The primary colors are red, yellow and blue. The primary colors are mixed to create all other colors. Secondary colors (orange, green and purple) are created by mixing two primary colors together. Tertiary colors (such as red-orange and blue-green) are created by mixing a primary color and a secondary color.
The warm colors are red, orange and yellow. These colors are associated with heat, anger and passion. The warm colors are known to excite emotions and even spur people to action. The cool colors, meanwhile, are associated with plant life, water, cool temperatures and calm. The cool colors are known to create calm and peace. These associations are often used in art and interior design to incite specific responses in people.
Colors found opposite of each other on the color wheel are known as complementary colors. Complementary color pairs are seen as being "opposites" of one another. The complementary colors are orange and blue, red and green and purple and gold. These dramatic color schemes are often the basis of sports team colors because they are bold and noticeable. Analogous color schemes are made of colors that appear side by side on the color wheel. These color pairs, such as red and orange, blue and green and blue and purple, are low-contrast color schemes often used in interior design and paintings to create a specific mood.
Several terms are associated with color theory, including "hue," "value," "tint" and "shade." Hue refers to the color of something. We see the different wavelengths of light as colors, or hues. The value of a color is how light or dark it is. A tint is what is produced when a color is mixed with white, while a shade is what is produced when a color is mixed with black.