The color wheel is a visual representation of the color spectrum. Primary and secondary colors are directly across from each other on the color wheel and are complementary.
Primary colors are red, yellow and blue. These colors go together to make all other colors.
Secondary colors are green, purple and orange. They are created by combining two primary colors.
Tertiary colors are made from combining a secondary color with a primary color. The names of tertiary colors are made up of the two colors that combined to make them, such as orange-red and blue-violet.
Complementary colors are always located across from each other on the color wheel. When painting, one can add a little bit of a color's complement to darken the color.
Tints are made up of any color and white. Shades are made up of any color and black.