Draw the color wheel. Draw a circle and divide it into six equal sections. Moving clockwise around the circle, color the sections red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
Know the primary colors, which are red, yellow, and blue. These are the colors you mix to form other colors.
Know the secondary colors, which are orange, purple, and green. Seconday colors are created by mixing primary colors. Red and yellow make orange. Red and blue make purple. Yellow and blue make green.
Know the tertiary colors. Tertiary colors result when you mix a primary color with a secondary color. For example, when you mix red with orange, you create the tertiary color red-orange.
Differentiate between complimentary and analogous colors. Complimentary colors sit across from one another on the color wheel. For example, orange and blue are complimentary colors. Analogous colors are adjacent to one another on the color wheel. For example, yellow and green are analogous colors.
Differentiate between warm and cool colors. Warm colors are those that are associated with heat and fire, such as red, orange, and yellow. Cool colors are those that are associated with water or land, such as blue, purple, and green. Depending on the type of picture you're painting, you may have a preference for either warm colors or cool colors. For example, if you're painting a fire, you'll probably choose to use warm colors.
Understand the concepts of tints, shades, and tones. You create a tint when you make a color lighter by adding white to it. You create a tone when you make a color darker by adding black to it. You create a shade by adding gray to it.