Abstract Color Wheel

And Basic Vocabulary of the Color Wheel

Color WheelColor hues around a circle that shows relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary colors/intermediate colors.

Primary ColorsRed, blue, yellow are the primary colors, they cannot be mixed from other colors.

Secondary ColorsOrange, green and violet are secondary colors; they are mixed by blending two primary colors. Red and yellow mixed produce orange

Tertiary Colors/Intermediate ColorsColors are mixed from an adjacent primary and secondary colors: i.e. reddish-orange and yellowish-orange, yellowish-green and blueish-green, reddish-violet and blueish-violet. They could just as easily be named orangish-red and yellowish-red, etc.

Complimentary ColorsTwo colors on opposite sides of the color wheel, which when placed next to each other make both appear brighter. Red and green, violet and yellow, and orange and blue are complementary to one another.

Monochromatic ColorsA theme of one color using tints and shades.

TintA hue that has white added.

ShadeA hue that has black added (or a dark complementary color).

Example of color wheel colors and labels

Assignment Abstract Color Wheel• Draw lightly a circle in pencil in the center of your paper. Separate the

lightly drawn circle into 12 sections of the color wheel • Label each section with the appropriate color. Also label each color

primary, secondary or intermediate/(tertiary) colors.• Erase the lightly drawn lines of the circle and draw abstract shapes

for each section of the color wheel. Keep the names of the colors and each of the labels inside each shape.

• Start fist by painting in the Primary Colors: Red, Yellow and Blue.• Then paint in the Secondary Colors they are orange, green and violet .

– You make orange by mixing yellow and red.– You make green by mixing blue and yellow– You make violet by mixing blue and red.

• Then paint in the Tertiary Colors/Intermediate Colors they are the reddish-orange and yellowish-orange, yellowish-green and blueish-green, reddish-violet and blueish-violet.– You make these colors by mixing together the two colors that are named.

Final Product!!!

Samples of Abstract Color Wheels