
Here’s an example of an outfit: navy trousers (blue) with a rust dress shirt (orange).īlue always goes great with orange, as they are complementary colors. That is why gold, rust and brown compliment shades of blue. Blue is opposite of orange on the color wheel. Such combinations usually draw the eye and stand out very well. These colors are highly contrasting and look very bold if put together. The accent colors may be complementary, triad, analogous or neutral.Ĭomplementary colors: Colors directly opposite each other in the color spectrum or wheel. It’s the color of the principal item in your outfit like your suit or a dress shirt.Īccent Colors: The second and sometimes third colors used in a color scheme. To use the color wheel and the chart below we need to know these definitions:Ĭore Color: The dominant color in a color scheme. SHADE – Hue + Black (will darken the color) TINT – Hue + White (will lighten the color)ĬOMPLEMENT TINT – Tint + small amount of gray or opposite color (will mute or tone down the color) TONE – Hue + small amount of gray or opposite color (will mute or tone down the color) (If you add white to red you get pink, a less intense color strength)Ī visual presentation of those color terms: When a lighter or darker color is added to a color, the intensity will be less bright. For example, an intense red is one that is a very strong, pure red color. Intensity – the degree of purity or strength of a color (hue) or how bright or muted the colors are.


TRY IT! Making a color wheel is a good way to understand how colors work. Red-orange, yellow-orange and yellow-green are some intermediate colors. What goes between secondary colors and primary colors? Intermediate, or tertiary, colors are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color that is next to it. Orange is between red and yellow because orange is made by mixing red with yellow.


On a color wheel, each secondary color is between the primary colors that are used to make it. For instance, if you mix red and yellow, you get orange.Ī color wheel shows how colors are related. A secondary color is made by mixing two primary colors. Orange, green and purple are the secondary colors. You can't make them by mixing any other colors. Primary colors are the most basic colors. Red, yellow and blue are the primary colors.
