Understanding Color In Simple Terms; What Really Is A Color Wheel Anyway? What Does It Mean?

What is a Color Wheel?

Many of you may remember from your school studies that the color wheel was created by Sir Isaac Newton in 1672. This was an amazing discovery and one that lends color to our world today. Sir Isaac Newton discovered that light, when refracted through a crystal prism, appears as all the colors of the rainbow. He basically took what he saw and fashioned it as a circle, creating a color wheel. This made the relationships between colors much easier to see. A color wheel is made up of 12 hues: 3 primary colors, 3 secondary colors and 6 tertiary colors. Don't worry! You don't necessarily have to have a great understanding of color theory when choosing or using color. Many artists never mix their own colors, while others enjoy mixing and working with colors they "created" on their own. The right color scheme will vary depending on the artists choices and the eye of the beholder. Knowing just a little about the color wheel and a bit about color theory will help you in your artistic choices to come up with color schemes that are pleasing to the eye.
The 12 hues of the color wheel can be used by the artist as a handy tool.
Let's break those 12 colors down a bit so that they become more simplified.

Where Do Black and White Come Into Play?

Did you know that all surfaces reflect and absorb light? It is true. The human eye, however, can only see the colors that a surface reflects. A black surface absorbs all colors, while a white surface reflects all color. 

What Are Primary Colors?

Most of you probably remember from your days in elementary school that the primary colors include only 3 colors. Which colors? The simple answer to that question would be: pure red, pure yellow and pure blue. These are the three pigment colors that cannot be made by mixing any other colors. Think of them as the "Parent Colors" to all other colors as these three colors are mixed to create all the other colors. They can be combined with black or white to create tints (lighter tones) and shades (darker hues) of these colors.

What Are Secondary Colors?

Secondary colors are those that are created when you mix equal parts of two primary colors together. What you get when you do this is green, orange and violet. For example, when you mix equal parts of red and blue together, you can create violet.  

What Are Tertiary Colors? 

Tertiary colors are made when you mix one primary color with one secondary color. These 6 new colors are red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange and red-orange.

Don't Let Color Scare You!

Color is out there to be used. Experiment! Try new things! See what colors are pleasing to your eye and what isn't. There are no real mistakes. The important thing is not to allow color to intimidate you. Just use it and most of all....HAVE FUN WITH IT!