Primary, secondary and tertiary are three types of colors that are used in color theory. Primary colors are pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed using a combination of other colors. All other colors are composed of primary colors mixed together in different ratios. Primary colors--red, yellow, and blue--are mixed equally to form secondary colors--orange, green, and purple. The secondary colors are mixed to form many tertiary colors, including blue-green, yellow-green and red-violet.
A color wheel is in essence a circular rainbow. It is a tool to use as a visual representation of the relationships in the color spectrum. In color theory, the dominant color is the color you use most in a piece, and the color you reference when choosing your accent colors. Accent colors should work well with your dominant color. The color wheel is used in color theory to determine which colors are theoretically best to use with the dominant color.
Analogous and complementary colors are basic units in color theory which should always combine well in an art piece. Analogous colors are located adjacent to each other on the color wheel. When using analogous color theory, you would usually choose a dominant color and use the adjacent colors on the wheel as accents to the dominant color.
Complementary colors are located directly across from each other on the color wheel. You can determine your complementary color by drawing a straight line from your dominant color through the center of your color wheel, creating a diameter line. The color on the other side of the line is your complementary color.
Complementary color use is often referred to as a juxtaposition of hot and cold colors. The combination of complementary colors has a more energetic appearance than analogous colors. As a result, complementary colors are frequently used in advertising for their bold and defined look.
Making a color wheel for yourself is an easy and fun project. To start, get some color samples to use on your wheel. You can use primary colored construction paper to start. If you're pressed for time or materials, you can just write the name of each primary color on the color spaces.
Place the primary colors equidistant from each other. The more secondary and tertiary mixed colors you wish to include, the more space you should leave between the primary colors on the wheel. Directly in the middle of the space between each two primary colors, place the swatch or name of the secondary color made by mixing those two primaries. Place orange between red and yellow, green between blue and yellow, and purple between blue and yellow.
Depending on how many colors you want on your color wheel, you can insert tertiary colors between the colors that mix to create them, as you have done with the secondary colors. Be careful to make the spaces even so the colors line up with their proper complementary companion