.
So what happens when you mix two secondary colors together? The resulting color depends on which two secondary colors you choose to mix. Here are the different combinations and results:
Mixing Orange and Green
If you mix orange (made from red and yellow) and green (made from blue and yellow), the resulting color will be a brown. This makes sense if you think about the primary colors that make up orange and green.
Orange contains red and yellow. Green contains blue and yellow. When you mix them together, you are blending red, yellow and blue. This combination makes a brown color.
The shade of brown will vary depending on the exact shades of orange and green used. A bright orange mixed with a light green will produce a lighter tan color. A deeper pumpkin orange mixed with a dark forest green will result in a darker, muddier brown.
So in summary, mixing the secondary colors orange and green produces a brown color.
Mixing Orange and Purple
What happens when you mix orange (red and yellow) with purple (red and blue)?
In this case, the two secondary colors have one primary color in common: red. When blended together, the resulting color will be a red-based tertiary color.
More specifically, mixing orange and purple will make a red-violet shade. This color takes dominance from the red found in both orange and purple. However, the yellow from the orange and the blue from the purple mute and gray the red slightly, creating a rich, vivid reddish-violet hue.
The exact shade of red-violet will range depending on how much orange vs purple is used. A stronger concentration of orange will skew the color closer to a reddish-brown. Meanwhile, more purple will result in a cooler, more violet tone. But in general, blending orange and purple will create a tertiary red-violet color.
Mixing Green and Purple
Green and purple are a very interesting color combination to mix. Green is made from yellow and blue. Purple is made from red and blue. So the only common thread between the two is the primary color blue.
When you mix green and purple, the resulting color is a blue-based tertiary color. Specifically, green and purple make a tone of blue-violet.
Since green contains a good amount of yellow, it balances the purple’s red undertones. This prevents the mixed color from appearing too warm or cool. Instead, it creates a vivid bluish-violet secondary color.
The particular shade of blue-violet can range from a greenish-blue to purplish-blue depending on the green and purple shades used. But in general, the mixture of these two secondary colors produces a dynamic blue-violet tertiary color.
Mixing All Three Secondary Colors
What if you were to mix all three secondary colors together – orange, green and purple? What would be the resulting color?
Well, since the three secondary colors contain all three primary colors between them, mixing them together would theoretically produce a neutral brown or gray color.
For example:
| Orange | Contains: | Red and Yellow |
| Green | Contains: | Blue and Yellow |
| Purple | Contains: | Red and Blue |
When blended together, the red, yellow and blue neutralize each other, creating a composite brownish or grayish color. The exact shade would depend on the proportion of each secondary color used.
So in summary, mixing the three secondary colors orange, green, and purple will result in a muted, earthy brown or gray tertiary color. This makes sense since the combination contains a balance of all three primary pigments.
The Role of Secondary Colors in Mixing
Overall, mixing two secondary colors together results in the creation of a vibrant tertiary color. These rich, nuanced hues contain undertones of the two primary colors that make up each secondary color.
Some combinations are more harmonious, like orange and purple which both contain red. Other mixtures, like green and purple, create more dissonance but also more visual interest.
Mixing all three secondary colors tends to neutralize them into a composite brown or gray. This is because the secondary colors contain all three primary colors between them.
Understanding what happens when you blend secondary colors helps you learn more about color theory. It also gives you tools to intentionally create new color shades.
So next time youâ€TMre painting or mixing dyes, test out some secondary color combinations. Observe how the undertones interact and see what fascinating tertiary shades you can produce!
Tips for Mixing Secondary Colors
Here are some helpful tips when exploring mixing secondary colors:
– Start with small amounts and add more as needed – it’s easier to lighten a mix than darken it
– Use a palette or mixing surface to blend colors before applying to your final piece
– Mixing opposites on the color wheel (like orange and blue-violet) creates more vibrance
– Adding white will lighten the mix; adding black will darken and mute it
– Mixing adjacent secondary colors (orange and red-violet) creates subtle, harmonious hues
– Complementary blends (like orange and blue) produces grayer, more neutral colors
– Consider how different media or textures interact – mix thick paint for texture versus thin dye for blending
– Keep a notebook recording proportions and combinations for future reference
– Experiment with tertiary mixes that contain three secondary colors for nuanced shades
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – unexpected colors can lead to creative discoveries and happy accidents! The more you blend, the more skilled you’ll become at mixing magical secondary colors.
Examples of Mixing Secondary Colors
To give more specific examples of blending secondary colors, here are some combinations you can try:
Warm red-violet: Mix together 2 parts orange and 1 part purple
Bright lime green: Mix 3 parts green and 1 part yellow
Dusky blue-violet: Mix 1 part purple with 2 parts green
Reddish tan: Mix 1 part orange with 1 part brown
Muted grayish teal: Mix equal parts green, purple, and orange
Cool blue-green: Mix 2 parts green with 1 part blue
Earthy light brown: Mix 2 parts orange with 1 part green
Vibrant reddish-orange: Mix 2 parts orange with 1 part red
Soft greenish-yellow: Mix 2 parts yellow with 1 part green
Blue-tinted violet: Mix 4 parts purple with 1 part blue
The specific mixing ratios and techniques will vary between mediums. Test out these combinations with paint, dye, frosting, and more. Observe how the undertones interact to create tertiary shades.
Recording your color mixing experiments is invaluable for developing your secondary color blending skills and intuition over time.
The Color Wheel
When mixing secondary colors, it helps to visualize the color wheel. The color wheel shows the relationship between primary, secondary, and tertiary colors:
| Red | Orange | Yellow | Green | Blue | Purple |
The primary colors (red, yellow, blue) are equally spaced around the color wheel. Between each pair of primary colors sits a secondary color, made by mixing the adjacent primaries.
Tertiary colors fill the spaces between the primary and secondary colors – these are made by mixing adjoining secondary shades. For example, red-orange sits between red and orange.
Looking at the color wheel helps explain why mixing complementary colors like orange and blue make grayish browns. And why adjacent colors like orange and red-violet create harmonious hues.
Use the color wheel as a reference when deliberately blending secondary colors. It assists in predicting what undertones will emerge in your mixed tertiary colors.
Mixing Secondary Colors with Other Pigments
In addition to mixing secondary colors together, you can blend them with other pigments to create further color variations. Here are some examples:
Mixing secondary colors with white creates tinted or pastel shades of that color. The white lightens and softens the intensity of the original pigment.
Mixing secondary colors with black results in shaded, darker, and muted variations. The black acts as a graying agent, toning down the chroma and vibrancy.
You can mix secondary colors with the adjacent colors on the wheel for subtle, blended hues:
– Orange + Red = Reddish orange
– Orange + Yellow = Yellowish orange
– Green + Yellow = Yellow-green
– Green + Blue = Bluish green
– Purple + Blue = Bluish purple
– Purple + Red = Reddish purple
Mixing complementary secondary colors (across from each other on the wheel) makes brownish, grayish colors. These combinations include:
– Orange + Blue
– Purple + Yellow
– Green + Red
The exceptions are orange + green and purple + green, which don’t contain exact complement pairs but still mix to form browns and grays.
There are endless possibilities when mixing secondary colors with other pigments. Experimenting with different combinations leads to discovering nuanced, beautiful new shades.
Practical Applications of Mixing Secondary Colors
Blending secondary colors has many practical applications across different mediums and art forms:
Painting: Mix custom acrylic, oil or watercolor paints on your palette to layer into a painting. Observe how the undertones interact when transitioning between blends.
Dyeing: Custom dye yarn, fabric or clothing using secondary color mixtures for more nuanced, gradually shifting hues. Complementary mixes produce mottled, muted gray effects.
Pottery: Use blended glazes on ceramic pieces for rich, multi-colored finishes. Try layering complementary glazes for unpredictable interactions.
Frosting: Mix custom food coloring into buttercream frosting to decorate cakes and cupcakes.Adjacent blends give smooth gradients for ombre techniques.
Printmaking: Modify printer inks to print layered, blended color gradients. Use registration marks to align overlapping mix variations.
Makeup/Face Paint: Blend makeup and face paint on a palette for custom costuming or special effects. Slowly transition between complement shades.
The possibilities are endless! Secondary color mixing allows great flexibility and nuance for any project requiring custom color blending.
Conclusion
Mixing secondary colors is an exciting way to produce vibrant tertiary shades full of depth and interest. With some basic color theory knowledge, you can learn to predict the results of different secondary color combinations.
Some key takeaways when blending secondary colors:
– Mixing adjacent colors on the wheel gives harmonious hues
– Complementary mixes create brownish, muted shades
– Adding white lightens a mix; adding black darkens it
– Pair with primary colors for subtly blended variations
– Observe how different media impacts the color interactions
Equipped with a color wheel reference and an eagerness to experiment, you can unlock a world of magical new colors. Mix, blend, and observe the undertones dance!
So grab some secondary pigments and start painting, dyeing, or frosting your way to custom-mixed tertiary colors. You’ll be amazed by the gorgeous shades you create!
