Orange and red are both secondary colors that are created by mixing primary colors together. By understanding color theory and the color wheel, we can determine what needs to be combined with orange paint or light to make the color red.
Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Colors
There are three sets of colors based on how they are created:
- Primary colors – these cannot be created by mixing other colors together. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.
- Secondary colors – these are created by mixing two primary colors together. The secondary colors are orange, green, and purple.
- Tertiary colors – these are created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color that shares the same primary color. For example, mixing red (primary) with orange (secondary containing red) makes red-orange (tertiary).
Understanding these color relationships is important when mixing paints or combining light to create different colors.
The Color Wheel
The color wheel illustrates the relationships between primary, secondary, and tertiary colors:
| Primary | Secondary | Tertiary |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Orange | Red-orange |
| Yellow | Green | Yellow-green |
| Blue | Purple | Blue-purple |
Looking at the color wheel, we can see that orange is between red and yellow. This tells us that orange is made by mixing red and yellow.
Mixing Paint Colors
When mixing paints, the primary colors red, yellow, and blue are used to create all other colors. To make orange paint, you mix red and yellow paint together. Then to make red paint from orange, you need to mix in more red paint.
Specifically, here is how to mix paint to go from orange to red:
- Start with orange paint, created by mixing more yellow than red.
- Add more red paint slowly while mixing.
- Keep adding red and mixing until the paint mixture reaches the desired red hue.
Adding more red pigment to the orange paint neutralizes some of the yellow and shifts the color towards red.
Combining Light Colors
When working with light, such as on a computer display or theater lighting, the primary colors are red, green, and blue. The principles of the color wheel still apply, but the colors that mix to make other hues are different.
To make orange light, you combine red and green light. Then to shift orange towards red, you need to add more red light.
Specifically, here is how to mix light to go from orange to red:
- Start by mixing more green light than red to make orange.
- Slowly increase the intensity of the red light.
- Keep adding more red light while reducing the green light to reach a strong red.
Boosting the red light overwhelms the green light and moves the mixed color towards red.
Pigment vs. Light Mixing
It’s important to understand the difference between mixing pigments (subtractive color) and mixing light (additive color). With paints, mixing all the colors together results in black. But with light, combining all the colors produces white.
So to shift orange paint to red, you must add more red pigment. And to shift orange light to red, you increase the red light and decrease the green light.
Other Ways to Shift Orange to Red
In addition to mixing colors, there are a couple other ways to shift orange towards red:
- Add a complementary color – The complement of orange is blue. Adding a touch of blue paint or light to orange will neutralize some of the yellow and nudge it towards red.
- Change the shade – Make orange darker by adding black or lighten it by adding white to alter its red/yellow balance. Darker and brighter oranges appear redder.
- Adjust saturation – Desaturating orange reduces the vibrancy of the yellow, making it seem more red. Saturating it emphasizes yellow.
Examples of Orange Mixed with Red
Here are some examples of different shades between orange and red produced by mixing colors together:
| Name | Mix |
|---|---|
| Red-orange | Slightly more red than orange |
| Vermilion | Mostly red with some orange |
| Scarlet | Red with a hint of orange |
| Crimson | Red with very little orange |
Each step along the spectrum from orange to red requires a higher ratio of red pigment or light mixed in.
Conclusion
In summary, to shift the color orange towards red, you need to mix in more red by:
- Adding more red paint or light
- Reducing yellow paint or green light
- Supplementing with complementary blue
- Darkening or brightening the orange
- Decreasing the color saturation
Understanding primary, secondary, and tertiary colors along with color mixing theory helps explain how to mix orange with red to achieve different shades of red. With the right combination, red hues can be attained by adding the necessary red pigment or light to orange.
